The 2023 season has brought on conversations the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t generated in a very long time. They fire a coordinator midseason for the first time in franchise history. There’s now a legitimate national media discussion around Mike Tomlin’s future. And for the first time maybe ever, some analysts are putting the words “Steelers” and “tank” out into the open.
Appearing on CBS Sports’ That Other Pregame Show Sunday morning, analyst Adam Schein believes losing their final four games is the best course of action for Pittsburgh.
“This is a mess in Pittsburgh,” Schein said. “I think the best thing that could happen to the Steelers. We always say the standard is the standard. What’s the standard? [Kyle Long] said mediocrity. Lose out. Now you know.”
We’ve come a long way from Schein’s guarantee that the Steelers were going to make the playoffs. Those were simpler times.
While not shown in the clip, the conversation revolved around Pittsburgh’s standard. One that has fallen in recent years from winning Super Bowls to winning the AFC North to now just avoiding a losing season. The Steelers aren’t a terrible team but they’re far from a good one, stuck in football purgatory because of it.
Sitting at 7-6, Pittsburgh has four games to go this season. They’ll take on the Indianapolis Colts on the road next Saturday in a crucial Wild Card matchup for both teams. The Colts enter today at 7-5 and in the thick of not just the AFC Wild Card race but also having a chance to capture the AFC South crown with the Jacksonville Jaguars having lost two of their last four games, including Monday night’s overtime defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Colts will take on those Bengals Sunday afternoon.
Two days before Christmas, Pittsburgh will have another Saturday matchup and hold its rematch against the Bengals after defeating them 16-10 in Week 12. But Cincinnati looks like a different crew with QB Jake Browning breaking out Monday to beat the Jaguars, going 32-of-37 for 354 yards and a touchdown in an overtime thriller. Browning became just the 11th quarterback in NFL history to complete at least 85 percent of his throws on at least 35 attempts (it’s happened 12 total times; Drew Brees did it twice). Point being, Browning has grown up plenty since making his first start against the Steelers just a couple of weeks ago. The Bengals will be a tougher out the next time around.
Pittsburgh wraps up its season with back-to-back tough road matchups. They’ll travel out west to Seattle and take on the Seahawks in Week 17. Seattle can be an unpredictable bunch, entering the weekend 6-6 and on a three-game losing streak. Still, the Seahawks have quality wins this season, beating the Detroit Lions in Week Two, and they hung with the Dallas Cowboys in a shootout in Week 13, falling 41-35. Pittsburgh is just 1-2 against the NFC West this year, losing to the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals while beating the Los Angeles Rams in Week Seven.
Finally, the Steelers will be in Baltimore to finish out the regular season. It’s unclear how much that game will mean for the Ravens, who may have locked up the division at that point. Still, odds are decent that the AFC’s top seed will still be up for grabs and with just the No. 1 team getting a first-round bye, Baltimore could still have plenty of incentives to play its starters. After knocking off the Ravens in Week Five, the Steelers will look for a sweep in a victory they’ll almost certainly need to have.
Still in the playoff race, it’s obvious that the team won’t follow Schein’s instructions. They’re not going to tank. It’s certainly not a thought Mike Tomlin has anywhere close to mind especially in light of his job status credibly being called into question for the first time during his Steelers tenure. Ostensibly, Schein believes the Steelers losing out would increase the chances of them blowing up the team and starting from scratch as opposed to limping their way to an above .500 finish and sticking with the status quo.
As embarrassing as the Steelers’ last two losses are, if they can go 3-1 over their final four games, their odds of advancing to the postseason are still high. Of course, the Steelers actually accomplishing that feat is highly debatable, but it would be peak Pittsburgh to fall to a pair of 2-10 teams before going on a run to end the year.
