On Sunday morning, the Steelers were 7-4. They played two home games, just four days apart, against teams that entered with the same record of 2 wins and 10 losses.
And the Steelers lost both games.
As noted on Amazon’s postgame show, the Steelers became the first team in league history with a record above .500 to lose at least eight consecutive games to a team below .500. Opportunities to accomplish such a feat definitely don’t come along often, but the Steelers found a way to accomplish it.
What makes the history-making losses even more surprising is the fact that both occurred in Pittsburgh.
The full impact will not be known until the next four games are played. Maybe they can turn it around and make it to the postseason. Or maybe he’s mentally broken after taking a clear shot to go 9-4. Instead, they’re 7-6, their starting quarterback still injured, and they find themselves among a bunch of teams competing for three wild-card spots in a wide-open AFC.
They will play the Colts, Bengals, Seahawks and Ravens to finish the season. They have proven under longtime coach Mike Tomlin that they can find a way to fight through any adversity, or at least come out victorious. Maybe they’ll do it again and win two of the last four. They can probably make the playoffs even with 9 wins and 8 losses.
Or maybe the events of Sunday and Thursday prove that the magic is gone and you won’t be able to get it back within the next month. They have a few more days to prepare for their visit to Indy. The Colts, like every other team the Steelers play, will be playing for something — like the Ravens did in 2019, if they somehow secure the No. 1 seed by Week 17. Unless you put the starter on the bench for the final game.
Either way, the team’s back-to-back home losses in the midst of a lost season doesn’t exactly inspire optimism in Pittsburgh. That’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a battle. And if the last two games are to mean anything, it could very well be an ugly, stinking mess.