Following an embarrassing week one loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Pittsburgh Steelers have put themselves in a rough spot. The team will be visiting the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, hoping to get back on track. With a loss, however, things become far more complicated.
The Steelers are no stranger to losing to the Tennessee Titans. Last year, the Titans, one of the bottom dwellers of the 2012 season, upset the Steelers. That loss, along with the Steelers’ loss to the Raiders, derailed any hopes the Steelers had of making a postseason appearance. This year has gotten off to a similar start.
The Steelers’ offense was completely inept against the Titans’ less-than-elite defense without center Maurkice Pouncey. Unfortunately, help is not on the way for the Steelers, and they’ll have to find a better way to cope with the loss of their star center.
The Steelers’ defense was able to hold the Titans in check most of the game last weekend, but against the Bengals, it’s hard to imagine the Steelers giving up less than 20 points. If that’s the case, the weight of the game will fall on the offense, which should be a scary proposition for any Steelers fan at the moment.
A loss isn’t the end of the world for the Steelers. In fact, the team has become experts at digging themselves out of their own holes in recent years, but we have to wonder if they even have a roster capable of doing so at this point. The Steelers of the past handled teams they were supposed to beat with ease. That’s not the case anymore.
0-2 isn’t the final nail in anyone’s coffin, but it won’t be getting any easier either. The Steelers follow their Monday night battle by hosting the Chicago Bears, a team that, at the current rate, could easily drop the Steelers to 0-3. In a competitive division, 0-3 would probably be enough to lock the Steelers out of postseason contention.
