It’s a bitter pill to swallow when you have to admit that you are no longer worthy of the high pedestal you’ve placed yourself upon but that’s where the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves today. No team has more AFC North/Central Division titles than do the Steelers but that number isn’t likely to grow in 2015.
Barring an amazing turnaround, the Steelers will not be walking around the locker room wearing their “We run the North” t-shirts after today’s loss to the Bengals. The idea that the Steelers would ever celebrate anything less than Super Bowl wins is something I still find laughable but it is what it is.
The Bengals now hold a three and a half game lead over the Steelers who are their only viable threat left in the division with Baltimore and Cleveland both clinging to the cellar. Not only do they have that lead but they also hold the game advantage with a meeting in Cincinnati yet to come. Oh, and they have a better division and conference record as well.
The position the Steelers now find themselves in is not good. They have a much-improved Oakland team coming in and a loss to them could doom them as they are both fighting for wild-cards in the AFC.
If the Steelers can find any solace in their remaining eight games then I’d sure like to know where it is. Road games at Cincy, Baltimore and Cleveland await as does a trip to Seattle. One would think that Ben Roethlisberger should be significantly better next week than he was in his return to action today.
But the Steelers have problems beyond just the injury to Le’Veon Bell. Mike Tomlin continues to prove clock management is not his most endearing asset and the offensive line is another injury away from being a gigantic mess.
As dreary as things may be they can still get into the playoffs and once you get there any thing can happen. The Steelers can forget about running the North for 2015 and instead they can focus on just getting into the postseason and that won’t be easy as it is.
photo courtesy fansided.com
1 comment
You are correct Tomlin Has no clue how to milk a clock or run one down. He also doesn’t when and how to use a challenge flag. I would estimate over a season it costs us a couple games.