January concerns: Steelers show ‘warts’ in surviving Ravens, 18-16

Here’s one mind-blowing reason why the NFL is so unpredictable, as Sal Iacono noted Sunday night on the Bill Simmons Podcast, Joe Burrow and the Bengals scored 10 touchdowns in two losses to the Ravens this season. Russell Wilson and the Steelers didn’t score a single touchdown and still beat Baltimore, 18-16, on Sunday.

Pittsburgh (8-2) got six Chris Boswell field goals and leaned into its ferocious defense – forcing a Lamar Jackson incompletion on a late two-point attempt to escape the Ravens (7-4). Afterward, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin showed a bit of a concern.

“I love Boz, and I’m tired of him getting player of the week,” said Tomlin, who needs one more win to extend his remarkable record streak of career-opening seasons without a losing record. “He probably got player of the week again this week. He is deserving of it, but it reminds us of our warts. It reminds us of the work that we need to do. But no doubt I’m thankful that he’s on our team.”

Bill Simmons also was concerned. When the Steelers enter the playoffs, will they have the Russell Wilson that dominated the NFL with Seattle, or the Wilson who struggled with Denver? They seemed to have the former version in a colossal game on Sunday. Wilson finished 23 of 36 for 205 yards with an awful red-zone interception in the fourth quarter. He was just 2 of 9 for 7 yards on red-zone attempts. Pittsburgh was 0-for-4 on touchdowns inside the Ravens’ 20.

“The Russ thing combined with really having only one receiver, I just worry about them in January,” Simmons said, noting that George Pickens (eight catches for 89 yards) was the only wide receiver with more than two receptions.

“Seems like they have a really good chance to win the division now but just big-picture, it just feels like they’re not going to be able to get to 20 points in a playoff game, like this. Seems like 18-19 is probably the limit for them.”

And speaking of Denver, looking ahead to the potential playoff field, Wilson’s replacement with the Broncos might give Pittsburgh the lowest-rated quarterback in the postseason.

“Is there any scenario where he’s not the worst quarterback in the AFC playoffs?” asked Iacono.

Bo Nix has the Broncos (6-5) on a positive, upward curve, having springboarded himself into the Rookie of the Year conversation. Justin Herbert and the Chargers (7-3) are rolling. And don’t unpack any Steelers playoff tickets before they arrive because Pittsburgh still needs to navigate a gauntlet over its final seven games.

That gauntlet starts with the first of two games in three weeks against bitter rival Cleveland (2-8), where Kevin Stefanski is seemingly coaching for his job. The Steelers make the two-hour bus ride to meet the Browns on Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video).

For more information on the Steelers and Ravens, visit the Pittsburgh and Baltimore team pages at ProFootballPost.com.