Travis Kelce stood all alone in the end zone, hauled in the easy-as-pie touchdown from Patrick Mahomes and delivered his best dunk as a way to honor Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez. But in that moment, it felt like the football wasn’t the only thing to land with a thud.
That second sound you heard might’ve been the Steelers’ season, as they completed their three-game gauntlet in just about the worst fashion imaginable — by dropping every bleepin’ one, including a Christmas Day affair with Kansas City on Wednesday 29-10 at Acrisure Stadium.
“You know,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “that sucked. Not the type of ball we want to play and really kind of eerily similar to our last performance in that we’re not doing the fundamental things well enough.”
No argument here. But at the same time, this is probably what we should’ve expected all along — the Steelers showing they’re a flawed team, the Chiefs and others ascending as the AFC playoff field finds its appropriate level.
Yet, despite some earlier signs of trouble, we became foolishly swept up in the Steelers’ 10-3 start, the occasional magic from Russell Wilson, the defense leading the NFL in turnovers, the offensive line punching above its weight and myriad other stories that seemed plausible a few weeks into division play.
It all looks so silly now.
With one more AFC North game to go, the Steelers (10-6) look like nothing more than a flawed football team, one suffering through yet another late-season collapse, one again limited by a basic offense, one that keeps losing the turnover battle and one that’s nowhere near as good as the Ravens, Bills or especially the team that throttled them here, the Chiefs.
“We’re playing our best football — especially offensively — at the end of the year,” said Mahomes, who completed 76% of his passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. “We’re getting guys healthy. We’re excited. We’re going to keep working.
“This isn’t the end. This is just the beginning. We’ll continue to work to get even better as we go into the playoffs.”
Only 50 yards or so separated where Mahomes made those comments and where the Steelers dressed, but it felt more like miles.
The Steelers are playoff-bound, too. But I’d probably trade a date with the Texans or Ravens for a higher draft pick if that sort of thing existed. That’s how (not) confident I am that they can snap their seven-year playoff victory drought.
Consider the numbers behind what has been building here:
• They allowed 90 points during this three-game skid while losing to the Eagles, Ravens and Chiefs by 14, 17 and 19 points, respectively.
• Their offense has averaged 13.3 points in these games.
• Their defense has allowed an average of 403 yards per game.
• The Steelers have dropped three straight by double digits for the first time since 1988.
Yeah, it’s that bad.
And what signs do we have that it’s quickly going to improve?
The defense has forgotten how to cover tight ends, an issue that has been ascribed to communication issues. (This late? On the NFL’s highest-paid defense?) They actually stopped the run against the Chiefs but struggled mightily in that area against the Ravens. Meanwhile, Jalen Hurts and Mahomes carved up the Steelers like a Christmas ham.
This was actually a six-point game following a 36-yard field goal from Chris Boswell in the third quarter. But that’s when Mahomes took over, leading the Chiefs on an 11-play drive that ended on running back Kareem Hunt’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Pat Freiermuth’s fumble followed, and Mahomes added on with another quick score to Kelce, who had eight catches for 84 yards. Wide receiver Hollywood Brown has been a huge addition and made a couple big catches on that 11-play drive. Rookie wideout Xavier Worthy (eight catches, 79 yards, touchdown) has speed to burn. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Justin Watson (South Fayette) have produced in complementary roles.
It’s pass-catching depth that’s not in the same solar system as what the Steelers have.
The Chiefs (15-1) are also running an entirely different offense than Arthur Smith’s beater truck, but again, we should have known better. We should have seen this coming, the Steelers’ undoing and the conversation around this team shifting, oh, just about 180 degrees.
“I really believe in who we are, the character of guys, the mentality that we have,” Wilson said. “It’s been a tough road, obviously, the past three weeks, and we haven’t been able to overcome some of the challenges along the way. That’s going to be — we have to make that — a good thing for us.”
That’s much easier said than done at this point.
In fact, I’m not sure it can be done.
Sure, the Steelers could beat the Bengals in Week 18. Cincinnati’s defense is that bad. They’ve handled poor teams this season. But would that make you feel differently about this team’s chances of making any noise whatsoever in the postseason? It shouldn’t.
These three games in 11 days — a half-baked cash grab by the NFL but also a conversation for another day — were supposed to tell us about the Steelers.
Well, they did.
It’s just not the answer any of us wanted to hear.
This is a team that many thought would be 8-9, 9-8 or maybe 10-6 at the start of the year. A few really hearty souls might’ve gone 11-6. When you think about the lousy versions of the Falcons, Broncos and Chargers the Steelers saw, where this will likely land makes sense.
The tease the Steelers provided just makes it that much more painful, along with the cracks showing in the foundation.
Smith’s offense hasn’t offered the upgrade many had hoped to see. The conversation surrounding Wilson has shifted, to the point where I’m not nearly as set on bringing him back should the Steelers fail to win another game.
Jaylen Warren should supplant Najee Harris, the offensive line has seen its play drop recently and none of that addresses the elephant in the room: Tomlin.
The Steelers coach failed to challenge a play on that 11-play Chiefs drive, a misstep that surely cost Pittsburgh. His performance on that snowy Thursday night in Cleveland can’t be forgotten. There were plenty of decisions to question against the Eagles and Ravens, too. But the communication issues the Steelers are experiencing, the pass catchers getting wide open and the team’s inability to stop the bleeding ... it’s alarming.
And it’s on the head coach, who has now presided over stretches of three consecutive losses in four of the past six Decembers and has a .500 record (19-19) this month since 2017 — not exactly the finishing kick that should be tolerated around here.
“We’ve got to look at ourselves and own it,” Tomlin said. “Obviously we’ve got to be committed to making whatever changes necessary in an effort to improve the outcome. It’s as simple as that.”
Tomlin’s not wrong. But I doubt the Steelers can or will do what’s truly necessary to affect positive change and accomplish that quickly enough to win a playoff game.
First Published: December 26, 2024, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: December 27, 2024, 3:11 a.m.
