The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost four games in a row, which doesn’t give them a lot of momentum heading into the postseason, where they’ll prepare to take on the Baltimore Ravens for the third time this season. Playing the Ravens should give Pittsburgh some confidence despite their recent struggles. Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger explained what he believes the Steelers mindset is heading into the postseason on the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast.
“I think the mindset is, not in there right now, but I would imagine the mindset is, it doesn’t matter what we’ve done,” Roethlisberger said. “We literally are going into this with a zero win, zero loss record, just like everyone else. And the other little mindset that I’d guess in the locker room that they’ve talked and probably thought about is we’re playing an opponent that we know, that up until one game this year, the last time we’ve played them, we’ve had their number. That’s gotta bring a little bit of confidence to the building, to the room down there on the South Side,” Roethlisberger said. “We’re about to play a divisional game, we know them, they know us, let’s go kick their butt.”
The Ravens are one of the NFL’s best teams, but Pittsburgh has had their number over the past few seasons. Before their last matchup in Week 16, the Steelers had won eight of nine games against the Ravens. That Week 16 game in Baltimore ended in the Ravens’ favor with a 34-17 win, but Pittsburgh had opportunities. Two turnovers by Russell Wilson, one pick-six, and a fumble inside the Ravens’ five-yard line killed any momentum that the Steelers had and allowed the Ravens to pull away with the win. The Ravens are also entering the playoffs as winners of four straight, so they and the Steelers enter on opposite paths.
But the fact that it’s a familiar opponent and a team the Steelers have already beaten once and game-planned for twice this season is one reason for just a little bit of confidence. In the playoffs, what you did before doesn’t really matter. While Mike Tomlin said he wants the Steelers to learn from their losing streak, the four straight losses won’t matter when Pittsburgh and Baltimore meet on Saturday. It’ll be about who’s better between the white lines. If the Steelers fall short again, it’ll be their fifth straight one-and-done playoff appearance, which would be quite an indictment on Tomlin, who hasn’t had a playoff win since 2016.
The Steelers haven’t even been particularly close to winning in their latest playoff appearances. With four straight losses, there isn’t much confidence in Pittsburgh putting up a fight against the Ravens. The team and coaching staff have to change the narrative around this team and around Pittsburgh’s recent playoff struggles. If they don’t, it’ll be a very long offseason. But while the Ravens are a tough opponent, Roethlisberger is right that the Steelers’ familiarity with them should be something that can be a rallying cry for the locker room and give the group some confidence.
