The Pittsburgh Steelers had an opportunity to create some separation in the race for an American Football Conference wild-card spot, but instead they came crashing back to the pack and saw their playoff hopes take a serious hit with consecutive home losses to two-win teams in five days.
The latest was a 21-18 setback against the New England Patriots on Thursday in which the Steelers fell into a second-quarter 18-point hole and could not recover.
“Obviously, this stings, but we’ll be back,” coach Mike Tomlin said.
Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA Today
Pittsburgh (7-6) are the first team above .500 in NFL history to lose consecutive games to teams both at least eight games below .500. Pittsburgh began this month atop the race for the top wild-card spot in the AFC.
The Steelers were sloppy on Sunday last week,falling to an uninspiring 14-point loss against the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals.
On Thursday, Bailey Zappe threw three first-half touchdown passes as New England (3-10) snapped a five-game losing streak.
“I have to play better,” Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “I feel like I let the guys down. It’s disappointing. I didn’t play good enough to win.”
Trubisky made his first start in nearly a year for Pittsburgh in place of the injured Kenny Pickett, who is out indefinitely after undergoing right ankle surgery.
Despite a late second-half surge, Trubisky could not make a difference. He finished 22 of 35 for 190 yards. He had a rushing and passing touchdown, but also threw an interception that led to a Patriots touchdown in the second quarter.
“I thought he got better as the game went on,” Tomlin said. “Obviously, it wasn’t the type of start we needed.”
The Steelers, after averaging 171 yards rushing in their past five games, managed just 82 yards on the ground against New England, the NFL’s No. 3-ranked run defense.
Trubisky was the Steelers’ leading rusher with 30 yards. Najee Harris ran for 29 yards on 12 carries and Jaylen Warren had 11 yards on seven touches.
The Steelers saw a brief flash of what their offense could be in a 421-yard outburst during a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 26, a game played just days after firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
However, the same inconsistencies that plagued the Steelers during their loss to Arizona just five days earlier resurfaced, as an inability to sustain drives, penalties and a poorly timed turnover contributed to another home upset loss to a two-win team.
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