Just under a week ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers were sitting pretty in the AFC standings. They had a record of 7-4 and were the No. 1 Wild Card team with a chance to still catch the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North.
They were going to have all of their defensive stars on the field together for basically the first time this season against the Arizona Cardinals. The offense looked reinvigorated and productive in Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the first without Matt Canada as they outgained their opponent for the first time.
The schedulemakers seem to give the Steelers a late-season gift. In Week 13, they were hosting the Cardinals, who are already turning an eye toward 2024. They would be on a short week for their game in Week 14, playing on Thursday Night Football against the New England Patriots, but that game would also be at Acrisure Stadium.
NFL News & Rumors: Mike Tomlin, New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers Updates
There were talks of the Steelers potentially being a Super Bowl dark horse, especially if the offense could keep improving in the coming weeks. Now, that Super Bowl talk has disappeared, as the Steelers will be lucky to make the postseason at this point.
Heavy favorites in both games, Pittsburgh came out as flat as can be and squandered two excellent opportunities to beef up their record. They lost 24-10 to the Cardinals while also seeing starting quarterback Kenny Pickett injure his ankle.
Things got worse against the Patriots, who jumped out to a 21-3 lead at one point in the second half. While the defense eventually found their bearings, the offense was stuck in neutral most of the night, resulting in an embarrassing 21-18 loss.
With those two losses, the Steelers dropped to 7-6 on the season, putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy. They also made some ugly NFL history in the process, according to JPAFootball on X, formerly known as Twitter.
NFL News & Rumors: Mike Tomlin, New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers Updates
The Steelers are the first team to be over .500 and lose two straight games to teams that are at least eight games under .500. The Cardinals and Patriots were both 2-10 entering the game, but both left Pittsburgh with three victories on the season.
It is fair to wonder if there are going to be more sweeping changes made in Pittsburgh this offseason. As they say, all good things must come to an end eventually. Could Mike Tomlin’s tenure as head coach of the team be nearing a close?
Suffering two losses of that caliber, while amid a playoff race, would be enough to get most people fired at the end of the season. There is still time for the Steelers to turn things around, but if the game against the Patriots is an indication of things to come, it won’t be pretty in Pittsburgh the final month of the season.
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