As disappointing as the 13-6 loss was Sunday to the Cleveland Browns, it could be worse for the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend.
They could be the Browns, hanging their hat on a win that gave them all of four on the season. Or they could be the Cincinnati Bengals, who take a 6-10 record into their season finale.
Looking outside the AFC North, the Steelers can be fortunate they aren’t the Indianapolis Colts, who have a .500 record after being 7-1 heading into Nov. 2 game at Acrisure Stadium. Or the defending conference champion Kansas City Chiefs, who will stumble into their finale at 6-10 and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
And don’t even mention Tennessee, Las Vegas or the New York Jets — the bottom feeders of the conference.
Despite having their division title hopes snatched away like Lucy yanking a football away from Charlie Brown, the Steelers have one more chance to make the proverbial kick. Unlike the half of the teams in the AFC that have been eliminated, the Steelers can atone for their misstep Sunday at Huntington Bank Field.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said Monday. “Whatever happened, happened. We have to go into this week like, ‘Whatever it takes.’”
What it will take for the Steelers (9-7) to return to the postseason is a home victory Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens (8-8). The Steelers won the first meeting in Baltimore, 27-22. If they complete the season sweep, they will win the AFC North and earn a playoff game at Acrisure Stadium against the top wild-card team, currently the Houston Texans.
A loss would end their season in heartbreaking fashion and extend their number of years without a playoff victory to nine.
“It’s for everything this week,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said Sunday after the Steelers failed to clinch the division with a win at Cleveland. “You don’t have to look around. You don’t have to wait for someone else to play. It brings you back to high school ball where everything is riding on every single game.”
The winner-take-all showdown for the AFC North title is the second since the division was constructed in 2002. The Steelers were part of the first instance, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 of the 2014 season. A Steelers win Sunday also would prevent the Ravens from winning the division three seasons in a row, a feat that no North team has accomplished.
“You look at it like next week is a playoff game,” said veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen. “You have to move on quickly. Learn from some of the stuff that happened (against the Browns) and then move on as fast as possible. It’s just that the playoffs start a week earlier for us.”
Steelers players have been taking a similar approach since they were 6-6 heading into the initial meeting against the Ravens. The win in Baltimore ignited a three-game winning streak that came to a crashing halt against the 3-12 Browns. That loss kept the Steelers from relaxing this week and watching how the wild-card slots unfold over the weekend. It also keeps coach Mike Tomlin from resting some veteran players in advance of the postseason.
“One loss doesn’t get us off that train,” Heyward said. “We’ve been playing good ball as of late. There are still things we can hang our hat on. Stopping the run, turnovers, controlling the ball like we did on offense and giving ourselves a shot late. That’s all you can ask for. Momentum is one thing, playing good ball is another.”
Momentum won’t be the only obstacle working against the Steelers. They won’t have top receiver DK Metcalf, who will finish serving his two-game suspension Sunday night. The offense struggled to hit big plays in Metcalf’s absence against the Browns and didn’t have a drive end with a touchdown. The Steelers also lost tight end Darnell Washington to a broken arm. Injuries also have hit the Steelers particularly hard in the secondary, and outside linebacker T.J. Watt hasn’t played in three weeks with a partially punctured lung that required surgery.
For 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a second win against the Ravens would stave off retirement talk for another week. He has 22 games of postseason experience and one Super Bowl championship the Steelers would like to rely on when the playoffs begin.
“I have full confidence we’ll go home and win next week,” Rodgers said following the loss in Cleveland.
The Steelers also must figure a way to stop Ravens running back Derrick Henry, who rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns Saturday night to help keep Baltimore’s season alive with a 41-24 win at Green Bay.
“You have to be a competitor,” said linebacker Patrick Queen, a former Raven. “If you really love this sport and really love this game, you have to be a competitor. It could have been an easy way out (Sunday) if we got the win and (we would be) chilling next week. But now we have to play football with our season on the line. I’m a competitor, so I love it.”