Does there come a point in an NFL season where a team has to accept its fate? Or does a team play until the end as if it still has a chance? This is a crossroads the 2-6Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves sitting firmly at.
This week, the Steelers get to return home to take on the 3-6 Buffalo Bills, both teams playing for pride more than postseason aspirations. Here's what you need to know going into Week 10.
Division Standings
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7-2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4-5 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 3-5 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 2-6 |
ESPN
The AFC North was a strong division coming into the season on paper. Unfortunately, games are played on the field and even the Super Bowl champions, the Baltimore Ravens, have fallen on hard times. The Bengals stumbled last week but still hold a commanding lead over the rest of the division.
The big news last Sunday was that the Steelers didn't have any significant injuries during the game. You laugh, but it's a rarity this season to have this team get through a weekend without one or more players being injured.
Vincent Pugliese/Getty Images
Looking ahead to the Bills, the primary carry-over injury is that of guard David DeCastro, who was out with an ankle injury. The offensive line really felt the loss of its best player and can't sustain if DeCastro is forced to miss more time. The Bills defensive line is much better than the Patriots line and so if the Steelers want to win this, it's got to be all hands on deck.
The only other injury is the continuing recovery of wide receiver Markus Wheaton from a broken pinky. This injury doesn't appear significant because Wheaton hasn't really played much, but it is more than that. Going forward, this team needs to start to assess the young players on the roster, and if Wheaton isn't on the field, it cannot do that.
What Must Improve
Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. On Sunday, the Steelers defense had lapse after lapse that gave the Patriots easy opportunities to just gobble up yards and score seemingly at will.
Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
These aren't scheme issues. This isn't the fault of the coaching staff. These are professional football players who failed to do their jobs. This week-to-week inconsistency is what has doomed this team all year. Looking ahead to Buffalo, these sort of lapses will get this team to 2-7 in a hurry if it isn't careful.
On a Sunday where the offense moves the football and puts up 31 points, the defense falls flat on its face. Another week the defense steps up and snuffs out the opposing offense, but the Steelers can't capitalize.
It's been this Jeckyll-and-Hyde mentality that has been the face of this team all year. In the rare instances where it has put both together, big shock here, it has won. Against the Bills, a team that can run the football and force turnovers, it's going to take a supreme effort in all three phases to pull off a win.
Can the Steelers rally this week?
In the final analysis, it's really about execution and the Steelers simply aren't executing. Truth be told, there isn't enough time in a week to change the culture of a team, or rebuild what is broken. So it comes down to the players finding it within themselves to play better. Play smarter, and more disciplined.
It will be a measure of the character of this team going forward. There are still eight games to play, with no real hope for the playoffs. Does this team lay down and die, or does it step up and play with the pride and intensity that the league has come to expect from the Steelers? It all starts now.
BleacherReport.com | Curt Popejoy | Lead Writer
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