The Pittsburgh Steelers had the looks of a team with Super Bowl aspirations just three weeks ago. In the three weeks since, the Steelers have suffered, what has the looks of, a colossal meltdown in the home stretch of the regular season. Falling to the Broncos, Chargers, and Raiders; things aren’t looking well for the AFC North leader anymore.
Steelers vs Broncos
Something the last three games for the Steelers have in common, they basically gave the game to their opponents. Pittsburgh took the momentum going into the half with a fake field goal touchdown pass from Chris Boswell to Alejandro Villanueva to knot the game at ten a piece. Then early in the third quarter, Ben Roethlisberger threw a 97-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster to take the lead. Everyone expected the Steelers to pull away after such a momentum shift. However, that would be the last time the Steelers score, losing 24-17.
Steelers vs Chargers
If you love blown leads and comeback wins, this was the game for you. Pittsburgh came out strong just like they said they would, and led at the half 23-7. Once again, Pittsburgh proved that they aren’t a second half team and scored only once throughout the rest of the game. Pittsburgh’s defense has been abysmal all year, and this game was no different. However, the offense could’ve put this game out of reach by themselves, but that’s simply not how it went.
Steelers vs Raiders
This was the perfect game for the Steelers defense to gain some confidence heading into some tough games the next two weeks. Sadly, the exact opposite of that happened. The Steelers were in a tight game at the half, leading 14-10. Pittsburgh then showed all the wrong consistency by scoring only once in the second half AGAIN. The last three, second halves of football, they’ve managed to score just THREE TIMES. In four games they’ve lost this year and the tie to the Browns, it’s been the same story line, no scoring in the second half and terrible finishing. If this team knew how to finish a game, they could very easily be 12-1 this year.
What’s Next?
What’s next is a play-date with the Patriots and Saints the next two weeks. The Steelers need to pull off at least one of these next two games to give themselves the opportunity to clinch the AFC North. The week after the Saints come the Bengals in the regular season finale. The Steel City should be able to handle the Bengals rather easily without Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. However, the Ravens and Browns are breathing right down their necks for the top spot in the division.
