Although the Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the best teams in the NFL this season, they’re dealing with some adversity right now. They’ve lost their last two games in an ugly fashion. Their offense has been anemic without George Pickens, and their defense is the weakest it’s ever been this year. Despite all of that, Russell Wilson’s faith in the Steelers has not waned.
“In every great team I’ve been on, there’s been ups and downs,” Wilson said Monday via team-provided transcripts. “There’s a lot more ups throughout the season. We’ve had a lot of ups this year. There’s always a speed bump in the way.
“Without that adversity, without those challenges, you don’t grow. I think part of the harvest of it all has got to be a little rain in the midst of it all. So, I think that we’re going through it in a good way.”
Wilson’s optimism might frustrate some, but it’s a good attitude to have. It might be easy for the Steelers to get down on themselves after two bad losses. They had the AFC North title in their hands, and now they’re in serious jeopardy of losing it. However, the season isn’t over yet.
If the Steelers play better and win their final two games, they’ll be a in really good place heading into the playoffs. That can’t happen if they’re still worrying about outcomes of games they can’t change.
Only one team in NFL history has been perfect on its way to winning a Super Bowl. Wilson is correct that every team struggles at some point. In 2013, Wilson’s Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl, but they had issues of their own. They finished the season 13-3, but they lost two of their last four games. What’s worse is that both those losses were to divisional opponents.
Despite that, the Seahawks still went on to win the Super Bowl. While the Steelers might not be as talented as that Seahawks team, the point still stands. These losses don’t have to define their season.
They do face an uphill battle Wednesday, having to play against the mighty Kansas City Chiefs. However, if they can reverse their fortunes and win that game, they’ll be back on track. That might be asking for a lot, but if the Steelers want to harvest a playoff victory this year, they’ll first need to weather the storm.
