Emmanuel Acho can’t figure out the Pittsburgh Steelers. One week, they’re holding QB Lamar Jackson in check and knocking off the Baltimore Ravens. Four days later, they’re floundering and getting upset by the Cleveland Browns.
Welcome to life of being a Steelers fan, buddy. Ride the lightning.
“The Steelers are such a good team,” Acho said on Friday on FS1’s The Facility. “They beat good teams, but then they lose to bad teams. You lose to the Browns, you lose to the Colts, you lose to the Cowboys. Remember, Cowboys, Sunday night on that severe delay. You have all the advantage in the world, you’re the home team. It’s just weird to me.”
At the time, Dallas still had Dak Prescott at quarterback but were missing other key pieces like EDGE Micah Parsons. Despite missing him and waiting out the latest kickoff in NFL history, the Cowboys rallied for a last-second touchdown to win the game.
Combined, the records of the three teams the Steelers have lost to are 13-22. And yet Pittsburgh is 5-0 against teams with winning records this season, beating the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, and Baltimore Ravens by a combined 97-69 score.
For 31 other teams, it would make for a strange season. In Pittsburgh, it’s just another year.
Emmanuel Acho pointed out the team’s latest loss had severe consequences.
“The Steelers were in contention to play the Chiefs on Christmas Day with the one seed on the line,” he said. “After losing to the Browns, they kinda squandered that opportunity.”
Now, even if Pittsburgh wins out, it isn’t guaranteed to secure the No. 1 seed. If the Chiefs only lose to the Steelers the rest of the way and finish with a 15-2 record, they’ll capture the AFC’s top spot. And if the two teams have identical records and Kansas City wins the Christmas Day matchup, the Chiefs will have the seeding advantage. In a seven-team playoff format where now only the one seed gets the bye, not to mention guaranteed home-field advantage, that’s huge.
While the Bengals’ 4-7 record might make them a “bad team” on paper, they’ll bring plenty of firepower this weekend. Hosting the Steelers, Cincinnati can score at will and Pittsburgh must prove it can match that while playing better in situational football. Getting off to faster starts would also help, something that hasn’t happened for most of the season and in the Steelers’ three losses.
