A season of Super Bowl hopes spoiled for Steelers

By Kevin Gorman
https://triblive.com/sports/steelers/14455968-74/kevin-gorman-a-season-of-super-bowl-hopes-spoiled-for-steelers
December 30, 2018


Juju Smith-Schuster scores to tie the game at 10-10 on Sunday. (AP)

What a wild, weird scene it was Sunday at Heinz Field, where the Pittsburgh Steelers saw their season once again come down to a fumble, a field goal and an interception.

The Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 16-13, on a 35-yard field goal by Matt McCrane, only to stay on the field and watch the Cleveland-Baltimore finish on the Jumbotron. Their hearts dropped as Baltimore linebacker C.J. Mosley picked off a pass by Baker Mayfield to help the Ravens beat the Browns to clinch the AFC North title.

Excruciating doesn’t even come close to describing the disappointment of a season that started with Super Bowl aspirations and ended with the Steelers missing the playoffs for the first time in five years.

This was pure torture.

“Yes, to say the least,” Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “You can’t even enjoy the win because you’re standing at the cliff, just waiting for something to happen.”

That was the story of their season, one that humbled a proud franchise that owns six Lombardi trophies as Super Bowl champions. The cruel irony is the Steelers finally finished off a must-win game — with a kicker signed four days earlier — only to see their hopes vanish.

Weird as it was to hear Pittsburgh fans cheering for Cleveland, it was worse the Steelers were counting on the Browns to save their season. The same Browns that tied the Steelers in the opener, a game marred by interceptions and fumbles and missed field goals.

“It’s frustrating because we put ourselves in this position like that,” Heyward said. “It hurts. To know that you gave it all in this game right here but yet you’re still looking around, thinking, ‘We’ve got to get somebody else to do their job?’

“That’s not how we wanted this season to go.”

Mike Hilton reacts to the Browns' loss in Baltimore on Sunday. (Tribune-Review)

The Ravens’ 26-24 victory over the Browns was a reminder of all that went wrong for the Steelers. The Browns forced a goal-line fumble by Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, only to see officials signal a touchdown and whistle dead their fumble recovery return for a touchdown. The Browns also missed a field goal and then threw a game-ending interception.

But it wasn’t the Browns’ loss to Baltimore that cost the Steelers a spot in the playoffs. It was Ben Roethlisberger’s interception in the end zone at Denver, Chris Boswell’s slip on a missed field goal at Oakland and the fourth-quarter fumbles by Stevan Ridley and JuJu Smith-Schuster at New Orleans. It was losing at home to the Chiefs, Ravens and Chargers, the last of which saw the Steelers blow a 16-point halftime lead.

“We lacked our finish. We lacked stepping up in those critical moments,” Heyward said. “In those critical situations, whether it was offense or defense, when we needed a play we weren’t getting them.”

That’s what will stick with Heyward, as it will the rest of us.

The Steelers have no one to blame but themselves.

It wasn’t long ago that the Steelers were 7-2-1, appearing to cruise to another AFC North title. It was only two weeks ago they defeated their nemesis, the New England Patriots, and were positioned for a first-round bye. Now, they will be watching the playoffs the same way they watched the Browns-Ravens: On television, as spectators.

“It’s tough. You want to win a Super Bowl every year — every team does — and only one team gets to,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “We made the playoffs the last few years, so we’ve been a little spoiled in that sense. We got a little spoiled because we went to a lot of Super Bowls early, right? So we thought we were going to do it every year or every other year or every third year. It’s not that easy.

“Look at teams that have never been there or teams between Super Bowls or playoff runs. We can spoiled here as players but we still strive for that every year.”

It isn’t just striving for the Steelers. It’s the standard, something Mike Tomlin treats as a mantra. The Steelers have so much talent that they could have made a playoff run in a wide-open AFC but they took a spot in the postseason for granted and squandered too many opportunities.

“Woulda, coulda, shoulda,” Roethlisberger said. “I could sit here and say, ‘Yeah, we’d be dangerous in the playoffs,’ but we didn’t make it so it doesn’t matter. But you always like your chances.”

