After the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped their third game in a row, the latest on Christmas Day to the Kansas City Chiefs, the fans were in shambles -- and some players weren't far behind. Some of the newer Steelers players, such as DeShon Elliott and Patrick Queen, were quick to speak out and voice their displeasure with how their teammates played.
While many of their complaints were legitimate, publicly airing dirty laundry isn't the "Steelers Way." Perhaps they misconstrued what this defense would be like or let their disappointment get the best of them. Head Coach Mike Tomlin defended his players with his usual stance of preferring to say, "whoa than sic 'em," as he told the media he understood their passion.
The one thing no one has done is make excuses. It didn't matter that the Steelers were forced to play three games in 10 days against three of the best teams in the league: Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Chiefs. While there has been talk that this is about money and ratings because of the filming of Hard Knocks, the team has also admitted they didn't get the job done. That doesn't mean the players don't feel the league did them dirty with this schedule. Elliott told the media earlier he believes the league hates the Steelers.
According to a tweet from Ray Fittipaldo from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Elliott said they deserve this second mini-bye week before their last game because of that tough schedule.
Elliott on recharging after Chiefs game: "With the NFL doing us over with the 3 games in 11 days, we kind of needed that. They didn’t throw us a bone. That was something we deserved. We deserve an extra bye [week]. We should get an extra bye with as many games as they want us to play."
While it is true that the Ravens and Chiefs also played three games in 10 days, they did not play teams of the same caliber as the ones the Steelers faced. Instead, they played the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, and the New York Giants.
The Steelers had been outperforming most people's expectations with Russell Wilson as their quarterback and were 10-3 heading into those games. Unfortunately, the most challenging games of the season could not have come at a worse time; Pittsburgh was missing multiple key starters as well due to various injuries, including their only real consistent receiving weapon, George Pickens.
Fortunately, Pittsburgh had already made the playoffs and was just playing for seeding. They will face the Cincinnati Bengals in the final game of the regular season. The Bengals, who have been on a hot streak, won their last four games since they lost to the Steelers during Week 13, have a slim chance of making the playoffs and will be playing for their postseason lives. The Steelers must show they are not the team that played those last three games.
Steelers Appear Healthy Headed Into Final Regular Season Game
The Steelers had multiple key players out with injuries during those three losses. Larry Ogunjobi missed all three games. They were also missing Pickens and Elliott in the Week 15 game against the Eagles.
In the Week 16 game against the Ravens, those three were still out, as were Justin Fields and Donte Jackson. Joey Porter Jr. hurt his knee during that game and missed the entire second half. While several players returned for the Chiefs, it wasn't enough. They appear to be returning to nearly full strength against the Bengals, with Porter back practicing this week.
