Steelers are a mess and it's a poor reflection on coaching staff, front office

With their 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, combined with the Baltimore Ravens' win over the New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers have officially let a three-and-a-half game lead in the AFC North slip away. They now find themselves in a tie for top spot, with the Ravens getting the temporary edge on tiebreaker. 

That means the Steelers are currently on the outside of the AFC playoff picture for the first time this season. 

There are still six games remaining, and the two teams play each other two times, so there is a lot that can happen over the remainder of the season. But given the way things are going for the Steelers right now, there is absolutely nothing to suggest they are capable of getting back on track. At least without some sort of major change. 

Basically, everything right now is a mess. It is all a poor reflection on the coaching staff and the front office that built the roster.

Steelers have issues at every level of roster

It's hard to pinpoint any one area where the Steelers are most flawed, because it's everywhere.

The defense has badly underachieved and underperformed given the resources and money that has been invested in it. They allowed Caleb Williams to carve them up on Sunday to the tune of 239 yards and three touchdowns. The only time they hit him on a drop-back was a strip-sack fumble in the second quarter. And that was with the Bears starting a backup left tackle. 

For the season, they rank near the bottom of the league in total yards against and passing yards against. Everything they do on defense is dependent on forcing turnovers. When they do not, they can not stop anybody.

On offense, the lack of a viable No. 2 wide receiver, something that has been an issue for multiple seasons now with no relief, has allowed teams to focus everything on DK Metcalf and essentially take him away every week.

But the biggest issue with the offense, which has been showing itself more and more in recent weeks, is their unwillingness to form an identity and play to their strengths. As the running game has progressively improved each week, the passing game has been increasingly less effective whether it's been Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph playing quarterback. Despite this, they have consistently abandoned the running game in situations where it would have made sense to keep with it.

They did it a few weeks ago in the second half against the Green Bay Packers. It played a pivotal role in a second half meltdown. They did again against the Los Angeles Chargers. It happened again on Sunday against the Bears. 

Rudolph, getting the start for an injured Rodgers, was unable to hit any downfield passes and turned the football over two teams, leading to 14 Bears points in what eventually be a three-point loss. The more they try to pass, the worse they play.

But it's not just play-calling and identity. It's also about mindset and details. 

Post-whistle penalties and pre-snap penalties have added up. On Sunday they had a chance to have a first down at mid-field with two minutes to play in a three-point game after Rudolph scrambled for 25 yards. It was called back because the Steelers were not lined up properly. They punted, and never got themselves into field-goal range for Chris Boswell to try and tie the game.

Offense that does not know what it wants to be. Underachieving defense. Lack of attention to detail in big moments. Flawed roster. It is currently an organizational wide failure that is wasting what could have been a prime opportunity in a wide open division and conference.