Pressure On Pittsburgh Steelers To Keep Pace With Tight AFC North Race
Nov 17, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin prior to the game against the Tennessee Titans at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Well if there were ever a time to take up the mantle of “masters of their own destiny,” the Pittsburgh Steelers could begin that this week as they dive into their final five games of the season.
You probably painfully remember what happened last season when the Steelers had to rely on three other teams on the final day of the regular season as a back door way of getting into the playoffs. They fell one team/game short when the Chiefs decided to rest players and phoned it in – and still only came up one field goal short of winning and putting the Steelers into the Wild Card game. The Steelers will want to avoid another situation like that. But, in order to do that, the pressure is on to win win win… and win some more. The pressure is on.
For the first time ever in the NFL, 16 of the 32 teams in the league have seven or more wins. On top of that, it’s also the first time in NFL history that 11 teams in the AFC have a winning record after Week 12. On top of that, it’s also the first time in AFC North history that all four teams are three games over .500 at the same time. It’s a very competitive league this season. It also means that there is a rather substantial gap between the top 16 teams and the bottom 16 – but that’s a discussion for another date.
By this point in the season, the AFC North is usually divided into two groups: 1) The top two teams in the division who have seven wins or more and 2) A team that barely sits above the Browns who live in the basement. That is not the case this time around, and it means that the Steelers will have to work extremely hard to overcome their rivals and take the AFC North crown. The Wild Card picture is a complicated one with many “in the hunt,” and if the Steelers miss out on winning the North, they very well could be a 9-7 or 10-6 team who misses the playoffs.
Of the five teams left on the Steelers schedule, two of them are part of the dismal NFC South and have losing records. The Steelers have struggled (as we fully know) against sub-.500 and sub-.200 teams. The Saints and Falcons land right in there. The Steelers were able to defeat handedly the Panthers earlier in the season, but lost in the final moments the following week against the Bucs. Those games should be cake walks, but Drew Brees could carve up this secondary. The potential return of Ike Taylor this week could help that out, but it’s uncertain if he will return and how effective he will be against the passing attack of Sean Payton’s offense. Then there are the two games against the Bengals. For the first time in quite some time, the Steelers face the Bengals this frequent this late in the season. If they want any chance of winning the division, the Steelers will need to defeat the Bengals both times. There’s just no signs of the Browns cooling off or the Ravens just up and dying already, so every game and every win is huge at this point.
There is a potential the Steelers could win it out. I think best case scenario is that they got 4-1 with a loss to the Chiefs. Worse case scenario (aside from going 0-5) is that they go 2-3 with one of those being a loss to the Bengals, putting them at 9-7… a dangerous record to be at when wanting to get into the playoffs.
The final five weeks will most certainly be an exciting one. The Steelers are getting back key defensive players who could help (or not). Todd Haley may or may not have learned his lesson about how this offense succeeds and utterly fails. Mike Tomlin just might have figured out how to get his team prepared to face lesser teams. Hang on for the wild ride – hopefully the Steelers won’t get thrown off before the end.