Two days later, Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals by the Pittsburgh Steelers — in rather embarrassing fashion — remains hard to try and wrap one’s mind around.
There was just no way the Steelers should have lost that game to that team. And yet, they did, putting on one of their worst displays of football under head coach Mike Tomlin.
Pittsburgh is still in the AFC playoff picture, but the road ahead is rather difficult. The loss was rather punishing from the playoff perspective as Pittsburgh’s playoff odds dropped significantly. So, too, did Pittsburgh’s standings in a trio of power rankings across the NFL media landscape.
Coming into Week 13, the Steelers were a fringe top-10 team with a real opportunity in front of them. Now, they are a just inside the top 20 and with more questions than answers moving forward.
What a difference a week makes in the NFL.
For The Athletic’s Josh Kendall, the Steelers’ loss to the Cardinals dropped them from No. 11 last week to No. 18 this week, falling behind the likes of the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.
“Pittsburgh got a bump the first week after firing its beleaguered offensive coordinator, but it was back to business as usual Sunday. The Steelers scored 10 points against an Arizona defense that ranks 30th in points allowed (25.5 per game),” Kendall writes regarding the Steelers in the power rankings for The Athletic. “On top of that, quarterback Kenny Pickett suffered an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out multiple weeks. The AFC North lead looks a long way away now.”
There was a bump last week without Matt Canada calling the plays for the Steelers. Pittsburgh was more aggressive downfield, utilized the middle of the field and ran the ball extremely well. Things were lining up for another strong showing against the Cardinals on Sunday.
But that wasn’t the case.
Pickett got hurt on a third-down scramble in the red zone on a strange play. Then things got sidetracked after the Steelers and running back Najee Harris were stuffed on fourth down from the 1-yard line as the offensive line got blown up on the play.
Now, the Steelers have to face off against a great defense in the New England Patriots on a short week with a backup quarterback in Mitch Trubisky.
In CBS Sports’ power rankings from Pete Prisco, the Steelers were the biggest faller of the week, dropping nine spots from No. 9 to No.. 18.
The Steelers fell behind the likes of the Browns, Falcons, Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers.
“That was a terrible loss to the Cardinals, but it’s compounded by the loss of Kenny Pickett to injury. The good news is they get the Patriots this week,” Prisco writes of the Steelers for CBS Sports.
It was a terrible loss. There’s no way to sugarcoat it.
The Steelers may or may not have overlooked the Cardinals entering the Week 13 matchup. Regardless of what happened, Pittsburgh got punched in the mouth over and over again, and, as T.J. Watt said after the game, “We got our ass kicked.”
That they did.
Now, they’ll be without Pickett for at least a week, maybe longer, following ankle surgery. And they are perilously thin at inside linebacker after seeing Elandon Roberts go down with a groin injury.
What a mess.
Despite that mess, the Steelers didn’t fall all that far in NFL.com’s power rankings from Eric Edholm Tuesday morning. The Steelers fell from No. 9 to No. 11 despite the embarrassing loss.
“There have been numerous stretches where we’ve questioned whether the Steelers are truly a playoff team — not whether they will get in, but whether they even deserve to,” Edholm writes for NFL.com. “…Pittsburgh was also guilty of self-inflicted errors galore, including basic stuff like getting lined up correctly, before backup QB Mitch Trubisky’s crippling fumble. Mike Tomlin has somehow led this team to 7-5, but it’s hard not to get the smoke-and-mirrors vibe, especially with Pickett possibly set to miss multiple games.
“Heck, the Steelers have looked quite beatable with him.”
This isn’t the College Football Playoff committee deciding if a team does or does not deserve to get into the playoffs. The Steelers, despite their warts, are sitting at No. 5 in the AFC playoff picture. Things are difficult ahead against a great Patriots defense, then a road trip to Indianapolis before closing the season against the Bengals at home and the Seahawks and Ravens on road.
The self-inflicted mistakes Sunday against the Cardinals were rather frustrating, especially because it was basic stuff like getting lined up properly. They are 7-5, but some of it has been smoke and mirrors, and now they’ll need more of that with Mitch Trubisky the quarterback while Pickett is on the mend.
