The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in their season finale on Sunday afternoon, but it was all for naught, as the Steelers finished the year with a record of 9-6-1, missing out on the playoffs.

Pittsburgh's fate was essentially sealed when the Baltimore Ravens topped the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Steelers could have also gotten in to the postseason by way of a tie between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans, but that did not happen.

After the Steelers' victory, head coach Mike Tomlin said in a press conference was proud of his group:

“I'm appreciative of the effort,” said Tomlin, via Matthew Marczi of Steelers Depot. “We controlled the things that were within our control today. I can’t say enough about the effort of the guys.”

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As for Pittsburgh missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013? Tomlin was at peace with it.

“We accept the outcome,” he said. “We’ve had 17 weeks to state a case for ourselves. We stand by our work. You have to in this business. But it is what it is.”

Last week, Pittsburgh was in first place in the AFC North and controlled their own destiny, but a devastating loss to the New Orleans Saints coupled with a Ravens win over the Los Angeles Chargers knocked them out of the top spot.

The past two seasons have been nothing but disappointment in Pittsburgh. Last year, the Steelers lost in the Divisional Round of the playoffs to the Jacksonville Jaguars in spite of winning 13 games that season.