Pittsburgh Steelers Have First-Round NFL Playoff Exit Written All Over Them

Opposite to widespread perception, protection doesn’t at all times win championships.

That isn’t excellent news for the Steelers, whose stingy protection allow them to down throughout an embarrassing 24-19 loss to the Browns on Thursday evening. Cleveland had dropped seven of its earlier eight video games forward of the assembly with Pittsburgh.

Opponents averaged solely 16.2 factors over the Steelers’ first 10 video games of the season earlier than the Browns caught Pittsburgh (8-3) with its third loss.

Unhealthy video games occur, and one normally isn’t a trigger for concern so long as it will get flushed out of the system comparatively shortly. However what Thursday confirmed was simply how reliant the Steelers have been on their protection, and as soon as it cracks, the crew as an entire does, too.

Pittsburgh has actually solely gone blow-for-blow with an opposing crew twice this season, posting a 1-1 file in these contests. The Steelers fell 20-17 in a back-and-forth affair with the Dallas Cowboys again on Oct. 6, then proved that they do in reality have what it takes to prevail in a shootout by edging the Washington Commanders 28-27 on Nov. 10.

Exterior of that, Pittsburgh has surrendered greater than 20 factors in simply two video games, with a kind of situations being Thursday’s setback in opposition to Cleveland.

And hear, having such a gifted protection is nice for the Steelers. That unit needs to be constantly praised for the place it has this crew at this level within the season. Nonetheless, placing up factors in bunches continues to be typically required, and do we actually belief that this offense can try this when it issues most?

Pittsburgh, the No. 3 seed within the AFC, would go up in opposition to the sixth-seeded Baltimore Ravens if the playoffs began in the present day. I don’t learn about you, however there may be completely zero probability I’m taking a 35-year-old Russell Wilson, Najee Harris and George Pickens over Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers if that recreation was to show into an offensive showdown.

Suppose the Steelers’ protection does maintain down the fort, although. Then Pittsburgh is presumably off to Buffalo to face the Payments, who common the third-most factors per recreation within the NFL (29.1). 

Baltimore ranks second on that record, by the way in which (30.4 factors per recreation). The Steelers are approach down in sixteenth (22.9).

Pittsburgh did do a improbable job of containing the Ravens on Sunday, eking out an 18-16 victory. No offensive fireworks, no issues for the Steelers.

If Pittsburgh does wish to put collectively a deep run this postseason, its protection goes to need to be almost excellent. We are able to’t anticipate Wilson to outplay a few of the league’s greatest quarterbacks and offenses if he couldn’t even step on Cleveland’s throat after Browns signal-caller Jameis Winston threw an interception with 4:22 left in regulation on Thursday. 

Up 19-18, the Steelers had an opportunity to place the sport away proper then and there, however they went three-and-out, setting the stage for a 2-yard dashing landing by Nick Chubb that offered Cleveland with the go-ahead factors.

Pittsburgh won’t be the powerhouse its 8-3 file tells us it’s. We’re not prepared to completely deem the Steelers pretenders simply but, however they definitely might be flirting with that title quickly relying on how they fare in 4 divisional video games over the subsequent six weeks.