Steelers Season On Life Support, But Not Dead

Big Ben Was Fighting For His Life vs the Chargers D

The Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the worst losses that I have seen them have at HOME in a long time.  The Steelers, who are normally near automatic at Heinz Field, showed some kinks in their armour, and ones that can become glaring weaknesses if not fixed in the near future.  The venom that was being tossed around on Twitter, Facebook, and other media outlets after the Chargers 34-24 dismantling of the Steelers was well deserved, but not necessarily accurate.  The Steelers played a poor game from the start of the game until the final whistle, but it didn't make things any better when the game finishes and the Steelers see the Ravens AND the Bengals lose. 

The Steelers are a team that has played to their competition all year.  What does that mean?  The Steelers beat the good teams (Ravens and Giants) and struggle with the games that almost everyone thinks they can dominate (Raiders, Chiefs, Browns, Titans, and now the Chargers).  If you ask me, this is one of the reasons why if the Steelers are fortunate enough to get into the playoffs, I still feel they can be a dangerous team.  The "lack of concentration / focus" displayed by the team reflects poorly on the coaching staff and the team itself, but although many people are declaring the Steelers finished, done, and dead...their season is still alive.  Possibly on life support, but it is still alive.

The Steelers were given a gift that they couldn't cash in on, but the gift they were given was two-fold.  Let me explain the silver lining to this cloud the Steelers are in currently.  Sure, the gift was given to them from the Ravens and Bengals both losing, but the flip side of that would be that if the Bengals would have won their game vs the Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers would have been behind them in the standings, and under the "gun" to win the remaining games on their schedule.  The Steelers' loss was disturbing...no doubt about it; however, NOTHING went their way.  Every return with decent field position was called back by penalties, the Chargers score a TD and 12 seconds later a forward pass thrown to Antonio Brown was ruled a lateral and the Chargers score a defensive TD.  To rub more salt in the wound, after the Steelers score a TD in 2:50, the defense holds the Chargers to a 3 and out...or so everyone thought.  Turns out the Chargers ran a fake punt, got the first down, and essentially iced the remainder of the clock making the comeback out of the Steelers' reach.

I was plenty angry after the game, but the losses by the Ravens and Bengals make this loss meaningless.  Sure, it was an opportunity missed and the team didn't play well, but in the grand scheme of things the Steelers are standing in the same position as they were a week ago at this time...2 games behind the Ravens and tied with the Bengals for the 6th Wild Card spot in the AFC Playoffs.  The Steelers STILL (even after going 1-3 in the AFC West and losing to 4 teams with losing records) control their own destiny.  If they win their final 3 games (especially the game vs the Bengals in 2 weeks) they are in the playoffs, and nothing else really matters than just getting invited to the "dance".  If the Steelers make the postseason, everyone is 0-0 and history has shown us that it is the hottest team that has proven to win the Superbowl.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is your "silver lining" to the cloud the Steelers find themselves trapped in currently.