If you’re starting to have flashbacks to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ nightmarish end of the 2024 season, buckle up. Around this time last year, the vibes were high after a win to the Washington Commanders. But it wasn’t too many weeks later that the Steelers started their five-game losing skid. Could we be in for a repeat of the disastrous collapse after last night’s blowout loss to the Los Angeles Chargers?
“It feels like it’s gonna be the Baltimore Ravens because the Pittsburgh Steelers are gonna once again fall apart,” Chris Canty said Monday via ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike regarding who wins the AFC North. “I don’t even know if they make the playoffs this year. According to our FPI, they’re only favored in three of the final eight games, which would put them at 8-9. I don’t think that’s good enough to win the division, and it’s certainly not good enough to be a Wild Card team.”
The Steelers had a three-game lead with the rest of the division in free fall just a few weeks ago. Now they are 5-4 and just a game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens, who have won three straight. Pittsburgh has lost three of its last four, with a gauntlet of difficult games coming up. The Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens (twice), and Detroit Lions all remain on the schedule ahead.
Last year’s gauntlet at the end of the season resulted in a five-game losing streak to end the year, including the first-round exit in the playoffs. Things could actually get worse this year, the Steelers missing the playoffs altogether. The current AFC Wild Card field consists of the Bills, Chargers, and Chiefs. The Steelers just lost to the most vulnerable of that bunch, and it wasn’t particularly close.
It wouldn’t be accurate to say the Steelers went all-in on this season because they didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline. But they invested plenty in the offseason to make this the group to overcome the playoff-win drought. They brought in Aaron Rodgers, and traded Jonnu Smith, Jalen Ramsey, and DK Metcalf. Up until recently, Rodgers was playing fantastic, but he is starting to look every bit of the 42 he turns next month.
The Steelers aren’t in free fall yet, but the danger signs are flashing. With a brutal schedule ahead and Rodgers showing real signs of wear, Pittsburgh’s postseason hopes are suddenly on thin ice. At the moment, it’s hard to find a reason to believe the Steelers can turn it around.
“I don’t know that anybody in that building has the answers in order to change it,” Canty said.
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