The Steelers liked them a lot less when watching their chances on the scoreboard, seeing them end with the same mistakes that were the story of their season, a season that was as spoiled as their Super Bowl hopes.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

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By Jeremy Fowler
http://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers
December 30, 2018


Ben Roethlisberger throws on the run late in the fourth quarter of the Steelers' 16-13 win over the Bengals on Sunday. (Kareem Elgazzar/Cincinnati Enquirer)

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are left to unpack a season of lost opportunities, but at least they'll do so with their franchise quarterback intact for the foreseeable future.

Ben Roethlisberger told reporters that he has one more year left on his contract and plans to honor it as long as center Maurkice Pouncey, his best friend on the team, is back as well.

"I'm 36 years old," said Roethlisberger, whose 9-6-1 Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 16-13 on Sunday but were eliminated from playoff contention when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns. "I'm pretty sure I'll be 37 by the season next year. I'm not getting any younger, but I still feel good. Like I said, we keep that line together, that'll give us a good, fighting chance."

In 2015, Roethlisberger signed a four-year, $87.4 million extension with the Steelers that took his contract through the 2019 season. Both sides could choose to renegotiate this offseason.

Roethlisberger's 2018 campaign featured a league passing title with 5,129 yards, his first 5,000-yard campaign, along with a franchise-record 34 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions.

After a six-game winning streak midseason, the Steelers lost four of their last six games, all by seven points or fewer.

The Steelers won't rebuild while Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown keep producing. The duo combined for a sixth consecutive 100-catch season along with 15 touchdowns.

"I think we've got a really good group," Roethlisberger said. "I think the linemen, as long as they come back, they're the core. They're the strength of this team. If they come back, I'll be back and I feel good. We've got guys that got better. We've got young guys that just keep getting better. Guys like JuJu [Smith-Schuster] and James Conner, guys that are just going to keep getting better. I don't think our window's closed."

The Steelers have serious work to do to keep it open. Coach Mike Tomlin said he won't address whether his team underachieved -- "We had 17 weeks to state a case ... We stand by our work," he said -- but players laid that out for him.

Linebacker Bud Dupree was candid about Pittsburgh's problems.

"We have to be brothers on the field and off the field. That's the main step we have to take," Dupree said. "We've got to let each other know that we need each other, that we are working hard for one reason, that's to win, and there's nothing else to work hard for -- it's not individuals, it's not accolades, it's to win the Super Bowl. ... We've got to stop losing, playing down to teams' level, and start giving our top attention."

The Steelers' defense ranked first in the league in sacks and among the top 10 in total defense and rushing defense but struggled to finish games in November and December.

"I hope we grow from this," defensive end Cameron Heyward said. "I hope this hurts a lot because it's going to be a long offseason."

With the season over, it’s time for the other cleat to drop. Or not.

Paul Daugherty, @EnquirerDoc
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/2018/12/30/paul-daugherty-column-future-marvin-lewis-cincinnati-bengals/2447305002/
December 30, 2018


Coty Sensabaugh breaks up a pass intended for Auden Tate to seal Sunday's 16-13 victory over the Bengals (Kareem Elgazzar)

PITTSBURGH –  And now we await the papal smoke from the Vatican-on-the-Ohio. The Bengals Lost Season has come to a merciful end, just as the team was ready to call the Red Cross for players. It’s time for the other cleat to drop. Or not.

The outmanned Bengals played hard and kept it close, if that interests you. They fought hard and nearly stole the battle. Their problem is the war. Besides, in the NFL, effort is implied in the contract. There is no try, Yoda. With 1:56 left in the game, a kicker named Matt McCrane punched a 35-yard field goal, and the Steelers won, 16-13. Pittsburgh signed McCrane on Friday. And so it goes.

The Bengals finished 6-10 after starting 4-1. They lost seven of their last eight. They’re nine games under .500 in the three seasons since they last made the playoffs and lost for the seventh consecutive time.



Analysis: After another loss to Steelers, only one question remains for Bengals

Now what?

“We’ll handle it tomorrow,’’ Marvin Lewis said afterward, smiling. Three times, in case you missed the first two.

He and Mike Brown will hold their annual post-mortem Monday morning, evidently. What comes of it is anyone’s guess. Lewis called the questions about his employment “ridiculous (and) sad.’’ He might be right about that. That doesn’t detract from the importance of the answers.

It has been the story of the Bengals 2018 season since Thanksgiving, but they were contractually obligated to play all 16 games, so here we are.

