The Steelers' fall from grace has been a spectacular one, and while their odds in the playoffs seem slim, they get to take on a familiar foe in the Ravens. They split their regular season series, although Baltimore comfortably dismantled them in their last meeting. It looks like a tall task to beat them on their home field.
With the string of four losses and both sides of this team struggling, fans seem resigned to the fact that this season is like most of the others. They had a respectable record, got into the playoffs, and will be outmatched and quickly eliminated. That said, please don’t fall for these three overreactions ahead of the Wildcard round this weekend.
Steelers defense can’t stop anyone
We will have to do a deep dive into what happened to the Steelers' defense this season. They started off the year on a historic pace, and while they regressed slightly heading into the bye week, this was still an elite unit through and through. Since then, this group has seemed like a shell of itself, as offenses have had their way and have put up points in droves against them.
That said, they have historically had success against the Ravens, and with the entire season on the lines, you have to hope this unit can come together and at least look respectable. They have done it in the past, and I think it can happen again this week. That isn’t a guarantee though, and we should know pretty quickly if this unit came to play this weekend.
Russell Wilson is the biggest issue on offense
While Russell Wilson has regressed from his earlier season success, I have not fallen into the camp that everything is his fault. While he has his issues, and as a starter, he ranks in the middle ranks of the league, he hasn’t had a lot of help. We saw just how depleted this passing game was without George Pickens, and the running game has fallen off a cliff as Najee Harris has been ineffective.
The most troubling area comes down to the game plan. With the defense faltering, the coaches have put this offense into a shell, as they are so scared of making a mistake. We haven’t seen Wilson command the offense since the first matchup with the Bengals, and it has cost them. Again, Wilson isn’t perfect, but he is far from the biggest problem on the team.
Steelers can’t win this game
Look, I feel as dejected as anyone about how this team has performed over the past four games. I am not expecting this team to beat Baltimore right now, but everyone writing them off as if this will be a cakewalk for the Ravens seems excessive. I expect a competitive game with some life on both sides of the football.
Frankly put, if this team comes out for a fifth consecutive week with this conservative offense and a defense that can’t perform, then we need to be talking about some major coaching changes in the offseason. There is so much riding on this game, but don’t completely write off the Steelers quite yet as losers.