The saying “any given Sunday” exists for the reason that any team can beat another team any time, regardless of their records or the caliber of their respective rosters. That is why the games are played. Wins and losses aren’t decided by who has the better roster or who has the most wins on the season, but rather the performance of each team on the field.
While this can be the case, the Pittsburgh Steelers have severely dropped the ball the last two weeks, losing to two 2-10 teams in a span of five days, the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and the New England Patriots on Thursday night. The product on the field by Pittsburgh has been worse than the score would indicate. The Steelers looked overwhelmed by two of the bottom three teams in football in almost every way, failing to move the ball consistently on offense while seeing the running game of both teams gash them for big yardage.
The play of QB Bailey Zappe also sticks out against Pittsburgh. New England had the worst-ranked offense in football coming into Thursday night, but Zappe threw for three touchdowns, looking like the second coming of Tom Brady in what was just his fourth career NFL start. Former Steelers CB Bryant McFadden spoke about the Steelers and their loss to the Patriots after the game on CBS Sports, stating that the way Pittsburgh is losing games isn’t consistent with a team that should qualify for a playoff berth.
“You lose to the Patriots and Bailey Zappe, I don’t see you getting into the playoffs,” McFadden said via video from CBS Sports’ YouTube channel. “Mathematically you still have a shot, but until I see otherwise from what I saw tonight and last week, what makes you believe or think that they can get into the playoffs?”
McFadden is completely right. Even with the Steelers sitting at 7-6 after losing two straight games, nothing that we have seen over the last week would give you confidence that this team can indeed make the postseason. With their loss on Thursday night, the Steelers tumbled in the playoffs standings from holding the fifth seed in the AFC to dropping out of the playoff field altogether, moving to eighth place.
“We would all agree that there are certain games that teams should win,” McFadden said. “Last week, playing against the Arizona Cardinals, only two wins, you’re supposed to find a way to win that ball game, especially at home. This week, the same thing playing against a lesser team than Arizona because of the inexperience they have at the quarterback position. You’re supposed to find a way to win those ball games, because that’s what separates teams that get into the playoffs compared to teams that do not get into the playoffs.”
The Steelers last made the playoffs in 2021 in the last year of QB Ben Roethlisberger, getting blown out by the Kansas City Chiefs. The year before, the Steelers managed to go 12-4, but lost at home in the Wild-Card round to the Cleveland Browns at home, after having sputtered down the stretch. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016, having the new standard become just getting into the playoffs rather than competing for the chance to get into the Super Bowl and win it.
The Steelers have showed us time and again this season that they’re not ready to make a playoff run this season, and frankly that they probably don’t belong there based on what they’ve done against some of the worst teams in football. It’s a fall from grace that Steelers fans are sick of just thinking about, but it’s a reality that must be accepted until this team proves us wrong with better performances against teams it is supposed to beat.
