Can the Steelers get back to .500 before the bye week?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a great opportunity ahead of them with the injured Seattle Seahawks coming to town. Despite knocking off the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, the Steelers dug themselves a hole very quick suffering losses to the Raiders, Bengals, and Packers in consecutive weeks, but you already knew that. A bounce back victory against the Denver Broncos has put the team in a decent position a week before the Steelers hit a much-needed bye week. Sitting with a 2-3 record, and alone in last place of the AFC North, the Steelers can bring themselves back above the surface and potentially even themselves with other teams in the division.

Knocking off the Seattle Seahawks means the Steelers can hit their bye week on a two-game winning streak and get the rest of their team some much needed rest and recovery time. Carrying momentum, and a hopefully healthy squad, into Cleveland for what will be one of the Steelers biggest tests of the year. Winning that game against the Browns could put the team on a clear playoff path, but falling to 0-2 within the division could spell trouble for the Steelers. The worst-case scenario for the Steelers is losing against a Geno Smith led Seahawks team, and then losing again to the Browns. A 2-5 record could be the death knell for the Steelers 2021 season, even with an addition 10 games to go in the regular season.

Once the Steelers get through the month of October they will face a fairly cushy November month. Taking on two struggling NFC North teams in the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions before traveling out west for a mega-matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers before finally getting their rematch with the Cincinnati Bengals. On paper fans should know the Steelers playoff status before the schedule even hits December, especially with seven playoff teams per conference. Going at least 4-2 over the next six games will keep the black and gold on a playoff pace. But one thing is for certain, if the Steelers enter December with a losing record it could spell the end for any playoff push.

The playoff push starts this week on Sunday Night Football. If the Steelers can't take advantage of a Russell Wilson-less Seattle Seahawks, with one of the worst defenses in football, they really shouldn't be making playoff plans. You have to have the games you're supposed to win and for a Steelers team that isn't as strong as it has been in recent years avoiding trap losses is a major key to any type of playoff aspirations. Winning on Sunday does just that.

But what do you think? Will the Steelers even up their record before the Week 7 bye week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.