Scheduling quirk provides major gut check for NFL playoff team

PHILADELPHIA – T.J. Watt limped toward the tunnel that leads to the visitor’s locker room at Lincoln Financial Field Sunday in the final minutes of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

With three games in 11 days, against two more of the NFL’s best teams, both in their own conference, the Steelers may be doing the same into the postseason. 

“Very frustrating, especially this late in the season,” Watt said about the loss, adding that he rolled his ankle and will undergo further testing to determine his status for the team’s next game in six days against the Baltimore Ravens. 

A win would secure the AFC North for Pittsburgh. The Steelers play 96 hours after that on Christmas Day against the Kansas City Chiefs for a total of three games in 11 days. The combined record of those three opponents is 34-8. 

“We’re not afforded a lot of time,” defensive lineman Cam Heyward said. “We got to have a memory like a goldfish. Got to move on. Not to say we don’t respect who we just played, but the clock is ticking.” 

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The Eagles held the ball for the final 10 minutes and 29 seconds of the game. Philadelphia converted 10 of 17 third-down attempts (58.8%). Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was upset with the team’s tackling effort. 

“We weren’t good enough in some fundamental areas tonight,” he said. “We own that, particularly as coaches.

“We started slow, but you have to give some credit to those guys. I wasn’t necessarily overly concerned about the start. The starts are not going to define us. But again, I think we largely look at the big picture as those fundamental things outlined.”

In the second half, the Steelers had two total possessions – which culminated in a fumble and a punt – and ran 11 plays. The start of the game was worse. They punted on four of their first five drives but managed a field goal along the way – a fumble by Eagles rookie Cooper DeJean on a punt return gave the Steelers the ball at the Philadelphia 11-yard line. That was after the Steelers had already wasted a perfect punchout from Watt on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts that gave them possession in plus-territory. 

“We knew they were capable of running it and passing it,” Watt said after Hurts threw for 290 yards and A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith each had more than 100 yards and a touchdown for Philadelphia. 

Prior to its early field goal, Pittsburgh had the ball on the 1-yard line before a fight resulted in a pair of personal fouls assessed to the Steelers, much to Tomlin’s disgust. The team’s first first down came more than 20 minutes into the game. The Eagles finished with 26 first downs; Pittsburgh had 10. 

“They played way better than us tonight. It’s unacceptable how we played,” Wilson said. “I think we feel like we got to be sharper. So we just have to stay the course. And know that, obviously, we have a big week coming up. We have to respond. We have to get ready to go.”

The Steelers are 6-2 since Wilson took over the starting role from Justin Fields, who left Sunday with an abdomen injury following his one play in the game – which drew a dubious unnecessary roughness penalty. 

Pittsburgh averaged 3.3 yards on the ground against Philadelphia’s front. The team has scored at least 26 points in all but one of its wins (an 18-16 win over the Ravens at home on Nov. 17). But Wilson (14-of-22 for 128 passing yards) had 30 less passing yards against the Eagles than he did in last week’s 27-14 win over the Browns (158), and he has a 60.4% completion percentage over the two games.

That’s coincided with the absence of wide receiver George Pickens, the team’s leading target who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury. 

“We’re not just trying to squeak into the playoffs,” Heyward said. “It’s nice to know that we don’t have to wait until Week 18 if we’re in the playoffs or not. We have a playoff team. We knew that before this game. We played a quality, playoff opponent.” 

They’ll see a couple more in short order. That’s no reason to be dramatic and “circle the wagons,” Heyward said. Winning the AFC North remains in their grasp, and defeating the Ravens for a second time in 2024 would be a fitting final step in reaching that destination. 

“We’re not going to run from that,” Heyward said. “We knew we were walking into some tough games ahead.”