It’s almost silly to even think this, let alone type out these words, but as the Pittsburgh Steelers enter their Week 14 contest against the hated Baltimore Ravens, playing with hope that making the NFL’s postseason tournament is possible.
Not only possible, but given the team’s turnaround since the bye week, plausible. And with each win and subsequent loss by those ahead of the Steelers, possible, albeit a very small one. The simple truth to it is this. A loss Sunday to the Ravens will kill any hopes of playing meaningful football in January.
One can argue all they want about how things may have turned out IF TJ Watt doesn’t suffer that torn pectoral muscle in the season opening OT win at Cincinnati. You can lament all you want about the second half collapse to the New York Jets, or bore me to death over the punchless offense on display against the New England Patriots the week prior. Both came at home. Both winnable games.
But the pendulum didn’t swing that way, did it? The offense was so anemic at that point, accounting for a measly 243 yards of total offense, while only running 22 second half plays. I know Bill Belichick is a defensive genius and all, but the Patriots could have trotted out Rod Rust and devised a plan to win that day. And that’s saying a lot!
Sitting at 1-2 after a Thursday night loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers were fortunate enough to have the lowly J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets on deck. Nothing says bounce back win like seeing the not-so mean green on your schedule. And of course, the Steelers came out flat again offensively, prompting head coach Mike Tomlin to switch his QB’s from Mitch Trubisky to Kenny Pickett. At first, the move proved to be genius, as Pickett lead the club to a pair of touchdown drives and a 10-point lead with 13:36 to play.
Nobody has ever accused Zach Wilson as being the next Joe Namath. Well, he sure played like him as Wilson led scoring drives of 11 and 10 plays, both ending in touchdowns, the last coming with just :16 seconds to go.
Ouch.
Both of those losses are very costly, as each team holds tiebreakers against the Steelers, meaning if they are tied at the end of the year with the same record and a playoff spot hangs in the balance, the Steelers will be left out.
Yeah. That would suck.
Now that the ugly part of the equation has been dealt with, let’s focus on what’s ahead. First up, the hated Ravens. The good news about Sunday is two-fold. For one, the game is at home. Now this has not been a very stellar season at the stadium not to be named for the club, who sit just 2-3 this season. Despite that, the other part of the good news is Lamar Jackson may not play due to an injury suffered at the end of the 1st quarter Sunday vs the Denver Broncos. Since 2018, Jackson, nor his backups have fared well against the Steelers, going just 3-5 and have lost the last four straight to the Steelers. That trend must continue Sunday.
Not to look too far ahead, but a trip to the Carolina Panthers awaits the Steelers, followed by a home game vs the Las Vegas Raiders, a team that beat Pittsburgh last season at the confluence, and winners of 4 in the last 5 of the series. There is literally zero room for error in this schedule. Any loss, especially to an AFC team and this club can kiss any playoff hopes goodbye. When you have five teams ahead of you, three of which own tiebreakers, it’s bleak to even consider.
But consider it, we shall.
If you look at the strength-of-schedule for each of the five teams ahead of the Steelers, (Jets, Patriots, Raiders, Browns and Chargers) the black-n-gold have an advantage. The Jets and Pats have to face Buffalo and Miami each as the AFC East has been a dogfight since the start of 2022. Los Angeles hosts Miami on Sunday night, then entertains Tennessee the following week and finishes at Denver. Not easy at all. So there is some light creeping through the playoff spectrum for fans of the Steelers.
I’m not placing any wager on the Steelers making the NFL playoffs. But crazier things have happened. Perhaps we are in store for another race to the finish line on such a wild ride.
So Steelers fans, what’s the real percentage you give of the men of steel making the playoffs?
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