Things have gone from bad to worse for the Pittsburgh Steelers, all thanks to a four-day span when they were on the North Shore for two very winnable games against the lowly Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots.
Entering that stretch, the Steelers found themselves at 7-4 on the season with two very winnable, opportunistic games in front of them as they continued to push for the playoffs. Then the bottom fell out. The Steelers lost 24-10 to the Cardinals and 21-18 to the Patriots, putting them in a very difficult spot in the playoff picture with a tough four-game stretch ahead, starting Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts.
Though the Steelers sit in the No. 6 spot in the AFC playoff field, they plummeted in a trio of NFL power rankings entering Week 15.
In the NFL.com power rankings from Eric Edholm, the Steelers fell three spots to No. 14 following the tough four-day showing at home, falling behind the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos in the power rankings.
“The Steelers made history in Thursday Night Football when they completed a two-game homestand of defeats against teams with 10-plus losses, according to NFL Research. On Sunday, they were rewarded by being bumped back into the playoff field — for now, anyway,” Edholm writes regarding where the Steelers are ranked in the power rankings. “The Colts and Texans losing pushed Pittsburgh into the top seven on the AFC side, but they are only half of the AFC’s six 7-6 teams currently. If there’s a silver lining to the big picture, it’s that at least four of those teams are without their original starting quarterback now.
“The fact that Mitch Trubisky struggled the way he did against New England, compelling Steelers fans to demand an expeditious Kenny Pickett return, shows the level of desperation. Whether they make it into the playoffs likely depends on the next two games, against the Colts and Bengals.”
The Steelers definitely made NFL history Thursday night in the loss to the Patriots, and not the good kind. It was a frustrating defeat as Pittsburgh spotted the Patriots 21 points in the first half and couldn’t find a way to come all the way back, falling to a two-win team for the second time in four days.
Trubisky struggled mightily against the Patriots and couldn’t quite lead the Steelers back late as Pittsburgh had two key turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter.
A Pickett return should happen at some point, though when remains up in the air. It’s not as if he’s been much better than Trubisky was Thursday night, though. The Steelers are fortunate to find themselves in the playoff field — for now.
In CBS Sports’ power rankings compiled by Pete Prisco, the Steelers dropped three spots to No. 21 overall, falling outside of the top 20.
“They are reeling right now. The offense isn’t good, but what has happened to the defense?” Prisco writes regarding the Steelers in his latest power rankings.
Stating that the Steelers are reeling right now seems like an obvious statement. There is no doubt that they are reeling.
The offense, after a one-week boost following the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada ahead of Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals, has come crashing back to earth. The Steelers have scored just 10 and 18 points in their last two games, with those 10 points coming against the worst scoring defense in football.
The Steelers’ defense is reeling, too, and is staring down some significant injuries. Outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are in concussion protocol ahead of the Week 15 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on the road, which could lead to rookie Nick Herbig and veteran Markus Golden starting in a must-win game for the Steelers.
That’s not all that comforting.
Finally, in ESPN’s power rankings, the Steelers fell four spots to No. 17, falling behind the likes of the Colts and the Los Angeles Rams.
In ESPN’s power rankings, the improvement of the run game was highlighted by Steelers beat writer Brooke Pryor.
“It’s hard to find an area to highlight after back-to-back losses to teams with two wins entering the matchup. But those games notwithstanding, the Steelers’ ground game is much improved from the first half of the season,” Pryor writes for ESPN.com. “Beginning with the Week 9 win against the Titans, the Steelers outrushed their opponents in four of their next five games. They also showed an ability to find the right balance between Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. The Steelers’ run defense also has showed improvement from the beginning of the season.”
The Steelers have been pretty darn good in recent weeks running the football. Though it hasn’t always translated to overall offensive success, the improvement the Steelers have made in the run game has been rather promising. Pittsburgh views itself as a power running team, and at times early in the 2023 season, it didn’t always see the results.
Now, the Steelers are getting them, and it’s making them a difficult team to deal with, at least in that aspect.
