The past month has not been kind to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’ve gone from clear favorites in the AFC North to now needing a win and some help from the Cleveland Browns in the last week of the season to win the division. The Steelers have had some clear issues exposed during their three-game skid. Many of those have involved QB Russell Wilson and the rest of his offense.
At this point, their losing streak has been talked to death. With one game remaining until Pittsburgh returns to the playoffs, the Steelers need to snap out of that mental space and focus on the task at hand. A win Saturday over the Cincinnati Bengals, who are on a four-game winning streak, could completely change the mood around the locker room. That’s something Pittsburgh badly needs before the postseason.
Russell Wilson is aware of that. He also thinks his team will bounce back as he told the media Wednesday after practice.
“That level of obsession, that level of focus, that level of communication, that level of response is everything,” Wilson said. “That’s what champions do. I think that if we wanna be champions, we gotta communicate that way, we gotta think that way, we gotta believe that way. We can’t blink. Champions don’t focus on the negative stuff. They fix it, they move on, they focus on what helps them win, and those are all things that we have in this locker room.”
Wilson says champions can’t blink in the face of pressure. During the last three games, the Steelers have essentially had their eyes held shut, let alone blinked.
However, a vibe is ever-changing. Things certainly can improve for the Steelers. Wilson’s been on teams that have overcome adversity, and he’s had postseason success in his career. That postseason success is something that has escaped the Steelers over the past decade. The franchise desperately wants to get back to its Super Bowl-contending form. That starts with Pittsburgh turning things around here as the season comes to an end.
At the end of the day, the Steelers could be in much worse of a spot. They’re still going to the postseason and could have a favorable matchup in the first round. They have a ton of veterans in their locker room who have gone through rough streaks like this before, Wilson included. They’ll need to rely on those veterans to turn things around, but it seems like the room is in the right headspace.
