It wasn’t that long ago the Pittsburgh Steelers were 10-3 and atop the AFC North. Three games ago, to be precise. Since then, they’ve gone on a three-game tailspin and lost their grip on the division.
Sure, injuries on both sides of the ball have hurt the team. WR George Pickens missed three of the last four games. S DeShon Elliott missed games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens before returning yesterday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But the reality is that the Steelers struggled mightily during that stretch. Part of that was the competition. They traveled to Philadelphia to play the Eagles, then to Baltimore to face the Ravens, and then back home for a Christmas Day matchup against the Chiefs. And perhaps that was the biggest problem of all, the level of competition.
“To break it down to elementary level, simply they’re losing the turnover battle and they’re not good enough to give the other team extra possessions on short fields in certain situations,” former NFL LB Bart Scott said Thursday on ESPN’s Get Up. “And that’s something they have to clean up. They have to play mistake-free football. They can’t throw interceptions in the red zone, taking points off the board. They aren’t good enough to have a margin of error. They have to play mistake-free, perfect football to win. And against great teams or better competition, they’re gonna come off the wrong side of it.”
The Steelers aren’t playing mistake-free football. They’re playing mistake-filled football. And it’s on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Steelers have turned the ball over at least once in every game of the losing streak. It started with a Najee Harris fumble that was officially charged to QB Russell Wilson in the third quarter of the Eagles game. The Steelers had 1st and 10 from the Philadelphia 26 while trailing 20-13. But the Eagles recovered the fumble and turned it into a long touchdown drive to go up by two scores.
Then against the Ravens, Wilson turned the ball over twice in the red zone. First, he scrambled down to the Ravens’ 5 on a big run before taking a big hit and fumbling. And then early in the fourth quarter with the Steelers trailing by a touchdown, Wilson threw a pick-six. And finally, against the Chiefs, Wilson threw an interception while looking for TE Pat Freiermuth in the end zone.
All of those plays cost the Steelers possessions and chances at scoring. To do that against teams of the caliber they faced is essentially signing your own death warrant. And it wasn’t just the offense making mistakes.
Against the Eagles, the Steelers allowed 401 total yards. WR A.J. Brown, the topic of much pregame discussion, had eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. WR DeVonta Smith had 11 catches for 109 yards and one touchdown. And most galling was the Steelers’ inability to get off the field in the fourth quarter. With just under 11 minutes to go, the Steelers punted from midfield and forced the Eagles to start at their own 3-yard line. Rather than get the ball back, the Steelers’ defense allowed the Eagles to chew up every last second of the clock.
And in the next game, the Steelers allowed the Ravens to run roughshod over them to the tune of 220 yards while QB Lamar Jackson threw for three touchdowns. Then against the Chiefs, the Steelers struggled with their defensive communication, allowing TE Travis Kelce to run open for eight catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. And it’s frustrating the defensive players. LB Patrick Queen voiced his frustration that nothing is changing despite the run of issues.
It’s an incredible disappointment. The offense struggled without WR George Pickens in the lineup and then still turned the ball over after his return. The defense continues to have lapses in coverage and seems to be unable to stop a high-powered rushing attack committed to running the ball.
But on the positive side? Despite the three-game losing streak, the Steelers can still win the AFC North. They’re just going to need some help from the Cleveland Browns. But it will be all for naught if the Steelers can’t fix the issues on either side of the ball. Usually the defense will pick up the offense, but that isn’t happening this season.
“Defensively for the Steelers, that’s where their plays are made,” former NFL WR Andrew Hawkins said. “Their ability to get takeaways, their ability to get to the quarterback, their ability to shut down the run. And it hasn’t been as great as it was in the early part of the season. And it’s really exposed and showed what their offense lacks from a playmaking perspective.”
The offense isn’t good enough to continually take the pressure off the defense. And the defense isn’t capitalizing on its chances to create turnovers, exposing the rest of the issues on defense. So if the Steelers can’t fix one side of the ball (or ideally both sides), this will be a short playoff stint yet again.
