Week 12 was not kind to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They lost to the Chicago Bears, and they watched as the Baltimore Ravens took the top spot in the AFC North. Luckily, they have a chance to retake first place in their division, but it’s not going to be easy. The Steelers’ remaining schedule looks difficult. Former NFL offensive lineman Mark Schlereth doesn’t believe that the Steelers will bounce back, though.
“I just feel like it’s over,” Schlereth said recently on his Stinkin’ Truth podcast. “They’re 6-5. They’re tied in the division with Baltimore, but Baltimore has reeled them in over the last four weeks. I’ve been a big carry-the-water, Aaron Rodgers can still throw it. But it looks tired… I think back to the end of my career, where you could have a game, for no rhyme or reason, you just felt really good.
“You come off that game, you didn’t have any significant injuries, but the next week, it just takes everything in your inner being to get yourself to Sunday. You could still play good football, but you still just don’t have the same juice in the tank… The offense looks tired.”
The Steelers’ season isn’t over yet, but it could be if they don’t turn things around soon. The AFC playoff race is tight. If the Steelers don’t win their division, they could easily find themselves outside of the playoffs.
Also, it’s hard to argue against Schlereth’s assessment of the Steelers’ offense. That unit has been rough, especially recently. Rodgers has had some solid performances with the Steelers, but he was awful against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10. The Steelers’ offense hasn’t really bounced back since then.
It had a middling performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have the league’s worst defense. Then, it sputtered against the Chicago Bears, not even being good enough to give Chris Boswell a chance to tie that game near the end.
Rodgers still isn’t healthy, either. He’s working his way back, but there’s been no confirmation that he’ll play this week. Without him, the Steelers’ offense could stumble again. That could spell disaster against the Buffalo Bills.
Even if the Steelers lose this week, though, their season still won’t be over. They still have to play the Ravens twice. If they can split that series or win both games, then that could be enough to push them into the postseason.
They’ll need to play better for that to happen, though. As it stands, the Steelers don’t look like a legitimate playoff threat. Just making the postseason isn’t their goal, either. They want to win a playoff game. The next few weeks will test them, but the Steelers have a chance to prove Schlereth wrong.
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