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Skidding Steelers are playoff-bound, but not for long if they can’t emerge from a late funk

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The classic rock song “Renegade” by Styx has been a fixture at Acrisure Stadium for two decades.

The intro is always the same. The video board briefly fades to black, the crowd goes silent and the voice of lead singer Tommy Shaw intones “Oh Mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the law.”

What typically follows is an explosion of sound set to highlights of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense mashing opponents synced up with the track’s iconic drum beat.

In theory, it’s all designed to intimidate. Not so much at the moment.

If anything, the song’s lyrics — about a criminal who was caught and is about to be executed — are symbolic of a team whose once-promising season is running short on time.

A month ago, the Steelers had a semi-comfortable lead in the AFC North and an outside chance at securing one of the top two seeds in the conference.

Now, Pittsburgh (10-7) heads into a first-round playoff game in Baltimore riding a four-game skid that has offered little evidence it is ready to end a postseason victory drought that stretches to 2016.

The defense is no longer creating turnovers at the rapid rate that helped carry the Steelers to their 10-3 start. The offense that steadily improved through much of the fall has regressed. And the optimism that flourished not so long ago has dimmed considerably.

Coach Mike Tomlin is trying to stay upbeat, mostly because he doesn’t have a choice.

“We’re a mentally tough group,” Tomlin said. “It’s OK to learn from these lessons and remember the things that created this. Nothing mystical about it.”

That’s perhaps the most jarring aspect of his team’s swoon. Pittsburgh isn’t exactly beating itself. Instead, the Steelers are simply being beaten.

They haven’t led a game at any point since the final snap of a victory over Cleveland on Dec. 8 and have often looked outclassed against the kinds of teams (Philadelphia, Baltimore, Kansas City and Cincinnati) that have been playoff fixtures most of this decade.

The Steelers have been a part of that group too. They have, after all, reached the postseason in four of the past five years.

Yet each of their previous three trips ended the same way: with a lopsided loss in the opening round.

Every move Pittsburgh has made over the past 11 months has been designed to end that streak. Yet instead of taking a step forward, it sure looks as if the Steelers will end up running in place.

Pittsburgh is respected sure, but hardly feared.

The evidence could be heard echoing from the Cincinnati locker room late Saturday night when the familiar opening verse of “Renegade” blared from a portable speaker after the Bengals kept their flickering postseason hopes alive.

Maybe it’s fitting.

Because at the moment, it sure seems as if the jig is up. The news is out.

The Steelers are floundering.

What’s working

Whatever Cam Heyward is doing. The 35-year-old defensive tackle earned his seventh Pro Bowl nod last week. It’s hardly ceremonial. The longtime captain put together one of the better seasons of his 14-year career to burnish his Hall of Fame resume. He had eight sacks and also batted down a career-best 11 passes, including three on Saturday night.

What needs help

Kind of everything, right? The swagger the offense exuded — most notably in a shootout victory over the Bengals on Dec. 1 — is gone. First-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s commitment to certain plays (particularly tosses to running backs that have been ineffective all season) remains baffling as does his commitment to mixing personnel groups instead of keeping his best playmakers on the field at all times.

Stock up

The Steelers invested in Pat Freiermuth when they gave the tight end a four-year in September that made him one of the 10 highest-paid players at his position. It certainly looks like money well spent. Freiermuth set a career high with 65 receptions and his seven touchdown grabs equaled his previous high set during his rookie year in 2021. Perhaps just as importantly, Freiermuth is growing more comfortable being a respected voice in a room that needs some of its younger players to fill leadership roles.

Stock down

George Pickens endured perhaps his worst game as a pro at the worst possible time. The third-year wide receiver caught just one pass for zero yards and was credited with a handful of drops, an uncharacteristically sloppy performance for a player who — for all the headaches he can create with his petulance — is as competitive and physically gifted as anyone at his position in the league.

However next week goes, the Steelers face a significant decision in the offseason with Pickens. He’ll be entering the final season of his rookie deal and not offering him an extension is asking for trouble.

Injuries

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of Pittsburgh’s swoon is that the Steelers have been relatively healthy. Starting CB Donte Jackson and his balky back sat out on Saturday night, but he will likely be available in the playoffs. Rookie guard Mason McCormick injured his left hand late. Otherwise, the Steelers should be a full strength — for whatever that’s worth — wherever they play.

Key stat

0 — the number of touchdowns on the opening drive by the Steelers this season, symbolic of a team that often takes time to “warm up to the game” as Tomlin has said repeatedly over the past four months.