On December 23, 2012, Polamalu made a season-high eight combined tackles, defended a pass, and had his only sack of the season on Cincinnati Bengals' quarterback Andy Dalton, as the Steelers lost 13-10. The following week, he recorded three combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made the only interception of the season in a 24–10 win against the Cleveland Browns. Polamalu finished the season with a total of 34 combined tackles (29 solo), three pass deflections, one sack, and one interception in seven games and seven starts. He was ranked 91st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013. 2013 One of the Steelers' top needs entering the draft was safety as Polamalu was entering the end of his career and had an injury-riddled season in 2012. The Steelers selected Shamarko Thomas in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft to possibly be Polamalu's successor. Polamalu started the Steelers' season-opener against the Tennessee Titans and recorded six combined tackles and a sack in their 16-9 loss. The next week, Polamalu collected a season-high nine combined tackles and defended a pass in a 20-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. In Week 7, he recorded three solo tackles, defended two passes, a sack, and intercepted a pass attempt by Terrelle Pryor in an 21-18 loss to the Oakland Raiders. In Week 12, Polamalu earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Cleveland Browns. In Week 14, Polamalu made one tackle and returned an interception off of Ryan Tannehill for a 19-yard touchdown during the Steelers' 34-28 loss. He finished the season with 69 combined tackles (50 solo), 11 pass deflections, two interceptions, and a sack in 16 games and 16 starts. He was named to his final Pro Bowl. He was ranked 61st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014. 2014 On March 5, 2014, the Steelers signed Polamalu to a three-year, $20 million contract extension. They also restructured his contract so he would only account for $6.3 million against the salary cap in instead of the original $10.7 million cap number. Polamalu started the Steelers' season-opener against the Cleveland Browns and made a season-high 11 combined tackles in their 30–27 victory. He missed Weeks 10–11 after suffering a knee sprain. The Steelers made the playoffs and faced off against the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round.