Let’s face it, the last few weeks have really put a damper on the Steelers’ season. After being floated as a potential Super Bowl contender following Russell Wilson’s resurgence to now losing three straight games, times are tough for Pittsburgh.
“I just don’t know how serious they are right now as far as a team you take seriously in the playoffs,” former NFL player Chris Long said on his Green Light with Chris Long podcast. “It is the end of the season and it’s to the point where guys are talking about it in the media after the game.”
Long, of course, is talking about the several players who addressed the media after the Steelers’ 29-10 loss to the Chiefs, seemingly critical of certain players not doing their jobs across the defense. Mark Kaboly said as much on The Pat McAfee Show, hinting that there may be some friction in the Steelers’ locker room.
“Something was a little off after the game [Wednesday] and you could tell people wanted to say something about somebody,” Kaboly said.
This poses an especially challenging scenario for the Steelers, according to Long. He says that since the Steelers’ offense is struggling to score points, the defense needs to be absolutely dominant to make up for it. Far from what they have shown over the past three weeks.
As it stands right now, the Steelers seem primed to square off against the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Despite his earlier comments on the Steelers potentially being pretenders in the AFC playoff picture, Long thinks it’s a matchup in which Pittsburgh may actually have an advantage.
“Ironically, they’ll probably play the Texans,” Long said. “That’s probably the only team I think they can beat in the AFC.”
The Texans have had their own struggles in recent weeks, losing their last two games. Their Christmas Day game against Baltimore was the highlight of their issues, the Texans losing to the Ravens 31-2. As things currently stand, the Steelers would own the fifth seed in thew AFC while the Texans would be the fourth, leading to a game in Houston.
Luckily, Pittsburgh has some time to regroup before then, slated for its regular-season finale against Cincinnati after a much-needed 11-day rest. Let’s hope whatever issues the Steelers may be having can be ironed out before they reach the playoffs.
