It’s been almost a month since the Pittsburgh Steelers lost four straight games while holding a lead. In those four losses and a total of 240 minutes of soccer time, they never had more points than their opponents. And, frankly, they could barely even keep the game tied for long.
They may lose in a row, but it’s miserable to never be able to take the lead in a game. In fact, teams like the Steelers rarely even make the postseason. They finished the season with a decent record of 10-7, but limped across the finish line.
In fact, no team in the last 25 years has made it to the postseason despite losing their last four games. last team It was the 1999 Detroit Lions.They finished 8-8 that season, lost 27-13 to the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card Round, and did not advance to the playoffs again for over a decade. The Steelers make the playoffs, but they can’t win anymore.
In fact, the Steelers are currently on a five-game losing streak in the postseason, dating back to the 2016 Conference Finals. They lost that game and then had one loss in 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2023. Looking at the current situation, 2024 may be added to the list soon.
As the third team to reach the postseason on a four-game losing streak, it’s understandable that the Steelers don’t want to end up like the Lions. Another team that limped into the playoffs was the 1986 New York Jets. In fact, that team lost in the end Five Games—but still won in the first round of the playoffs.
As of this writing, it is not yet known who the Steelers’ first-round opponent will be. We know that possibility. It would be either the Houston Texans or the Baltimore Ravens. The former is a free-fall team in the conference’s weakest division, while the other is arguably the hottest team in football.
It’s clear which team the Steelers have an advantage playing, but that’s not something they can control. Had they won yesterday, they might have been guaranteed a first-round game against the Texans. They didn’t, so the Chargers need to lose to a bad Raiders team to avoid playing in Baltimore.
The situation is less than ideal, considering the Steelers’ four-game losing streak includes a loss to the Ravens in Baltimore. But they have made their bed, so they must lie there. Are the Steelers a better team than the one that ended the season in such terrible fashion? They can try to answer in the affirmative next weekend.
The Steelers had previously won the Super Bowl from a No. 6 seed, but it was a completely different team. That Steelers team got hot at the right time and finished the regular season with back-to-back wins. This Steelers team has historically been weak offensively, scoring less than 18 points in four consecutive games for the first time in decades.
