The Pittsburgh Steelers' regular season didn't end the way Head Coach Mike Tomlin would have liked. Losing their last four games with lackluster offensive play and giving up big plays on the defensive side of the ball, it's in the making of an early exit for Pittsburgh in the postseason yet again. They have to go on the road against their divisional foe who has been playing their best ball heading into Wild Card Weekend. The Baltimore Ravens are trending in the right direction and no one wants to face them in the playoffs, especially former legendary quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger, talking about the playoffs on his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast, spoke about this current Steelers squad and the 2005-06 Steelers Super Bowl team, who both made the playoffs as a sixth seed. The 2005-06 team were trending in the right direction heading into the playoffs, winning four straight to earn them their seat at the table. This current team however, they are doing the opposite by losing their last four games and went from competing for the top seed, to having to travel to Baltimore.
"You have to be going into the postseason in the right direction," said Roethlisberger. "You can pull some comparisons of this Steelers team this year going in at the six seed, the Pittsburgh Steelers in '06 went [in] at the six seed too. The difference is, we snuck in, we had to win I think our last three or four, we had to win some games to get in and we did that. We were trending in the right direction. This Pittsburgh Steelers team has lost four in a row. They're going in going in the wrong direction."
The Steelers last month has been a mess. The offense seemed to have taken steps back and the defense continues to give up big plays during this losing streak. The team is out of sync, while the Ravens have become a well oiled machine. Roethlisberger was hoping the Steelers could avoid a meeting with Baltimore in the playoffs. Unfortunately, his former team gets them in the Wild Card Round.
"That's why I said I didn't want to play Baltimore," said Roethlisberger. "I know there is a lot of fans out there and a lot of people are talking about we're excited to play Baltimore. I get it, I understand it. I think Chef Evans [is] excited about Baltimore, we'll ask him, but that team is playing good football right now. Their quarterback is ridiculous, we know [he] is, but he's ridiculous and their defense, which was their Achilles heel, is actually playing pretty good right now. They're going in trending in the right direction, we're going to the postseason trending in the wrong direction."
While Roethlisberger preached that teams have to be playing their best football heading into the playoffs, he believes anything could happen. The Steelers could shock the football world and knock off their division rival on the road, but it would seem that the former Steelers quarterback is not that confident in Pittsburgh's chances on the road.
The Steelers' season has taken a complete 180 in the course of a month. Fans and media personalities were ready to place Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl contenders conversation, but now, many believe that this could be another quick exit for Tomlin's team. It's not just the on-field performance, but the antics that has come along with it this past month. Players calling each other out for not doing their jobs and George Pickens getting into it with fans in the season finale, all of these negative distractions does not bode well for the Steelers going into the playoffs.
Steelers Need Solutions Quick To Avoid Another Early Exit
The Steelers' four-game skid has many fans in full panic mode, they have every right to be. Russell Wilson's last four starts have been disappointing, finishing under 150 passing yards twice during this losing streak. The coaching staff has to throw the kitchen sink in Baltimore to keep their season alive.
This team has shown this season that they have the ability to beat quality teams like the Ravens; they did off the leg of Chris Boswell in their first meeting. The Steelers need to come out strong in their Wild Card matchup or Tomlin's playoff losing streak will live on.
