The Pittsburgh Steelers know their problems. They have scores of them. Mired in another three-game losing streak, the list of things that aren’t broken are much shorter than what’s working. Despite the team’s weekly calls to action, fix this or address that, nothing’s gotten better. If anything, it’s gotten worse.
No question, the Steelers had a tough stretch of games. Three games, 11 days at this point of the season isn’t easy. But they rowed the same boat as the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, teams dealing with an identical slate. Those teams went 3-0 beating playoff opponents in Houston and Pittsburgh along the way. The Philadelphia Eagles are 1-1 heading into their weekend game, dispatching Pittsburgh with ease before losing a heartbreaker to the Washington Commanders, a close loss they likely win had QB Jalen Hurts not gotten hurt. If they take care of Dallas, they’ll finish the stretch 2-1 and be happy with that outcome.
The Steelers were dominated. You can argue they played the toughest schedule of them all, you’d have a good point, but Pittsburgh was utterly uncompetitive. Winning any one of these three games would’ve at least been proof of what the team can do. Perhaps the schedule could’ve hand waved away the other two losses. Against the Eagles and Ravens, the Steelers were outmuscled at the line of scrimmage. Against the Chiefs, they were out-schemed and outmatched by Kansas City’s coaching staff.
Faster starts. Win on first down. Finish drives. Take care of the ball. Take away the ball. Tighten up in the red zone. Improve communication.
Points of emphasis players and coaches have made over the past three weeks. None of it has shown on the tape. Pittsburgh was outscored 30-3 in the first quarter of these three losses. The Steelers made some first-down strides but lacked fluidity and have been miserable overall for the season, last in the league entering Week 17. Over the past three games, they’ve had more turnovers (five) than red-zone touchdowns (four, 50 percent). Takeaways have dried up, one in the past two weeks. Red-zone defense is abysmal, 66.7 percent against Philly, Baltimore, and Kansas City (excluding the Eagles’ final drive where they simply ran out the clock). Communication can’t be quantified but the results are obvious. They’ve shown in player frustration.
It all sounds good in a press conference. It looks anything but on the field.
Injuries and a tough schedule are excuses that can only be used as a crutch for so long. Often by bad teams looking for an easy explanation. Good teams overcome. The Chiefs won at Acrisure Stadium without their best defensive player, DT Chris Jones. Dallas won in Pittsburgh early this year without EDGE Micah Parsons. The Colts upset the Steelers despite losing their starting quarterback in the first half.
I wrote earlier this week that playoffs define Pittsburgh. I stand by that. They’re in the dance. A Wild Card win is difficult to imagine but would feel great to witness, even if it’s far from the ultimate goal. But the Steelers are showing the Super Bowl contender waters they swam in on talk radio and podcasts earlier this year were Fool’s gold.
The Steelers are doing what contenders don’t. They’re fading at the end. Limping to the finish line. In the December and January regular season of their last three Super Bowl appearances, they went a combined 11-3. In their playoff drought era, 2017 to present, they’re only 24-19 over the same part of the calendar, including a nearly .500 19-18 in the month of December. This is not a team often playing its best by season’s end. Clearly, 2024 is more of the same.
Turnarounds can happen. Often quickly. It might do this team some good to get away for the weekend, catch its collective breath, and try to reset. That alone doesn’t magically solve things but it’s a start. Followed by settling into routine, getting back to a regular practice schedule, and putting in the work. But the talk doesn’t matter.
Their actions haven’t met their words. All that matters is fixing things. Mike Tomlin remains confident, he always is, but the Steelers will have to show it on the field before anyone else believes them.
