Welp.....its down to this....

[steelmann58]

Jets going to be tough to beat at home our offense going struggle vs anyone.
The steelers going toned to load up on the offensive side of the ball this draft.
Playing making WR/TE will be an excellent start.

[K_C_]

Who cares. I get it would be fun to have a playoff game, but tonight shows we will get waxed first round.

Hodges blows. He was exposed tonight. Rudolph isn't great, but the love for Hodges blows my mind. When Rudolph did what Hodges did tonight folks went nuts. But this performance will be the coaches fault.......

People like Hodges’ disposition. They like rooting for a undrafted rookie. They like his swagger. That’s it. The Duck “craze” isn’t because he’s been good, in fact, he’s been pretty average and tonight he was terrible.

I'd still rather have a guy that tries to make the big play, rather than taking a sack or throwing it away at the end of the game or checking it down to your RB on 4th and 29. There's more hope for a guy who tries and fails than one who is scared to try. He never looked scared.

How he bounces back will tell the tale of: does he have a future as a backup? Is it worth trying to help him grow?

The Rudolph prior to the Earl Thomas hit, looked more like an NFL QB than Duck. He definitely threw underneath plenty, but wasn't nearly as afraid to use the middle of the field.

Rudolph had plenty of warts and outside of the Rams game (where he faced a very good defense and played well), he played scared after coming back from that injury. Makes sense when you get knocked out completely on the field.

Dumblin likely won't, but if Rudolph is practicing like the guy prior to the Thomas hit, he'd be my starter against the Jets. If he struggles, turn to Duck. Duck's saved Mason's ass in the past. Maybe he could do it again and maybe a 2 QB system going forward might work. Simply stick with the hot hand.

But something needs to be done.

Christ, if former first round pick Paxton Lynch is showing anything on the practice squad, get him activated and give it a shot.

[steelcountry]

ESPN Thing is showing me a 9-7 Texans team gets in over a 9-7 Steelers

It depends on who the Titans beat. If they somehow beat the Saints then the Steelers own the tiebreaker at 9-7.

The Texans own the 9-7 tiebreaker.

Houston also owns the division tiebreaker with Tennessee, so if the Titans lose next weekend, the Texans win the division.

Correct, I read that as the Titans.

[Professor Half Wit]

Both QBs stink. Made worse by the fact they don’t employ a full-time QB coach to help mitigate the suck.

Or a full time OC, apparently.

[bradshaw2ben]

Rooting for Texans win over Bucs and Bears over Chiefs in order for HOU wk 17 game against Ten to have relevance.

Bears v Chiefs means diddly squat.

It absolutely matters.

If KC keeps winning, then Ravens will have to win in week 17 to keep homefield.

SBI:

TB over HOU
CHI over KC
HOU over TEN in Week 17

NO over TN if KC loses.

Best I can come up with right now.

[Pabst]

Rooting for Texans win over Bucs and Bears over Chiefs in order for HOU wk 17 game against Ten to have relevance.

Bears v Chiefs means diddly squat.

It absolutely matters.

If KC keeps winning, then Ravens will have to win in week 17 to keep homefield.

SBI:

TB over HOU
CHI over KC
HOU over TEN in Week 17

NO over TN if KC loses.

Best I can come up with right now.

Chiefs are 10-4. The Ravens clinch home field with a win next weekend.

On the flip side, a Chiefs loss means the #3 is in play for the Texans and potentially a #2 if the Pats lose out.

[bradshaw2ben]

Should have restated:

BAL over CLE or KC loss this week + IND win + PIT win over NYJ makes life a lot easier in week 17.

If the above happens +TEN loses to NO, then Indy win in Week 17 means PIT in playoffs no matter what happens in TEN at HOU or PIT at BAL.
If the above happens + TEN beats HOU, then HOU needs to win in week 17 for division and Ravens have no motivation for week 17 win.

[rooneytunes]

Should have restated:

BAL over CLE or KC loss this week + IND win + PIT win over NYJ makes life a lot easier in week 17.

If the above happens +TEN loses to NO, then Indy win in Week 17 means PIT in playoffs no matter what happens in TEN at HOU or PIT at BAL.
If the above happens + TEN beats HOU, then HOU needs to win in week 17 for division and Ravens have no motivation for week 17 win.

Holy crap. That is a lot to figure out. Thanks man. I want this scenario. I just want the fuck in.

[Texas Black & Gold]

Who cares. I get it would be fun to have a playoff game, but tonight shows we will get waxed first round.

Hodges blows. He was exposed tonight. Rudolph isn't great, but the love for Hodges blows my mind. When Rudolph did what Hodges did tonight folks went nuts. But this performance will be the coaches fault.......