Marvin stays, Marvin goes, Marvin slips away in the middle of the night to coach Parcheesi to 4th-graders in Djibouti.

His replacement is Vance Joseph or Hue Jackson or Joseph Jackson, a sanitation engineer from Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Meantime the Bengals, seeking sellouts, have asked Elder High School to consider opening The Pit for seven Sundays and a Thursday night next fall. When seen last, Mike Brown was on a corner in Del Mar, CA, wearing funny nose glasses, a fright wig and a sandwich board bearing the words, “I Like Pizza.’’

At least there was no feelgood finish to obscure anyone’s judgement. No obvious excuse for an accepting, permissive franchise that looks for anything to validate itself. (Unless you like the injury out, though it can be argued the Bengals were lacking before that plague struck.) Six-and-10 is six-and-10.

The Bengals were given every chance to win Sunday, against a Steelers team intent on living up to its rep as a club that plays down to the level of its competition. For three quarters, Ben Roethlisberger perfected his horizontal passing game, against a depleted Bengals secondary. The Steelers didn’t take a deep shot until late in the third quarter. Antonio Brown missed the game with a bad knee, but the strategy still seemed curious.

Meanwhile, the Bengals did as well as they could against a Pittsburgh defense that ganged up on Joe Mixon while daring Bengals QB Jeff Driskel to throw the ball to John Ross. Driskel led them on a 51-yard, second-quarter drive that ended with a field goal and a 10-0 lead. Driskel completed three passes to Alex Erickson on the drive, for 35 yards. Naturally, Erickson took a finger in the eye after the catch, and had to leave the game. (He did return.)

Erickson followed Cody Core, who left with an elbow injury in the 1st quarter. Cincinnati finished the half with the receiving trio of Tate, Malone and Lengel, which isn’t quite Green, Boyd and Eifert. That’s a nifty metaphor for the season, if you’re looking. And Matt Lengel got hurt after halftime.

(The Bengals also came into the game leading the league in false starts. Which is a good description for their first five games. Fourth-and-1, false start, offense. Five-yard penalty. Still fourth down.)

The Bengals had one last chance, from their 35 with 1:49 left and no timeouts. They false-started on first down. We’ll be leaving now.

Make the right call, Mike Brown.


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After it was over, the Steelers gathered on the turf at Heinz Field and watched the last few minutes of the Browns-Ravens game, on the big scoreboard. Their fans did, too. The team and town needed what it didn’t get: A Browns win. But Cleveland threatened to win at the end of the game. Fans and players watched with excitement.

It was fun. You might remember fun, BengalFan. It hung around Paul Brown Stadium, for a time. Might it again?

We await the smoke. That’s all that matters.

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 keys and predictions

Fletcher Page, Cincinnati Enquirer
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2018/12/28/nfl-week-17-cincinnati-bengals-pittsburgh-steelers-3-keys-and-predictions/2422045002/
December 28, 2018


Antonio Brown scores the winning touchdown in the final seconds of the Steelers' 28-21 victory in Cincinnati on October 14th. (Getty Images)

The Cincinnati Bengals travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS.

Cincinnati enters 6-9 coming off a 26-18 loss against the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers are 8-6-1 after losing to the New Orleans Saints 31-28 on Sunday.

Here's a look at three keys to Sunday's game and our predictions:

Three keys 

Push the ball downfield: Good as he's been, Joe Mixon can't be everything for the Bengals offense. We learned that last week when the Browns defense packed the box, stuffed Mixon runs and forced quarterback Jeff Driskel to, unsuccessfully, try to throw for first downs. Driskel had just three yards passing in the first half, the Bengals failed to score and the Browns built a lead big enough to coast to victory. The Bengals can't afford to fall behind early, nor can they allow the Steelers defense to dictate what happens by packing the box without consequences. 

Manufacture points, field position, extra possessions: Given the Bengals' struggles offensively — four straight punts to begin the game Sunday in Cleveland — the defense could help out by getting a turnover or three. The Bengals have gotten just one takeaway the past three games; a Carlos Dunlap fumble recovery in the win against the Raiders. A turnover Sunday could set the offense up, give the defense more rest or, even better, put points on the board. 

