Going through some struggles heading into the postseason isn’t ideal. Every team would love to go into the postseason on a 17-game winning streak, meaning it hadn’t lost a game during the regular season.
That’s where the Steelers find themselves heading into next weekend’s postseason, as they’ve now lost their final four games after dropping a 19-17 decision Saturday night to the Bengals.
That, however, doesn’t necessarily mean anything once the playoffs begin.
After all, going unbeaten in the regular season has only happened twice in the history of the NFL, and even then, one of those unbeaten teams, the 2007 Patriots, failed to win the Super Bowl that season, coming up short in the championship game.
The beauty of the playoff format of the NFL is that it’s not a series of games that decide who takes home the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season. It’s a series of single elimination games in which anything can and often does happen.
The regular season slate is wiped clean and the only thing that matters is which is the better team on that day.
“We’re going to have to go on the road and get it done,” said Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson. “That’s really the only thing that matters right now is us being able to adjust and think about that and be prepared for that. Really it’s one-and-done type mentality. You got to go get it and find a way to win the next game.”
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some instances where the Steelers have rebounded from a rough stretch of play, even in the final weeks of the season, going into the postseason to make some noise in the playoffs.
1996 Steelers, 10-6, first place AFC Central
The 1996 Steelers got off to a rocky start in Jacksonville when Jim Miller – replacing 1996 starter Neil O’Donnell – opened the season as the team’s starting quarterback but was replaced at halftime by Mike Tomczak after linebacker Greg Lloyd was lost for the season.
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