Once upon a time, the Pittsburgh Steelers were 4-1 and controlled their destiny in the AFC North. They held a 4-1 record, and their closest threat in the division was Cincinnati, with the Baltimore Ravens at 1-5.
But since that fifth loss, the Ravens have won five straight games. And the Steelers have won just two of six in that span. Now, each team has a 6-5 record, but the Ravens have the tiebreaker via a better AFC North winning percentage. Yet according to Mason Rudolph, the Steelers aren’t panicking.
“There’s never been panic here. We’ve been Pittsburgh Steelers long enough to know, we’ve been behind, down in the division, and up. It’s a natural ebb and flow of the season. I’m very confident in our guys to keep fighting and end up on top,” Rudolph said Sunday after the Steelers’ 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears via the Steelers’ YouTube channel.
Rudolph was the starter for a Steelers team that nearly came away with a comeback win on Sunday. After leading by a touchdown early, the Steelers fell behind 31-21 and had to climb out of a hole. They nearly did, scoring a touchdown to make it a three-point game, and then forcing a stop to get the ball back late. But Rudolph couldn’t get his offense close enough for Chris Boswell to attempt a game-tying field goal.
Now, the Week 14 matchup for the Steelers against the Ravens becomes even more pivotal. Their win over the Jets propels them into first place in the AFC North. They hold that spot via the divisional record tiebreaker for now. If either team sweeps the other, that will take precedence, but for now it’s the divisional record that matters most.
Technically, the Steelers control their own destiny as two wins over the Ravens guarantees them a critical tiebreaker. But given their current skid it’s hard to feel a lot of confidence in the Steelers right now. Starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers is injured and didn’t look especially good the last few games he was healthy. And the Bears’ 31-point effort Sunday was one of far too many 30-point games the defense has allowed this year.
It’s good not to panic, but this is starting to look like the same story all over again. Last year the Steelers had a multiple-game lead in the division halfway through the year and allowed the Ravens to win it on the final week. Now, the Steelers are in danger of that happening one again. And with tough matchups against Buffalo and Detroit as well, the AFC North race may not even make it to the final week.
The Steelers still have chances to rectify their wrongs here. But the two games against the Ravens now become the most important remaining ones on the schedule, if they weren’t already.
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