Things were already looking a bit questionable for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their recent string of games, but now after a blowout loss on Sunday Night Football to the Los Angeles Chargers, things have gone from bad to worse.
Sure, the Steelers picked up a huge win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9 and were starting to feel better about themselves. But a tough road trip to the West Coast and an ugly loss to the Chargers has the Steelers taking one step forward and two steps back, seemingly.
The Baltimore Ravens are hot on their heels in the AFC North, and the playoff picture for the Black and Gold is narrowing.
For ESPN’s Seth Walder, the Steelers find themselves in the “on fringe of hope and despair” tier in the playoff picture as their odds of making the playoffs, winning the division and even making the Super Bowl continue to dwindle.
“The Aaron Rodgers experiment is probably going a little better than the Steelers could have reasonably hoped, and they’re in a solid position in the standings even with their defense underperforming,” Walder writes of the Steelers in his Tier 6 of the playoff picture. “Pittsburgh can make the postseason, but it’ll need more defense than it got in the first half of the season, and more offense than it got in Sunday night’s loss to the Chargers.”
After the loss to the Chargers, the Steelers’ chance to make the playoffs is 41.2%. Winning the division sits at 32.7%, while chances to make the Super Bowl sits is just 2.7%. Just a few weeks ago, the Steelers appeared in control of the AFC North and were playing good football on both sides of the ball.
Now, the wheels seem ready to come off, particularly on offense.
The Steelers didn’t convert a third-down opportunity against the Chargers until late in the second half. They couldn’t protect quarterback Aaron Rodgers, allowing him to get hit far too often. Quick pressure disrupted timing plays, too. Guys weren’t getting open quickly, either.
It led to Rodgers’ worst performance as a Steeler, and one of the worst of his illustrious career.
The defense had some decent moments against the Chargers but wore down late. That’s been the story too often for the defense. Now, the road is narrowing, and the path looks much more challenging just to get to the playoffs. The Steelers still have relatively good playoff odds, but the division seems to be getting harder and harder to win.
Fortunately, Pittsburgh still has two matchups with the Baltimore Ravens and can course correct in Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium.
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