Steelers' first loss in brutal post-bye gauntlet must be a wake-up call

With wins over the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens in the rearview mirror, the Pittsburgh Steelers proved they could handle the rigors of their daunting post-bye schedule.

Of course, this is the NFL. Wins over two-loss teams don't guarantee wins over two-win teams.

The Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns due to a lack of execution in critical moments. The Browns were 4-4 on fourth down and their only conversion on third down was on the game-winning drive. The Steelers were 1-3 on fourth downs and relinquished a touchdown off their lone turnover.

Tack on self-inflicted penalties and generating just one score off of three turnovers will let a team like Cleveland hang around and squeeze out a win, especially on the road in dubious weather.

Many fans will point to the infamous 'Tomlin Trap Game', and his record against such teams, particularly on Thursday nights backs up those claims.

Tomlin doesn't deserve absolution for how his team performed, but the theme is too recurring to ignore.

Other writers will type those articles. If the team took as negative of an approach as those talking heads, they certainly wouldn't have wins over the quality opponents they have on their resume this season.

The fact of the matter is that winning in the NFL is hard, even against teams in such a position as Cleveland. And the Steelers' tough schedule isn't just tough because of the playoff teams in it; it's also because of the divisional matchups in it.

Steelers must avoid a late-season slump

With this loss on Thursday Night Football in Week 12, the Steelers don't need to find themselves in a late-November slump before heading into the Philadelphia-Baltimore-Kansas City stretch.

Losing to the Browns stinks as a fan for a strongly-worded list of reasons. Fortunately, it's the most inconsequential game to lose. If you're going to fall short, lose to a team that won't have a tie-breaker over you once playoff seeding comes and use it as a learning opportunity.

That's an incredibly optimistic statement, but the Steelers have an opportunity to examine what's going on. and correct it.

T.J. Watt has been ineffective because he's stationary in the formation. If backup tackles aren't giving anything up, scheme him to success.

The offense is still starting slow. Open up the passing game in the first quarter instead of tirelessly running to set up play action with the same script.

Pittsburgh has tools and they're 8-3 for a reason. And Cleveland isn't the first bad team they've lost to this year. In fact, they've exclusively lost to teams with sub-par records. The next two weeks are also against sub-par teams, including the Browns again.

The Steelers have ten days to process what they need to do next to keep Cincinnati out of the playoff race and boost themselves in the AFC standings. With a schedule like this, that time-tested 'one game at a time' mentality is the one to lean on.