How The Steelers Stumbled into a Playoff Matchup in Baltimore

Four Straight Losses Tell The Story

The Steelers’ collapse should be studied and documented. A team sitting pretty at 10-3 suddenly forgot how to play football. I don’t think anybody saw this kind of meltdown coming, especially from a Mike Tomlin squad. Fans knew the schedule was a gauntlet and expectations were low but, oh my goodness. Most fans expected at least one win despite the difficult schedule! That is all they had to do to wrap up the division. Win one game. Instead, fans are discussing how they made NFL history for all the wrong reasons. They are just the third team ever limping into playoffs on a four-game losing streak. The offense looked completely lost, failing to crack more than 17 points in any of these games.

The brutal stretch included:

• Eagles bullying the secondary in a 27-13 loss
• Ravens running them out of the building, 34-17
• Chiefs stealing Christmas with their 29-10 victory
• Bengals squad out a 19-17 forcing the Steelers to go to Baltimore instead of Houston

The AFC North Dream Dies

The Steelers had the AFC North in their grasp with a two-game lead heading into Week 15. Then the wheels came off in worrisome fashion. You’d have to go back decades to find a Steelers collapse this bad. The team that controlled their destiny now hasn’t led a single game since beating Cleveland on December 8. The swagger is gone, replaced by a team searching for answers. Now they’re stuck with a wildcard spot, trying to win their first playoff game since 2016. The path ahead looks unrealistic and impossible. Even if they get their act together and were to beat their rivals, their next destination would most likely be Buffalo. 

Everything Falls Apart At Once

The numbers paint an ugly picture – getting outscored 109-57 over their last fours games tells you everything about this collapse was not competitive. That ball-control offense that worked so well early? Gone without a trace. They could not sustain drives, were giving up bad sacks and taking turns screwing everything up. When Russell Wilson would throw a perfect pass, it was dropped. When guys were wide open, the pressure forced Russ to make bad decisions whether it was taking sacks or turning the ball over. Now, George Pickens is getting clowned on social media after his circus of drops, managing just one catch for zero yards in the season finale. The offense that seemed like it was gaining their rhythm since Russell Wilson took the helm fell flat on their face when the schedule got tough.

The Offense’s Set Back

Back were the days where watching the offense feels like it was run by Matt Canada. The numbers tell an ugly story, but the eye test looks even worse heading into playoff football. Their offensive line got dominated again throughout the stretch of the four game losing streak. The tackle positions are certified traffic cones letting star pass rushers have career days. Pair that with the inability to sustain drives, and it is easy to see why they only accumulated 193 yards of offense against the Bengals. Having the ball for only 22 minutes against Cincinnati ain’t gonna cut it. The best way to contain any good quarterback from hurting your defense is keeping them off the field.