The bye week has come and gone, the Steelers are at 1-3, they're sitting two games behind two teams in the loss column...
Bottom line: it's Do or Die time for the Steelers.
How does the schedule look?
The Steelers enter a critical six game stretch, three of which will be on the road. They -have- to win four out of six, but truth be told, they really need five. Let's look ahead for a moment.
10/15 vs Chiefs
10/22 at Falcons
10/29 at Raiders
11/05 vs Broncos
11/12 vs Saints
11/19 at Browns
That's one tough road game (Falcons), one tough home game (Broncos), and two games the Steelers should be favored in, but not by much (Chiefs, Saints).
Can they do it?
It's actually a feasible prospect. First, let's grant wins over the Raiders and Browns. (If the Steelers drop one of those two, you can turn out the lights. Party's over.) Now take a look at the two medium-grade opponents - KC and New Orleans. The Steelers get both at home. Truthfully, I think the Steelers are more complete than both teams - especially Kansas City. That they're both in Pittsburgh is huge.
That leaves the Steelers needing only a split between their contests with Denver and Atlanta. And there you have it - five wins out of six, a 6-4 record with two games remaining with Baltimore and one with the Bengals. That's a reasonable situation for the Black and Gold to deal with as they (presumably) hit mid-season form.
But watch very, very closely this weekend, boys and girls. The time to start the turnaround is upon us.
--PB--