“Find Me The Next Two Wins”: Analyst wonders if Pittsburgh will make the playoffs

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Cleveland Browns was disappointing, especially given the remaining schedule. Pittsburgh has to play twice more against the Cincinnati Bengals, again against the Baltimore Ravens and Browns, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s not crazy to wonder how many of these games Pittsburgh will end up winning, but it is crazy to wonder if the Steelers will still make the playoffs. That’s exactly what Fox Sports’ Jason McIntyre did on The Herd with Colin Cowherd yesterday.

“By the way, have you looked at the Steelers schedule?” McIntyre asked Colin Cowherd. “I’m not saying the sky is falling, but could you have two more wins on the agenda? Here it is, find me the next two wins they have.”

Cowherd responded with the Bengals and Browns — the next two games — which led to McIntyre laughing about Pittsburgh beating Cincinnati since the Bengals are coming off a bye week and the Steelers are two division games behind. However, the Steelers themselves will have a mini-bye week themselves, a 10-day break following the Browns game on Thursday night.

“9-8 gets them in?” asked McIntyre. “…Are you in Miami or Denver?”

The Steelers currently lead their division and hold the third-place spot in the AFC. McIntyre believes the only game Pittsburgh will win handily is the Browns game. A 9-8 finish would be difficult to achieve, but even if the Denver Broncos also finished 9-8, the Steelers would have a playoff tiebreaker after their Week 2 win. Miami is 4-6 and the road back to the playoffs feels like a stretch.

Sure, 9-8 might not get Pittsburgh into the game, but as long as the Steelers go 10-7, which is what Cowherd thinks, Pittsburgh should be a lock. Asking whether Pittsburgh will make the playoffs at 8-3 is just silly. Yes, Pittsburgh still has a tough schedule ahead of it, but a week-long snow game on the road against a division rival is never going to be easy. While it’s certainly a disappointing loss and unacceptable, it wasn’t at all surprising either.

If McIntyre is right, I’ll give him his flowers. But then questions have to be asked of the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin. You just can’t start 8-2 and then not make the playoffs, no matter how tough the end of the schedule is. I doubt the Steelers miss the playoffs as Pittsburgh always finds ways to win even when they shouldn’t on paper.