After the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the AFC North looks much different. The Steelers had a chance to bury their division foes and give themselves a massive advantage, but they failed to do so. Heading into a much tougher stretch of the schedule, their biggest media critic said that their problems are just starting.
“And you know what’s embarrassing?” Jason McIntyre said Friday on FS1’s The Herd. “The Pittsburgh Steelers fans, you were all excited about that 4-1 start, and then you look at the upcoming schedule. They’re probably going to lose their next three. And all of a sudden going to be 4-5. And then let’s see how Aaron Rodgers and Arthur Smith are doing on the sidelines, and what’s going on with [Mike] Tomlin. I think there’s some trouble ahead for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
The Arthur Smith-Aaron Rodgers angle McIntyre talks up is such a dead talking point. There are no issues between the two, and honestly the offense shouldn’t have anything to be upset about. The Steelers blocked well for the most part, ran the ball well and certainly threw the ball well. They’ll be unhappy with the loss, but Rodgers and Smith don’t have much to be upset with themselves about, aside from two freaky intercepted passes.
McIntyre is correct that the Steelers’ schedule gets much tougher in the next few weeks. The Steelers return home to play Green Bay on Sunday night next week. Then they host the Colts before hitting the road to play the Chargers on another Sunday night game. Then they come back home and play the Bengals again.
Given the state of the division, the loss in Cincinnati came at a brutal time. The Steelers could have been three wins ahead of everyone else. Now they’re just one ahead of Cincinnati in the win column, and the Bengals a much easier upcoming schedule with the Jets and Bears. There’s a legitimate chance the Week 11 matchup could vault the Bengals into first place if they keep winning and the Steelers drop a game or two.
Looking at the rest of the Steelers’ schedule, it’s really hard to start penciling in games they can win. They play the Packers, Colts, Chargers, Bengals, Bears, Bills, Dolphins, Lions, Browns and the Ravens twice. Only the Dolphins and Browns games can we really predict as wins. The Ravens will have Lamar Jackson back, and every other team on that list is a playoff contender.
This was a crucial game to get, and the Steelers were nowhere near up to the task. Now, as the schedule gets much harder, they’ve got no choice but to rally and rattle off some wins.