How hard is this to understand for Steelers fans? Unless you're a complete bed-wetting pussy, you want the Steelers to play football for as long as possible. It doesn't matter the supporting cast. Anything can happen and usually does.

I am convinced that some on this site are not Steelers fans. They just enjoy complaining, finger pointing and criticizing others. Sometimes it is amusing though.

The Steelers will bounce back next week.

[Orangesteel]

Yeah my head is spinning from that.

Ideally I’d like for the Steelers to get in if we get to 9-7. We need to win at the Jets in what now will be a very difficult game.

I think the chances of winning at BAL are very slim regardless of who is behind center.

Thoughts on TEN losing their remaining games? If they do, and we get to 9-7, then who else do we need to worry about getting the 6th seed?

[R_S]

The way this team shits the bed a win vs the Jets isn't a given. They need to win out now to even be considering a 6th seed.

Do they shit the bed? Or have they been playing over their heads and lost a close game to a good football team? Damn, Steelers fans expectations are so fucked.

[jeemie]

Rooting for Texans win over Bucs and Bears over Chiefs in order for HOU wk 17 game against Ten to have relevance.

Bears v Chiefs means diddly squat.

It absolutely matters.

If KC keeps winning, then Ravens will have to win in week 17 to keep homefield.

SBI:

TB over HOU
CHI over KC
HOU over TEN in Week 17

NO over TN if KC loses.

Best I can come up with right now.

No they won’t. If the Ravens win next week, they have home field clinched...they have a two game lead on KC right now.

The only thing we need as help right now is to have the Ravens win and the Tennessee/Houston finale mean something to each team.

KC is irrelevant if Baltimore wins next week.

[rooneytunes]

Indy looses tonight at Saints, beat Carolina at home and Jax on road to finish 8-8

Cleveland loses one game between home vs Ravens or at Cincy

Titans lose to New Orleans at home AND Texans on road to finish 8-8

Raiders lose one game either at Chargers or at Broncos.

Steelers lose at Jets and at Ravens finish 8-8


Backdoor baby!!! Steelers in at 8-8

[Professor Half Wit]

The way this team shits the bed a win vs the Jets isn't a given. They need to win out now to even be considering a 6th seed.

Do they shit the bed? Or have they been playing over their heads and lost a close game to a good football team? Damn, Steelers fans expectations are so fucked.

^^^

[jeemie]

The way this team shits the bed a win vs the Jets isn't a given. They need to win out now to even be considering a 6th seed.

Do they shit the bed? Or have they been playing over their heads and lost a close game to a good football team? Damn, Steelers fans expectations are so fucked.

Agreed.

Anyone having any expectations of the team this year is spoiled rotten.

[K_C_]

The way this team shits the bed a win vs the Jets isn't a given. They need to win out now to even be considering a 6th seed.

Do they shit the bed? Or have they been playing over their heads and lost a close game to a good football team? Damn, Steelers fans expectations are so fucked.

Agreed.

Anyone having any expectations of the team this year is spoiled rotten.

We absolutely SHIT THE BED offensively.

Play calling and QB play was fucking embarrassing.

We came away with no points in the red zone because Bitchner went to the goddamn wildcat, which fooled NOBODY last night.

So yeah....we SHIT THE BED big time.

[R_S]

They were playing one of the best defenses in the league with a 3rd string QB and practice squad skill players. This is not a team that "shit's the bed" regularly. If anything, they have been shitting in a golden toilet as of late. Last years team "shit the bed" when they lost 4 of the last 6 and missed the playoffs with a HOF QB

[Steelafan77]

The way this team shits the bed a win vs the Jets isn't a given. They need to win out now to even be considering a 6th seed.

Do they shit the bed? Or have they been playing over their heads and lost a close game to a good football team? Damn, Steelers fans expectations are so fucked.

Every Fucking season.

You know RS that game was WINNABLE. In the end the game was very winnable. Even though as you stated the Steelers are playing with less talented 3rd string, 4th string benchwarmers.

Against one of the better defenses in the league. That game was still winnable if not for the embarrassing less than professional execution and even poorer playcalling.

So when I say they shit the bed. That's what I mean by shitting the bed. This team has done this throughout Tomlin's career. With different coordinators and position coaches. One thing has stayed the same.

This team even with superstar performances and elite position players hasn't won shit in a decade. Why is that? Because they shit the bed? Because they're playing over their heads? and my favorite, Steelers fans expectations are so Fucked?

So on the flipside of that "coach of the year" nomination Tomlin should have been a legitimate candidate when this team went 8-8 with the likes of Ben, Brown and Bell? When they were humiliated in the postseason one and done?

So yeah my expectations are fucked cause I want to see this team winning. OK. That's your opinion. Happy Holidays....