A home-hosted meaningful matchup against division rivals Cincinnati Bengals while already holding a golden ticket to Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory?
What’s with the long faces, Steelers Nation?
With a win against the 8-8 Bengals, Pittsburgh will enter the playoffs with an 11-6 record and carrying at least a few puffs of wind in their sails.
Heck. If the Cleveland Browns do what they’ve already done this season and defeat the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers will be the AFC North Champions and start the playoffs hosting a guest in the Steel City.
This means there is at least a reasonable chance today will provide the Steelers with an exquisitely wonderful kickoff to 2025.
Even if they lose against the Bengals, the Steelers will still be in it to win it.
Still, we understand those grumbles and moans.
After all, the Steelers not only lost three games in a row to what looked to be genuine playoff contenders, they were completely walloped.
If they fail to weld the steel in their faltering beams against Cincinnati, they will not only lose, but they will have lost what little remains of their confidence heading into the winners’ brackets portion of the NFL season.
That means whomever they face, they will be there only to serve as the Washington Generals to everyone else’s Harlem Globetrotters.
This Cincinnati game is the postseason audition for the Steelers. They will regain their shine, or it’s curtain calls this year other than a brief stop at a foreign stadium to collect their t-shirts and paychecks before heading off to the Bahamas with the family.
In some ways, the Steelers have more on the line than even the Bengals do. Cincinnati doesn’t even automatically get in the playoffs if they win, and their victory has a strong chance of echoing into emptiness anyway.
For Pittsburgh, the salvaging of an entire season is on the line. There is no way they’ll be able to crawl back up from the mat if they lose against yet another quality opponent.
Make no mistake. The Bengals are no easy out. They arrive on the coattails of a four-game winning streak, potentially having the most potent offense in the NFL, and their defense is on the rise.
Is there another rabbit for Coach Mike Tomlin to pull out of his hat, or is it, as the famous poet Steven Tyler once said, “The rabbit done died?” To find out, let’s give it a Spin.
All The Fixin’s
The Steelers’ problems experienced during their three-game skid are completely resolvable.
All they need to do is clean up defense communications, get Joey Porter Jr. to commit fewer than six penalties in a game, and remember how to stop the run.
Oh yes…they also need to get luckier in recovering opponent’s turnovers, try not to leave future Hall of Fame tight ends completely open in end zones, and they must avoid giving up big returns on special teams,
On offense, they merely need the offensive line to clear out larger holes and have Najee Harris discover them once they open. Then, of course, they need to figure out how to get Russell Wilson back in the kitchen again.
No problemo, right?
Except this is not the first preseason game of the season. It’s Week 18, and there haven’t been this many fixings required since Thanksgiving Dinner.
There is a lot broken right now on this team. Losing will do that, as will playing against teams that are playing as well as good teams should be playing at this time of the season.
If the Steelers coaching staff can’t somehow make the duct tape and bailing wire work against Cincinnati, it seems like the team will be broken beyond repair for this season.
Would we really want to watch them face the Baltimore Ravens again in the playoffs as we roll into their stadium with a blown head gasket and four wheels wobbling?
Even the world’s greatest fans have their limits.
So don’t fault me, and millions of my friends, as we watch this game with our arms folded, leaning back, and saying, “Entertain me…I dare you.”
Curious George
George Pickens can’t seem to stay out of the headlines. You start to believe he enjoys basking in the glow. Although he made a nice sideline catch, you couldn’t argue that he radically improved the Steelers’ offense on Christmas Day when they faced the back-to-back champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Discussions are already occurring (as is the case with teams on losing streaks) regarding whether the Steelers would be wise to sign him to a longer-term deal in the offseason or trade him for as much value as possible.
Based on Pickens’ after-game photobombing of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, he might already be pitching for a trade. If the Steelers lose today and he’s seen after the game in a bro hug and taking selfies with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, then the message will be even clearer.
It looks like yet another classic case of the Steelers’ front office’s inclination to draft great wide-receiving talents…who aren’t Steelers.
When I think of past Steelers, where we got it right and then did it wrong, I think of Emmanuel Sanders.
He was the “unwanted brother” of the “Young Money Crew, ” which included Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown.
He, indeed, was the least flashy of the three, and no one could argue Antonio Brown’s greatness in the earlier stages of his career.
Yet, in retrospect, Sanders best fit the mold of what the Steelers should be seeking out again in the future. He was an incredibly disciplined and speedy route runner who ran every route as if it mattered—because it did, and it does.
That’s one of the larger issues with Pickens. Yes, he can make spectacular catches. But what does he do when the ball is not even designed to come his way?
As they say in international football (y’all call it soccer), great players know how to play “off the ball”.