Cover up: Two Steelers wideouts, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown, crossed the 100-yard receiving mark in the Week 6 matchup. A trio of tight ends, led by bruising Vance McDonald, did damage, too. With that history in mind, the Bengals secondary and linebackers must cover up against passes by Ben Roethlisberger. Opponents have consistently run the ball against the Bengals all season, but Baker Mayfield threw three touchdowns last week as injuries continue to pile up on the Bengals defense. Vontaze Burfict, Jordan Evans and Dre Kirkpatrick join the list of injured players out for Sunday, putting even more strain on the effort to limit Roethlisberger's production. 

Predictions 

Paul Dehner Jr.: This won’t be last year. Outside of playing a team with the playoffs on the line in the final week on the road, that’s where the comparisons end. There won’t be an Andy Dalton or a Tyler Boyd on the field to lead a charge. And considering the run of awful and heartbreak against the Steelers – more specifically losers of seven in a row and 10 of 11 – there’s a much different mojo at Heinz Field than there was at M&T Bank Field last year. Even though the Steelers have struggled of late, including a mind-boggling loss at Oakland, hard to imagine anything resembling a letdown with their season on the line. The likely return of running back James Conner only increases the chance. The Bengals have shown they’ve got some fight left in them when going down by double digits, but continue to struggle out of the gate. Meanwhile, the Steelers have shown a propensity to melt down late in games during their current skid. That sounds nice and all, but I have little expectation this game stays close. Pittsburgh will be scoreboard watching the majority of the fourth quarter.

Prediction: Steelers 31, Bengals 13

Fletcher Page: Hard to figure these Steelers.

How did they tie with the Browns to begin the season? How in the world did they lose to the Oakland Raiders? How did they blow that game against the Saints last week? 

Those questions, whatever the answers, have created a win-or-stay-home scenario Sunday. And while the Bengals ended dreams for the Ravens in similar circumstances last season, I'm not buying it this time around. 

Sure, the defense has played better in recent weeks. But the offense is down to just one consistent threat in Joe Mixon, as Jeff Driskel and the passing attack behind a subpar offensive line has proven to be broken. 

The Steelers have something on the line. The Bengals do not. A fast start by Pittsburgh should be enough to kill the upset bid. 

Prediction: Steelers 28, Bengals 10

12/29/18 Condensed Game: Penguins @ Blues

12/27/18 Condensed Game: Red Wings @ Penguins

Steelers don't deserve to make playoffs

By Mark Madden

https://triblive.com/sports/columnists/markmadden/14441168-74/mark-madden-steelers-dont-deserve-to-make-playoffs

December 24, 2018

Juju Smith-Schuster fumbles at the end of the Steelers' 31-28 loss in New Orleans on Sunday.

The Steelers’ defeat at New Orleans has four major talking points:

• The pass interference call on Joe Haden in the first quarter. Not a flag by any stretch of the imagination.

• Steven Ridley’s fumble. Why is a marginal talent with a history of fumble-itis in the game, let alone getting that carry?

• The fake punt call. If you want to go for it on fourth-and-5 because you’re afraid to put your defense on the field, keep your offense out there and use your legit weapons. Don’t direct-snap to a slow fullback. Better yet, just punt.

• JuJu Smith-Schuster’s fumble. The final nail in the coffin.

Chris Boswell probably would have missed the game-tying field goal, anyway. “I’ll bet you a hundred bucks you slice it into the woods!”

But the Steelers not making the playoffs has nothing to with Sunday’s loss to the Saints.

The Steelers (8-6-1) were 51/2-point underdogs at New Orleans (13-2). When Steelers fans evaluated the schedule before the season started, they marked that game with an “L”. The Steelers weren’t supposed to win that game.

The Steelers not making the playoffs has four major talking points:

• They blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead at Cleveland on Sept. 9 and tied 21-21. James Conner’s fourth-quarter fumble provided a dagger.

• They lost 24-17 at Denver on Nov. 25 when Xavier Grimble tried to prove his manhood instead of scoring a touchdown.

• They wasted a 16-point halftime lead at home vs. the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 2, losing 33-30. The Steelers had been 220-0-2 in home games where they led by 14 or more.

