You know the situation. The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their next three games over a span of 10 days. There’s never a good time to play three football games inside of two weeks but towards the end of the season? That’s a real bitch if you ask me.
But then we have to consider the opponents. The Steelers will play two of the three on the road starting this Sunday in Philadelphia – a place they haven’t won since 1965. That’s followed by a short week trip for a Saturday game in Baltimore before having a really short week when they host Kansas City on Christmas Day.
That’s a combined record of 31-8 for those keeping score at home. It’s easily the most difficult three-game stretch of the season for the Black and Gold and maybe for any team in the entire league. There are things to be gained and things to be lost over the next two weeks.
What’s to be Gained?
The easy answer is that winning all three propels them immediately to the top of the AFC and in the discussion of ‘best team in the league.’ It goes much further than that of course.
Winning all three or even two of three still puts the Steelers in that upper tier of top teams. The question of how those wins occur would be very fair to ask. Are they defensive battles won largely on the foot of Chris Boswell? That would suggest the defense is prepared for the postseason but questions about the offense would arise. Winning a couple of shootouts would suggest just the opposite. The offense would be Super Bowl caliber but questions about the defense would suddenly be everywhere.
The biggest and perhaps most important thing to be gained from a good stretch over the next three games is confidence. Regardless of who they were to beat in this span, it would send a message that the Steelers can play with and beat anyone. That’s always good heading into the postseason.
What’s to be Lost?
Sadly, this is much easier to answer. Losing all three or two of three would leave the Steelers with a reputation they’ve been unable to shake over the last eight seasons. “They’re a good team, but they just can’t get over the hump.” This label would be more than fair and it would also send shivers down the spine of the fan base.
No playoff wins since the 2016 season hasn’t sat well with Steeler Nation and it certainly doesn’t sit well with Mike Tomlin either. The fact of the matter is that should the Steelers get into the postseason, the confidence level would be ‘mid’ at best. Were they to go on the road to Buffalo? Or Kansas City? or Baltimore? The fan base would suffer from PTSD on the same level as psychiatric hospital patients.
Clearly the best thing to do is wait and see how each game unfolds. This team – barring some ridiculous and unforeseen disaster – will be in the postseason. Do they go in as a favorite or do they go in as we’ve seen too often in recent years which is ‘one and done.’
The next three games will tell us everything we need to know about the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers.
