Just barely over a week ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers were 7-4 with two matchups coming up against 2-10 opponents. There was a lot of optimism, but after the Steelers failed to take care of business in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals and Week 14 against the New England Patriots, that optimism is almost all gone. At this point, the Steelers don’t look like a good football team after falling to back-to-back 2-10 opponents, and ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes that this could be the year Mike Tomlin finishes with a losing season.
In his column judging the biggest overreactions following Week 14, Graziano writes that this being Tomlin’s first losing season is not an overreaction.
“Again, the past two games were the layups — home matchups with teams that were 2-10 at kickoff,” Graziano writes. “They’re at Indianapolis in Week 15, then home against the Bengals before finishing the season with trips to Seattle and Baltimore. Could they win two of those games? Of course. The Colts and Bengals are using backup quarterbacks, the Seahawks used one Sunday and we don’t know for sure when Geno Smith will return, and the Ravens could theoretically have things locked up and have no reason to use their starters in Week 18. I’m not going to sit here and predict that Tomlin will finish with a losing record for the first time as a head coach, because I’ve felt several times in recent years that this could happen, and he has managed to pull it out of the fire every time. But after the week the Steelers just had, it’d be a mistake to rule this out.”
Even though the Colts and Bengals are using backup quarterbacks, both of their backups have performed well. The Steelers did beat Bengals QB Jake Browning in his first career start, but he’s been impressive over his last two games and with the Steelers reeling, he could put up another good performance. There’s also the point that the Steelers are using a backup quarterback, and Mitch Trubisky looked pretty rough against New England in Week 14. QB Kenny Pickett could return by Week 17, but the Steelers’ fate could be essentially sealed before that if they can’t figure it out over their next two games.
As Graziano noted, Tomlin has pulled the Steelers to a place of respectability late in the season. But barely getting to nine wins every season is tiring, and the Steelers need to start winning when it actually matters. Winning a few games late in the season to extend the pointless non-losing record streak is fine, but the Steelers haven’t won in the playoffs since 2016. With the way the last week has gone, it seems as if we’re approaching that same conclusion to the 2023 season. They’ve shown nothing that says they’re worthy of making the playoffs, and if they do once again squeak in, there’s nothing that’s shown that they can beat a higher-seeded playoff team on the road.
If the Steelers can’t beat the Cardinals and Patriots at home, a road playoff win just doesn’t seem to be in the cards for this team. Anything less than a playoff win this season would be a disappointment, and injuries can’t be an excuse because teams around the league, including the Browns and Bengals, are finding ways to win with backup quarterbacks. Right now, the Steelers just aren’t all that good of a team and their lack of fight and preparedness makes them as frustrating to watch as ever. It wouldn’t be a surprise if their slide continues and they do finish the season with a losing record, which makes this Saturday’s matchup with the Colts imperative.
Both teams are 7-6, and it would be huge for Pittsburgh’s playoff odds to come away with a win. It could also help build some momentum which this team needs more than anything right now. Hopefully, unlike the last two games, Tomlin has this team prepared and ready to go for what is truly a must-win game.