• They lost 24-21 at Oakland on Dec. 9 when coach Mike Tomlin and an old, broken-down X-ray machine conspired to keep Ben Roethlisberger out of the game for four series. Josh Dobbs probably isn’t the future, and definitely wasn’t the present. (Oakland is now 3-11. It’s fair to say that loss provoked the most outrage, and did the most damage.)

Those results will be why the Steelers don’t make the postseason, not the loss at New Orleans. (And not because Cleveland doesn’t upset Baltimore while the Steelers beat Cincinnati next Sunday. Relying on the required scenario is a bit far-fetched. Wouldn’t it be just like the Steelers to lose to Cincinnati while the Browns uphold their end of the bargain?)

The Steelers should have won all four of those games. Expecting three wins out of those contests is extremely reasonable. Winning two has them in control of the AFC North.

But Tomlin has never had a losing season. That’s what counts.

As has been often discussed in this space and on my radio show, Tomlin won’t be fired, and (probably) shouldn’t be. Whoever replaced him would (probably) be inferior and (probably) wouldn’t do as well. (This season’s disappointment merits parenthetical disclaimers.)

Also frequently written/talked about: These Steelers aren’t that good. They have lots of firepower on offense. But most of their defensive players are marginal. They didn’t come close to replacing Ryan Shazier, that platoon’s catalyst before his injury.

The last six Steelers games have come down to the final seconds. They’re 2-4 in those games.

As Bill Parcells famously said, “You are what your record says you are.” These Steelers don’t deserve better.

This column has previously listed four things that should be done if the Steelers miss the playoffs:

• Fire special teams coach Danny Smith. Sunday’s blocked field goal aside, that platoon stinks.

• Fire outside linebackers coach Joey Porter. Coaches can’t cause chaos. Porter too often does.

• Hire a specialist to be in charge of clock management and replay reviews. He has final say in those situations.

• GM Kevin Colbert has autonomy on all roster decisions. Tomlin should concentrate on coaching.

At the least, owner Art Rooney II should drill down deep on why the Steelers are stuck in a rut. Why this year’s team failed. Why it plummeted from 7-2-1 to 8-6-1. Why the Steelers have won just three playoff games in seven years. Why the Steelers play down to the level of inferior foes, as exemplified by Tomlin’s 6-5 career record straight up when the Steelers are favored by nine points or more on the road. The rest of the NFL is 52-10 in that situation since 2007, the year Tomlin took the helm in Pittsburgh.

Talk to ex-players. Talk to former Tomlin assistants. What’s gone wrong? How could the Steelers do better? I’d love to hear what Troy Polamalu or Bruce Arians might say.

But Rooney will probably do nothing. Maybe defensive coordinator Keith Butler will be a sacrificial lamb, terminated because of his inability to polish excrement.

In 2019, the “Steelers way” will be based on inaction, and produce more mediocrity. Happy new year!

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

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Mike Jones, USA TODAY
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/mike-jones/2018/12/23/pittsburgh-steelers-fumble-season-juju-smith-schuster-saints/2404946002/
December 23, 2018


Juju Smith-Schuster (19) reacts after losing a fumbe at the end of Sunday's game in New Orleans. (Photo: Derick E. Hingle, USA TODAY Sports)

NEW ORLEANS – JuJu Smith-Schuster sat in his locker, unable to move some 15 to 20 minutes after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ gut-wrenching 31-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Dazed, devastated, disheveled, the second-year wide receiver remained in full uniform. His eyes – red and puffy from the tears shed after his fumble killed a potential game-winning drive in Saints’ territory with 32 seconds left on the clock – stared at the floor in front of him. But his mind kept replaying the fateful turnover. It came at the tail end of an 8-yard catch that had moved the ball to the 34-yard line – at the very least, potentially in range for at least a game-tying field goal.

For the fourth time in five games, the Steelers experienced yet another unlucky break.

A month ago, an interception in the end zone sealed a 24-17 loss to Denver. The week after that, back-to-back penalties negated missed field goals and finally positioned the Chargers for a winning kick. The week after that, the Steelers missed a potential game-tying field goal when Chris Boswell slipped in a 24-21 loss at Oakland.Now it was Smith-Schuster experiencing the misfortune. He saw himself as a potential hero - gutting it through a groin injury that put his availability in doubt, he recorded 11 catches for 115 yards and then on the final reception got hit by Sheldon Rankins, and Demario Davis recovered the fumble.

