For much of this season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the best teams in the NFL. However, many people were still skeptical they were as good as their record said they were. After losing their last three games, that take seems a little more justified. It doesn’t mean the Steelers are just a pushover, though. That isn’t stopping former NFL linebacker Bart Scott from continuing to doubt the Steelers.
“It’s been a mirage,” Scott said Friday on ESPN’s Get Up. “We’ve seen this story from the Steelers for the last couple of years. Mike Tomlin is one of the best coaches in all of football. He’s not gonna lose, and the team’s not gonna beat themselves, but in recent times, now that they have to step up to the varsity, you see Russell Wilson burping the baby.
“He’s been sacked 10 times in the last three games, which puts them in a place where their offense just isn’t equipped to be able to recover from. He’s had three interceptions and fumbles as well. That’s a bad recipe for success.”
It is true that the Steelers have been worse recently than they were for most of the year. That includes Wilson’s play taking a step back. At times, he’s flashed brilliance, but Scott is right. The sacks and turnovers have really limited the Steelers. Their offense seriously struggles to respond to errors.
The Steelers haven’t just had problems with their offense either. Their defense has arguably been more disappointing. While their offense had been up and down for a while, their defense was one of the best units in the NFL. That has not been the case during this losing streak.
Miscommunication and missed tackles have absolutely killed the Steelers’ defense. They’ve made mistakes uncharacteristic of such a veteran group. Players have expressed their frustrations too. They know they have too much talent to be playing this poorly.
With any luck, both sides of the ball will look improved Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals. If they don’t, they could end up limping into the playoffs with little confidence. Scott doesn’t seem to have much faith in them.
“We’ve seen this, the last four times Mike Tomlin has been in the postseason, he’s been one and done. I don’t see anything changing that, unless they get the Houston Texans in the playoffs,” Scott said.
Fans are aware of the Steelers’ lack of recent playoff success. It’s been a serious point of frustration, even if the Steelers shouldn’t have even been in the position to make the playoffs in the first place.
This year, there was a lot of optimism that the Steelers could change that. However, if they continue to play like they have, Scott will probably be right about them losing in the first round. The Texans have stumbled this year, which would give the Steelers a fighting chance, but not if they don’t get on the same page soon. They’ve been too good this year to just finish by putting up another dud in the postseason.
