Are we overreacting to the Steelers’ losing streak?
The Steelers are in free fall, and all hope is lost. They lost to three of the best teams in the NFL, on short weeks, amidst injuries, mostly on the road. The end is near. And, of course, it’s all Mike Tomlin’s fault, as he has brought great shame to the organization.
How close does that cut to the truth? Well, some of it is in the eye of the beholder, while some will only reveal itself through time. After all, the Steelers could proceed to win the Super Bowl and we’ll all look rather silly. Now, that’s not very likely—at all—but it’s not an impossibility.
We do have to address the fact that we’re not just talking about a three-game losing streak. The Steelers lost to very good teams, yes, but they also lost in dispiriting fashion. And they lost repeatedly, uncompetitively, in ways that indicate the likelihood of recurrence. So what tells us more about the Steelers: the last three games, or the first 13?
The Steelers play the Bengals in the finale. This is a team they already beat this season despite the Bengals’ offense playing at or near its peak. Cincinnati even got away with an extremely questionable pick-six. And they did this on the road. In other words, they have already proven that they can beat the Bengals. But, of course, the Bengals aren’t even likely to be a playoff team, so is that even saying much?
I doubt that few had any realistic expectations of the Steelers winning the Super Bowl this season. I think that is an essential part of this conversation as well. If we define a successful season as meeting or exceeding expectations, then what constitutes success for the Steelers in 2024? What if they beat the Houston Texans, for example, but then lose to the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round? Is that a success? And given how the Steelers have looked in recent weeks, is even that a reasonable expectation? Or are we overreacting to how bad things have looked lately and overlooking this team’s true makeup?
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Russell Wilson earning a lucrative new deal next year, and is Justin Fields still in consideration? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