The importance and the precision required on the route remain supreme for the entire clockwork to be on time.
Modern offenses don’t function unless all 11 players are involved. The defenses are too big, strong, and fast.
When you see elite offenses like those of Andy Reid perform, they get players wide open because 11 players are doing their part on every play, perfectly in synch.
You still need your superstars. The act of getting separation in the NFL requires elite talent. You can’t have slow-twitchy players who can’t get open, even if they always show up on time to the coaches’ meetings.
Yet, there are players who have the speed, discipline, and commitment to the team to make an offense click…not just sputter, mostly with an occasional splashy play.
The Steelers’ concept of receiving needs to go into receivership.
Most Valuable Player
The Steelers’ defense has been spitting out teeth for several weeks now, and their shaky legs are more responsible for the team’s inability to rise to the competition than anything else.
The porousness of the secondary has been primarily to blame, but the lack of a consistent pass rush and the team’s inability to stop the run in the back half of games have also contributed largely.
Perhaps the greatest number of fingers of blame have been pointing toward Minkah Fitzpatrick, who, prior to this season, was clearly considered among the team’s finest players.
Certainly, like his head coach, he’s well compensated. So, when he’s not making the big plays you would expect for the big bucks he’s being paid, it’s understandable he ends up under a big microscope. That comes with the weight of the paycheck in the NFL.
Why isn’t he producing turnovers at the rate he did in his younger days? Is he losing a step? Is he losing interest? Has he lost his way?
Today, none of that matters.
Because there will be no more important player on the field than Fitzpatrick…at least wearing a home jersey.
Forget about him closing gaps in the run lanes. Forget about him making big plays.
What matters is how well he covers for his defenders.
Because with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins catching balls from one of the NFL’s most precise arms, Fitzpatrick’s role will be more significant than it has been any time this year. Especially with the Bengals’ weapons firing so beautifully this time of the year.
If Fitzpatrick can make this one game his best, he could make many frustrated fans forget about the rest of his year.
If Minkah’s game can’t be elevated to its highest place this year…this could be a long, long, dark day.
Lining Up
It’s time to admit this offensive line hasn’t and probably won’t reach the heights we had hoped for this year. There are reasons for this. There were many injuries, perhaps none more disappointing than dynamic rookie tackle Troy Fautanu.
Certainly, the future is showing some brightness when you consider the addition of rookies like center Zach Frazier in particular, and to a lesser extent, guard Mason McCormick, who surprised me coming from South Dakota State.
Still, there is a reason why no single member of this year’s offensive line will be awarded All-Pro status this season. In fact, there isn’t a single Pro Bowler on the line.
Compare this with the team’s 2006 line, which included LT Marvel Smith, LG Alan Faneca, C Jeff Hartings, RG Kendall Simmons, and LT Max Starks.
Or in 2014, when they had LT Kelvin Beachum, LG Ramon Foster, C Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and RT Marcus Gilbert.
Those line squads had decent runs of years with each other, so these weren’t isolated years of strength.
So, if you’re wondering why the Steelers can’t merely line up and bowl over opponents or hold open a pocket long enough for their quarterback to get a pedicure, it’s because this line is still under construction.
Those construction signs might be up for a while, with LT Dan Moore Jr. probably moving on next year and Broderick Jones still trying to get over his sophomore jinx.
Sadly…neither Rome nor offensive lines are built in a day.
Not Switching Places
There is some logic to the idea that one would rather be wearing the Bengals’ shoes than the Steelers’ tattered cleats coming into this showdown.
The Steelers have lost three in a row, each by a country mile, and are entering this game with more questions than the Riddler at a game of Jeopardy.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati, which was long considered dead and dusted weeks ago, is experiencing a remarkable surge and will enter Allegheny County aided by strong tailwinds.
The Bengals are favored to win by two points, which I suppose means they are expected to win by a safety in the waning moments.
Frankly, I find that unlikely and give much better odds that the Steelers’ defense will chase Chase all day and lose 49-14.
Still, I wouldn’t switch places with the Bengals. They may be arriving with momentum, but they also come with their tails between their legs.
Not only do they need to win, but they must poke needles into the Voodoo Dolls of other teams, hoping they lose as well.
That kind of beggary is a terrible way to get a ticket to the dance. The Steelers know this firsthand and of recent memory.
So, whatever you say about how the Steelers are closing out their season like a spent horse in need of the veterinary ambulance, there is something you can’t deny them.
That’s respect for earning their way into the playoffs through the front door this season. That should be sufficient for all of us to support them wholeheartedly as we finish out the year.
That might take a lot of heart.
Regardless. Go Steelers!
