Many of Steeler Nation has climbed back out onto to the proverbial ledge today after the 18-12 loss to the Bengals yesterday. It is typical over reaction by Steelers fans. Would we be in a better place were we to win yesterday? Absolutely. Every time you win it is a good thing. The fact remains that the Steelers still control their own destiny. The division is still not decided as well. The Bengals are technically 2 full games ahead of the Steelers in the division, but anything can happen and there is still a ton of football left to play.
The Bengals still have 3 tough opponents on the schedule in the likes of Minnesota, San Diego and the Jets. All three of these games are on the road as well. They also still have to win the games they should win along the way. Should Steeler Nation worry about what they do? Not really. Realistically, the Steelers can afford 2 more losses and still grab a wild card spot. While 11-5 is not a lock, the odds are in their favor. What needs to happen now is to put the Sunday game behind us and focus on the rest of the schedule. The 2 games with Baltimore become crucial, but even one of those games is still losable, albeit not advisable. Outside of those 2 games, the Packers and the Dolphins seem the biggest challenges, but games the Steelers should be favored in.
After the shaky start the Steelers got off to, a 6-3 record would of been a welcome record at this point after week 3. Sure, 2 of those losses came against the same division foe, but both games we had every opportunity to win. The schedule going forward is still heavily in our favor and the division is still not out of our grasp. It is time to back off of the ledge once again and fix the minor details that have attributed to the losses. The defense still played great minus the loss of Troy Polamalu and the offense sputtered for the first time in a while. Everything will be just fine going forward.
