Within an 11-day span, the Pittsburgh Steelers went from having an outside chance of earning home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs to most likely opening the postseason on the road.
They not only squandered a chance to control the AFC North, they find themselves trailing the Baltimore Ravens based on the events that transpired on Christmas.
Thanks to a third consecutive defeat, a 29-10 rout at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Steelers no longer control their playoff destination. At 10-6, they are a game behind the Ravens heading into the final week of the regular season.
Hours after losing to the Chiefs, the Steelers dropped into second place in the division when the Ravens throttled the Houston Texans, 31-2, to improve to 11-5.
All the Ravens need to do to secure the No. 3 seed — the most likely spot for the AFC North champion — is beat the last-place Cleveland Browns at home. An unexpected loss would crack the door for the Steelers to get that seed and a home playoff game — provided they can halt the losing streak and finish the season with a win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Although their positioning in the division hierarchy has changed, the approach has not been altered for the Steelers.
“You’ve still got to win,” All-Pro special teams player Miles Killebrew said Thursday as the Steelers reported for meetings and film study at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “We had to win when we were ahead of (the Ravens). Got to win now that we’re not.”
If the Steelers beat the Bengals, they would finish no lower than fifth in the seeding, which would provide a trip to Houston in the wild-card round. A fourth consecutive loss could send the Steelers to Baltimore or Buffalo on the opening playoff weekend.
Either way, the Steelers would not be entering the postseason giving off the vibes that they are poised to win a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 season.
The Steelers will have the weekend to ponder ways to avoid a total collapse heading into the postseason. The players are scheduled to be off Friday, Saturday and Sunday before returning to the South Side complex Monday.
“I don’t think it’s much of reset,” Killebrew said, “but it’s honing in our focus and figuring out what we need to do to get a win.”
The problem is, each loss in the 11-day span was more lopsided than the previous one. After losing by 14 points at Philadelphia, the Steelers dropped a 17-point decision at Baltimore before watching the Chiefs open a two-touchdown advantage in the first quarter en route to a 19-point outcome.
The question of how the Steelers can correct their mounting issues permeated a sparse locker room Thursday.
“It’s having faith in each other and faith in yourself that you can make the play that you can and get back to doing the same things we were doing at the beginning of the year,” said second-year defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, one of the few players willing to be interviewed. “I know we can do it. It’s just bringing it back out.”
Rather than give his players a four-day break to clear their heads, coach Mike Tomlin brought the Steelers into the practice facility to do a film review of the loss to the Chiefs.
“I’m not even going to want to watch the film right now, but you have to do things you don’t want to do,” Killebrew said. “You’ve got to get ahead on the Bengals, and that’s what needs to be done.”
The Steelers have the weekend to watch other dominoes in the AFC fall around them. The Bengals (7-8) play the Denver Broncos (9-6) on Saturday afternoon in a game that has postseason implications for both teams. The Bengals need a win to stay alive for a wild-card spot. Otherwise, they will be playing for pride when they visit Acrisure Stadium in Week 18.
The Los Angeles Chargers (9-6), another wild-card front-runner, also play Saturday. Indianapolis (7-8) and Miami (7-8) play Sunday, and Buffalo (12-3) can clinch the No. 2 seed with a victory.
“I’m definitely going to watch some games,” Benton said. “But I have family in town, still. I’m taking, not a step away from football, but letting them know I still love them. I was kind of grouchy yesterday on Christmas. I was a grinch.”
A win in the season finale would ease some of that anger and frustration that has boiled over during this three-game losing streak.
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“Guys are still hungry,” Benton insisted. “We’ve still got ball to play. We can do nothing but be hungry. We have to go out and get it.”