"For it to come down like this every week, it sucks," he softly said about a half hour later after managing to collect himself, shower and dress. “This feeling sucks.”

Smith-Schuster’s teammates wouldn’t let him shoulder the blame for the loss.

“There were so many bad plays by each and every guy,” guard Ramon Foster said. And he was right. There were two fourth-quarter fumbles (Smith-Schuster’s and one by running back Stevan Ridley), a failed fake punt (stopped a yard short), six penalties (some questionable, some blatant) for 79 yards … and those were the obvious plays. As was the case in the three previous final-possession losses, the Steelers had their chances but fell prey to self-inflicted wounds.

And what made Sunday’s defeat most excruciating was the fact that because of those three other losses, they had no margin for error. Beating the the Saints was almost a necessity after AFC North rival Baltimore defeated the Chargers on Saturday night. The loss pushed Pittsburgh out of first place in the division and out of the playoff picture.

And now, at 8-6-1, the Steelers (who in mid-November boasted a 7-2-1 record) find themselves needing both to handle the Bengals next Sunday and the Browns to topple the Ravens.

“This is the NFL. There are so many ups and downs in it,” center Maurkice Pouncey said. “I wish the path was always easy, man. But we’ve got to finish it the right way. We had too many turnovers. It just sucks overall, I mean. This team works really hard, but we keep coming up a little bit short. Guys better come in on Wednesday ready to (expletive) work because we’ve got to play a good football game on Sunday.”

Outside of saying the right things, the Steelers really are at a loss for their struggles.

“You guys see us. We’re a pretty good team,” Foster said. “We’ve got a lot of offensive tools, we’ve got a Hall of Fame quarterback that’s pretty good also.”

They all work hard. They all strive for greatness. They all refuse to quit. Sunday’s third quarter reflected that. The offense kicked into high gear, and Ben Roethlisberger connected with Antonio Brown for two touchdowns while the defense briefly derailed Drew Brees with relentless pressure.

But they can’t figure out why the crippling errors – like the two fourth-quarter fumbles – and last-second collapses keep occurring.

Roethlisberger said, “You can be as skillful as you want; both sides and special teams. But there is still an element of luck to winning football. A guy on the line, not on the line. There is still a small element of luck involved. It’s just football.”

Maybe he’s right to a degree. Last year, eight of the Steelers' victories came by a one-score margin. Now, this team has found itself on the wrong end of those kinds of contests. But it can’t all be luck. The great teams find a way. The Steelers remain well-rounded and talented, but they can’t figure out how to get the job done. As a result, they could miss the postseason for the first time since 2013.

Coach Mike Tomlin – whose job status is the subject of much speculation despite the fact he has never had a losing record in 12 seasons – refused to delve into the sources of his team’s repeated shortcomings.

“I’m just here to talk about this game and what transpired today,” he said. “I’ll address some of those things on Tuesday when it’s more appropriate. I’m just here to give a synopsis of this game.”

He took the blame for the failed fake punt, which gave the Saints the ball at the Pittsburgh 46 with 4:11 left – setting up New Orleans for the touchdown that resulted in the final score of 31-28. He wanted to remain aggressive, he said, and maintain possession.

But otherwise, as far as the Steelers’ postseason prospects go, Tomlin said he and his players simply must continue to work and remain focused.

“We made the bed and we’ll lay in it and I expect us to lay in it very well and perform,” Tomlin said. “We’ll control everything that we can control and that’s our preparation and play next week. All other things out of our control, we won’t worry much about. Like everyone else, we’ve had 15 opportunities to this point. We won’t lament about our position. We’ll simply control the things that are in front of us, and that’s next week’s preparation.”

The problem is, that still might not be enough. Cincinnati also is reeling, having lost six of its last seven. Pittsburgh should be strong favorites. But even if the Steelers do win, a sickening end could still await.

Said Foster, “The worst thing that can happen to a team that should’ve been in the playoffs is that first weekend at home when you’re sitting there saying to yourself, ‘Damn. I don’t want to be here, and we could’ve probably beat that team right there.’ That is one of the worst feelings and situations to be in and we have to (understand) it. It’s all or nothing.”

Follow Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones.

