Steelers’ playoff chances go from bad to worse following a collapse in AFC North standings that could be hard to overcome
The hits keep coming for the Steelers.
There was once a time when the Steelers were 4-1 and in the driver’s seat atop the AFC North with a chance to run away with the division. The Cincinnati Bengals had lost Joe Burrow, and as we saw last week, they haven’t been very competitive without him.
The Cleveland Browns are, well, the Browns, and that means the only real threat was the Baltimore Ravens. Well, it feels like forever ago, but the Ravens were once 1-5. After Sunday’s win over the New York Jets, they are now 6-5.
It’s not only a five-game win streak and a winning record, but it’s also first place in the AFC North and dwindling playoff chances for the Steelers that Baltimore can celebrate after Sunday.
Steelers’ playoff percentages drop after loss to Bears
The Steelers’ playoff chances sat at 39 percent last week. Following the loss on Sunday, they have dropped to 26 percent, per NFL.com. They have fallen from the fourth seed and a division leader to out of the playoff picture entirely as the eighth seed.
As for Baltimore, they catapulted from 10th to fourth, and they are sitting pretty with an 81 percent chance at making the playoffs. And while the Steelers players may have downplayed that fact, you could tell by the tone of many in the locker room that Pittsburgh is feeling the pressure.
“The margin for error is slim every week,” said T.J. Watt after the game via the Steelers YouTube channel. “It’s the National Football League. We have a lot of things that need to be fixed, and they need to be fixed quickly. [We need to be playing] our best football at this stretch of the season, and we need to get better and get better quick.”
In the micro, the loss to the Bears raised many similar concerns for the Steelers. The inability to throw over the middle of the field, the stagnant coverages on the backend, the lack of explosiveness in the passing game, it all reared its ugly head on Sunday, but there is still time to turn it all around.
“We’ve got some good teams coming up. That’s gonna show us where we’re at. We’re gonna prove to the world who we are, or we’re gonna fold,” said Patrick Queen after the game via Brendan Howe on X (Twitter).
“That’s the mindset. I know me. … I like to compete at the highest level, regardless of who’s on the field. So these type of games, that’s how people get known That’s how you make a run, go deep in the year, so we’ve just gotta come to work and be ready and come after it.”
We’ll see how the Steelers respond against the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving weekend.
Pittsburgh Steelers News
Steelers lost more than the game against the Bears following an injury that will only magnify the issues in Chicago
A bad afternoon overall for Pittsburgh.
