Dec 8, 2018 6 min read

It’s funny what a couple of close losses will do to perception.

Two weeks ago, the Steelers were riding high at 7-2-1 and considered a team in contention for a bye in the first round of the AFC playoffs and to make the Super Bowl.

Two weeks – and two tough losses – later, people are questioning if they’ll even make the playoffs.

Here’s the thing: The Steelers are still one of the best teams in the AFC, if not the NFL. Yeah, they haven’t necessarily played like it the past few weeks, turning the ball over eight times.

Even with those turnovers, they’ve had to have some pretty big things happen to lose in Denver and then at home to the Chargers.

In Denver, they gained 527 yards, moving the ball up and down the field. It was the one game in which their red zone offense — which leads the league — let them down in a 24-17 loss.

Last week against the Chargers, they blew a 16-point second-half lead, came back and tied the game, then lost it on a last-second field goal. And there were more blown calls in that game than at a National Turkey Federation Convention.

The fact is, there are currently two teams in the NFL who are in the top 10 in both offense and defense. The Steelers, who are fourth in total offense and seventh in total defense, are one. The Chargers, who are fifth in offense and eighth on defense, are the other.

Don’t jump off a bridge just yet.

• Much has been made of the Steelers losing their last three trips to Oakland (2006, 2012, 2013) against Raiders teams that were a combined 10-38.

Those also were all games started by Ben Roethlisberger, who has never guided the Steelers to a win in Oakland.

But they also were decidedly average Steelers teams. All three finished 8-8.

One thing we already know about this season is the Steelers won’t finish 8-8. They can’t because of a tie in Week 1 at Cleveland.

• The Steelers are 3-14 in games played outside the Eastern and Central time zones with Roethlisberger at quarterback. That’s astoundingly bad.

A big reason for that is his propensity for throwing interceptions in those games. While Roethlisberger has averaged 312.5 yards passing on those 17 games, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is 27-23.

Obviously, he needs to improve in that area.

• How will the Steelers’ running game look without James Conner, who’s out with an ankle injury?

It will be a little more predictable. Jaylen Samuels catches the ball well out of the backfield and is a mismatch problem for defenses, but he had a career-high of 12 carries in college at North Carolina State. That’s the same number of carries he has this season.

Look for veteran Stevan Ridley to get more of the carries out of the backfield, with Samuels playing more on obvious passing downs.

• Remember, in 2005, at this same point in the season, the Steelers were on the outside looking in at a playoff spot at 7-5 and coming off a four-turnover game at home to Cincinnati.

That team then rattled off four consecutive wins — against the Bears, Vikings, Browns and Lions — to finish 11-5 and go on to win the Super Bowl.

It’s why I’m very hesitant to say this team is cooked at 7-4-1.

• NFL vice president of officiating Al Riveron puts out a video each Friday to discuss disputed calls that were made the previous week.

Interestingly, there was nothing on this week’s regarding the multiple questionable calls — or non-calls — in the Steelers-Chargers game.

I can tell you this. I sit next to the league’s officials observer in the Heinz Field press box. The observer was feverishly taking notes several times during that game.

This week’s picks

Steelers minus 11 at Raiders: Yes, the Steelers haven’t won in Oakland since 1995. But those Raiders weren’t in tank mode like this one. Not that the players on the field are tanking for a better draft pick, but the organization has traded away or released every player who has any talent in an effort to get the No. 1 pick in the draft. The Raiders are dead last in touchdown passes allowed (29), sacks (10) and rush defense (153.3 yards per game). Quarterback Derek Carr has been sacked 39 times and they average 18 points per game. There’s nothing the Raiders do well. The 11 points is a lot, but that tells you how the Raiders are viewed. Take the Steelers to win, 34-16.

Ravens plus 6½ over Chiefs: Let’s get this out of the way first: The Chiefs will win this game. But the Ravens’ defense will make things tough on a Kansas City team playing without running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver Sammie Watkins. If the Chiefs get a lead in this game, look out. But the Ravens will keep running and try to keep it close. They should be capable of doing that, but Kansas City is a tough place to play. Look for the Chiefs to win but the Ravens to keep it close in a 27-24 loss.

Browns pick over Panthers: The Panthers are falling apart while the Browns have played pretty well at home. Baker Mayfield will find some openings against the Carolina defense. And Cam Newton’s shoulder issues kept him out of practice all week. He could have some trouble driving the ball through the wind in Cleveland. The Browns will win their fifth game, 23-17

Chargers plus 14 over Bengals: This is a big spread but it’s a big spread for a reason. The Bengals stink. They might be the worst team in football, even after their 5-2 start. A.J. Green joined Andy Dalton on injured reserve this week and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. The Chargers won an emotional game against the Steelers and have another coming up against the Chiefs, which makes this scary, but the Bengals don’t have the firepower to win. The Chargers get to 10-3 with a 34-10 win.

Cardinals plus 2 ½ over Lions: The Lions are even more banged up than the Bengals. And the Cardinals are coming off a big win last week in Green Bay. They’re not good, but neither are the Lions. There’s no way Detroit should be giving anyone points, especially on the road. The Cardinals will win outright, 23-16.