Apart from the Patriots, there has been no team in the AFC — and perhaps the NFL — more consistent than the Pittsburgh Steelers in recent history. Their streak of four consecutive playoff appearances is the second longest in the league, and they’ve managed to accomplish that feat while experiencing a fair share of adversity. A Le’Veon Bell suspension here, an Antonio Brown Facebook Live there — it hasn’t mattered. Like clockwork, they’ve always managed to get it together by the middle of the season.
An optimistic Steelers fan is surely hoping that 2018 will be no different following a disappointing 1-2-1 start. But considering their greater-than-usual level of off-field drama, the improved play of their division opponents, and the general futility of their on-field product through four weeks, it may be time to start worrying.
The Steelers were picked apart by the Ravens on their home turf Sunday night, losing 26-14 while showing an uncharacteristically mediocre brand of football to a national audience. Their defense was torched for the fourth straight game, surrendering 451 total yards and letting Joe Flacco and John Brown consistently burn their secondary. Ben Roethlisberger, who has averaged 327.2 yards and 2.7 touchdowns at home since 2016, managed 274 yards, one touchdown and a pick.
“I don’t think I’m on the same page with anybody right now,” Roethlisberger told ESPN.com. “I’m not playing well enough. I need to play better. Today was just a bad day at the office. … I promise I’ll be back to play better.”
Everything seems to be going wrong for the Steelers all at once. The defense was an underrated strength last season, finishing fifth in the NFL total yards, but has plummeted to second to last in 2018. Even more baffling is the offense, which has always put up gaudy numbers — especially at home. In their two 2018 home games, they have never once held the lead. The usually automatic Brown has yet to record an 100-yard game.
It is easy to blame Bell, who has yet to play in a game amid a tense and highly publicized contract dispute. But unlike in 2015 and 2016, when he was suspended to start each season, it is completely unclear when he’ll be returning. Pittsburgh already has floated the star running back in trade talks, and if there was any hope for him ending his holdout, Earl Thomas may have put an end to it.
Thomas, locked in a similar dispute with the Seahawks, chose to play while publicly expressing his fear of injury as he looks for a new contract. Against the Cowboys on Sunday, Thomas suffered a season-ending leg injury, playing for a team that had no interest in paying him beyond 2018.
“Smh exactly…get right bro bro!” Bell wrote on an ESPN post about Thomas. “I’ll continue to be the ‘bad guy’ for ALL of us.”
While the Steelers have said they want a “good” player as part of a potential Bell trade, the team they have now is likely to be the team they field for the rest of the season. And with the Ravens and Bengals sitting at 3-1, combined with improvement from the Browns, the battle for the division is looking like an uphill one. To make one last run at a Super Bowl, they need to be closer to the team that went 13-3 last season, and prove the first four games have been a fluke.