If that's football, Steelers are out of luck

By Kevin Gorman
https://triblive.com/sports/steelers/14440197-74/what-we-learned-steelers-waste-chance-at-prime-playoff-positioning-in-loss
December 23, 2018

Joe Haden (23) attempts to intercept a pass in the end zone and is called for pass interference in the Steelers' 31-28 loss in New Orleans on Sunday. (Getty Images)

The Pittsburgh Steelers responded to their 31-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints with a shrug and a half-hearted smile, sticking to a stock answer to explain how they allowed another game slip away.

That’s football.

The Steelers said it over and over, as if the outcome was in the hands of the football gods instead of slipping out of the hands of Stevan Ridley and JuJu Smith-Schuster. The Steelers repeated it as if it were their mantra in a season with a tie and five losses by seven points or less.

“That’s football: You can be skillful as you want on both sides of the ball and special teams,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “There is still an element of luck involved in football.”

Before you start buying into the belief that if it wasn’t for bad luck the Steelers wouldn’t have any, this is a reminder the team with the best record in the NFL needed a prayer (and a couple of controversial pass-interference penalties) to win Sunday in the Superdome.

But the Steelers wouldn’t blame officiating for the defeat that allowed the Baltimore Ravens to seize control of the AFC North heading into the final week of the season. Nor should they have, considering they knew their playoff circumstances before kickoff.

The Steelers didn’t lose to the Saints because of two pass-interference penalties on cornerback Joe Haden — the hero against New England a week prior — or the fourth-quarter turnovers that allowed Drew Brees to engineer a touchdown drive that ended eerily reminiscent of how the Steelers beat Baltimore 10 years ago to clinch the division title.

They lost because of how they responded to those plays, by failing to capitalize on their chances. They answered a special-teams success on L.J. Fort’s blocked field goal with a special-teams screw-up when Roosevelt Nix was stopped short on a fake punt.

They lost because they followed the first pass interference on Haden — a phantom penalty if there ever was one — by allowing a touchdown and then coming up short at the Saints 13 and settling for a field goal. They lost because they followed Haden’s second pass interference penalty by allowing Ted Ginn Jr. to catch a 25-yard pass on a third-and-20.

They lost because Smith-Schuster got selfish, fighting for extra yards instead of moving onto the next play in Saints territory to set Chris Boswell up for a game-tying field goal in the final minute.

The Steelers lost not because of one of those shortcomings but the combination of them. They lost because it has been a recurring theme that has cost them in close games and could now cost them a playoff berth. They couldn’t do what Baltimore did against the Chargers: Win a game on the road against a superior opponent when it was necessary.

“We had our chances, surely, in the football game,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We overcome some adversity, some of it created by us. We did not make enough plays in the end. We accept responsibility for that. We acknowledge that.”

What the Steelers need to acknowledge is they lost once again because of a belief they can always pull out a victory in the final minute like last season. They have believed this, even as the Browns and Chiefs and Broncos and Chargers and Raiders and, now, the Saints have proved them wrong time after time this season.

“Crazier things have happened, but that’s football,” left guard Ramon Foster said. “You’ve got to be not the best fourth-quarter team. You’ve got to be the best for the entire (game) or at least be able to finish it out. We just did not do that.

“I know everybody’s going to look at the situational plays, the fumbles and stuff, but there were so many missed opportunities … You can’t criticize anybody. There were so many bad plays by each individual guy that there’s no one bad play.”

No, just a bad season, and one that has spun out of the Steelers’ control. They go into the season finale knowing they not only have to beat the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday at Heinz Field but need Cleveland to beat the Ravens in Baltimore, where the Browns have won four times since 1999 and only once in the past decade.

The Steelers know they have a slim chance to qualify as a wild card, but only if they win and Indianapolis and Tennessee tie. Crazier things have happened, but that’s asking to be suited for a strait jacket.

“A lot of guys in that locker room are taking it hard,” Roethlisberger said. “If they weren’t, I’d be more worried.”

So, the Steelers are taking this loss hard in the Big Easy, as they should be. I’d be more worried if it was just football. It runs deeper than that. The Steelers have sabotaged a season in which they were 7-2-1 by a false sense of security, believing it’s just football and they can turn it on at any time.

They have given us little reason, let alone faith, to believe things can go their way at the end. Skillful as they are, the Steelers are down to relying on luck in a season where they might just have run out of it.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

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