PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers made history on Saturday night, but it wasn't the type of history they were hoping to make.
By virtue of their 19-17 loss to the Bengals, Pittsburgh (10-7) became the third team in NFL history to enter the playoffs with a four-game losing streak (h/t ESPN). They are the first team to do so since the 1999 Detroit Lions, who got off to a surprising 8-4 start despite Barry Sanders' shocking retirement just before the start of training camp. Detroit staggered late, however, dropping its final four games before an unceremonious loss to Washington in the wild-card round.
Like the '99 Lions, the Steelers also seem destined to bow out quietly in the first round of the playoffs, especially if Pittsburgh has to face the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round. But even if Pittsburgh gets Houston next week, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone picking the Steelers to win that game, and for good reason.
The Steelers' offense is the biggest reason for said pessimism. The unit has failed to score more than 17 points in each of their last four games. Russell Wilson has reverted back to his old form in terms of holding onto the ball too long. The running game has been inconsistent, and the Steelers' lack of receiver depth is being exposed. It also doesn't help that George Pickens has woefully underperformed as the team's No. 1 receiver.
Pickens was a non-factor on Saturday night; he caught one pass for no yards on six targets. In the locker room after the game, multiple members of the Bengals' defense were overheard discussing how Pickens spent the entire game "complaining" instead of competing.
"We made them one dimensional early," Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton told CBS Sports when asked about his unit's success against Pittsburgh's offense. "[Pickens is] one of the best deep ball threats in all of football. Our main job is take him away and force everybody else to beat us."
Pittsburgh's defense started slow, but they were excellent in the red zone against Cincinnati. They also came up with several big plays down the stretch that gave the Steelers a chance to steal Saturday night's game. But the offense was unable to come up with a game-winning drive. Instead, they were stopped by a defense that they had torched just seven weeks earlier.
Unless their offense figures things out (and quickly), the Steelers' streak of seasons without a playoff win will reach nine, an unfathomable number for a franchise that prides itself on competing for and winning championships. Yes, Mike Tomlin's streak of non-losing seasons (18) is an incredible feat, but it doesn't erase his and his team's recent shortcomings in the playoffs.
This offseason, the Steelers were tasked with ending their drought without a playoff win. After a 10-3 start, it appeared that Pittsburgh accomplishing that was inevitable. It certainly doesn't feel that way now.
On a positive note, the Texans don't have the talent that Cincinnati's offense possesses, and at this point, their defense doesn't look at good as Cincinnati's, either. And if they go to Baltimore, the Steelers do have familiarity going for them, along with the fact that Lamar Jackson has a history of coming up short in the playoffs.
Let's say the Steelers do find a way to win next weekend. It's hard to fathom them parlaying that win into an improbable run through the AFC playoffs. The most realistic route for the Steelers is upsetting Houston next week before their season ends in Buffalo for a second straight year.
Yes, there are worse situations to be in (just ask Jets fans). But the Steelers perpetually being just better than average has become more stale than your two-day old leftover dinner that you forgot was hiding in the back of the refrigerator.
