In the month of the December, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a real rut. They’ve lost three of their last five games, including two straight, and have been bullied in their last two games against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens.
The highest-paid defense in football has struggled to stop anybody recently, and an offense that was so good for much of the season has struggled without key playmaker George Pickens.
Now, after falling into a tie in the AFC North with the Ravens following a 34-17 loss Saturday, the Steelers find themselves backed up against a wall needing a response in a big way. They’ll need that response in a big spot on Christmas Day against the team with the best record in football, too, that being the Kansas City Chiefs.
For offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, how the Steelers respond — and if they can — will say a lot about them moving forward as they find themselves dealing with quite a bit of adversity.
“Yeah, I think for all of us, we’re going to find out a lot about us. You don’t want to hit adversity, but we’ve got a playoff spot locked up, trying to win the division, trying to win a game. It’s easy for everybody to be great vibes and everybody smiling when you’re winning, but you’re going to find out a lot about us in how we respond,” Smith told reporters Monday, according to the official transcript provided by the team. “That’s the truth of the matter. We’re playing good teams, and we’ve got a huge matchup, unique schedule. The ball is going to kick off at 1:00 and we’ll be ready to go.
“Nobody is around here pouting. If anything, it should heighten your focus and some of these issues that may have overlooked — not overlooked, but there is a heightened level of focus. Like I said, we’ll find out.”
You find out a lot about a person, or in this case a team, and the character they have when adversity strikes. The fact that adversity is hitting the Steelers when they’re in the tightest part of their schedule in the midst of three games in 11 days is quite difficult.
Things aren’t going all that well for the Steelers, and it’s sort of snowballed in the last two weeks. But they have the right leaders in place in the locker room and on the coaching staff to try and right the ship, and it starts in this short three-day span to get ready for the Chiefs.
Quarterback Russell Wilson remains optimistic while head coach Mike Tomlin and team captain Cameron Heyward have stated it’s time to get back in the lab and get things corrected. They don’t have much time to do that, but sometimes — as Smith said — when things aren’t going well and time is short, your attention can be heightened, and the focus can be greater on problem areas.
We’ll see how the Steelers respond to the adversity and come out on Christmas Day against the Chiefs. It will be very telling of them and their chances moving forward, good or bad.
