We hope everyone had a good holiday season and a happy New Year. The Steelers had a pretty miserable December and have hopefully taken some time to reflect and refresh during their 10-day layoff between games.

Let’s get into this week’s questions.

There have been several issues contributing to the Steelers’ three-game skid. What’s the single most important correction the team must make to get back on track for the playoffs?

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RP: If the Steelers are going to have any chance at winning a playoff game, the defense needs everyone to get back on the same page.

We knew December was going to be a physically taxing month for the Steelers. The NFL’s increasingly transparent greed and gluttony for an attention monopoly put several teams under the gun this year with an insane 11-day schedule that produced some lackluster games when all was said and done. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they responded the worst to this and suffered some injuries to key players.

Busted coverages have been an issue, so much so that things grew to a boiling point during the Christmas Day loss to the Chiefs. Afterward, many players on the defense seemed to hint to the media that there was one person who seemed to be constantly missing their assignment. Who is to blame really doesn’t matter. It’s on them and all 11 guys on the field to right the ship. And if someone isn’t up to the task, it’s on the Steelers’ coaches to adjust. This past month won’t matter if they can get hot in the playoffs.

The Steelers' offense was never going to be what carried this team. They can be frustrating and streaky, but the core to the Steelers’ blueprint is playing low-scoring and opportunistic defense. If they can’t get everyone on the same page on the play calls, their playoff hopes will be dead on arrival.

RB: There are a bunch of issues that are more or less tied in my mind — the Steelers’ problems over the last three weeks have been largely holistic.

At first, I was leaning towards looking defensively as those issues have been the most uncharacteristic and worrying regarding the team’s current culture and momentum. I even highlighted fixing communication issues and forcing turnovers in an article earlier this week with keys to beating the Bengals.

To avoid repeating myself, I’ll be looking at the offense. I originally wrote a few hundred words on Russell Wilson — he hasn’t been anywhere close to the problem this season, but in recent weeks we’ve seen just how proportional the Steelers’ offensive success is to the temperature at which Russ is cooking.

That’s just how important quarterback play is to team performance, and it’s not exactly unique to the Steelers even if Wilson’s recent inconsistency has been frustrating. Ultimately, it’s unreasonable to expect the 36-year-old Wilson to drastically turn things around given his current offensive line and wide receiver situation. That’s a conversation the Steelers need to have this offseason, not right before the playoffs.

As a result, I think offensive line play is the issue the Steelers need to correct the most heading into the end of the season. It’s been shaky all year, but there have been enough flashes from individual players to make you think there’s a chance they can turn it around ahead of the playoffs. Zach Frazier and Isaac Seumalo have been bright spots, but the rest of the group has been rather up and down.

Against the Eagles, the Steelers got bullied at the line of scrimmage across the board, completely unable to establish Arthur Smith’s run-first offense. The offensive tackles have especially been a problem recently, with the Steelers giving up five sacks against the Chiefs. Russell Wilson looked uncomfortable the entire game.

No offensive lineman has allowed more sacks than Dan Moore Jr. since Week 10, per PFF.

Dan Moore Jr. – 8 sacks allowed
Brandon Coleman – 6 sacks allowed
Jawaan Taylor – 6 sacks allowed

A bad time for the Steelers LT to revert back to his prior form.

— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) December 30, 2024

If the Steelers can consistently open up holes in the run game, keep Russell Wilson clean enough to build his confidence and make decisions in the pocket, and avoid costly penalties, the offense can take a major step forward. If the line continues to struggle like it has in the run and pass game, the Steelers don’t have the skill position talent to overcome it.

This goal might not be the most realistic, but the Steelers’ O-line is a young group that has their best days ahead of them. With some extra rest late in the season, who’s to say that Broderick Jones and Mason McCormick’s “a-ha” moments can’t come before next season?

As concerning as the Steelers’ defensive problems are, it’s an offensive-driven league at the end of the day. Good, or at least passable, offensive line play is essential for the Steelers’ postseason success.

Depending on how Week 18 shakes out, the Steelers’ Wild Card round opponent will be either the Chargers, Texans or Ravens. Which team would you prefer as their opponent?

Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images

RB: Playing the Chargers would mean the Steelers won the AFC North, which sure looks like the ideal scenario. However, even on the road I have to go with the Texans as the Steelers’ preferred opponent.

Like Pittsburgh, Houston has lost most of its momentum following a tough stretch of games in December. On the 21st, the Texans fell to the Kansas City Chiefs, and on Christmas Day, they suffered a 31-2 drubbing at home against the Baltimore Ravens.

Houston lost wide receiver Tank Dell for the season following a brutal injury against the Chiefs, and with Stefon Diggs also out for the year, the Texans have struggled to get the passing game going even with the talented combination of Nico Collins and C.J. Stroud. The running game has fallen apart as well, with Joe Mixon failing to break 30 yards in two of his last three games.

Stroud has disappointed a bit this season, but the real culprit has been the offensive line, with Houston allowing the third-highest pressure rate in the league this season at 38.9% per NFL Pro. The Pittsburgh pass-rush should be able to get something going against the Texans.

Houston’s defense is a lot scarier, with two excellent pass-rushers in Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., as well as an elite cornerback in Derek Stingley Jr. This isn’t an easy matchup by any means.

But when it comes to AFC playoff teams, the only franchise that might be colder than the Steelers right now is Houston. On the other hand, the Ravens and Chargers have all the momentum in the world heading into the postseason — not something the Steelers, who haven’t won in the playoffs since the 2016-17 season, want to see in the first round.

RP: As Bickley mentioned, the Chargers would be the ideal scenario because it would come with a division crown and the experience of watching the Ravens choke against a Browns team that is debating adding Bailey Zappe their starting quarterback gag.

The Texans may be the only playoff team with worse vibes than Pittsburgh at this point in the season, but I’m going with the Ravens.

They may have lost the last meeting, but the Steelers have had the Ravens’ number more often than not in the last few years. When they’re all on the same page, the Steelers' defense has shown it can match up well with the Ravens in a way few other teams have. Turnover opportunities are almost guaranteed in this rivalry matchup. The Steelers capitalized on those opportunities in the first meeting and failed to in the loss.

The Steelers also moved the ball early on the Ravens, even without George Pickens. I think they can do it again.

It also would mean more if it came against the Ravens than the Texans. Beating Baltimore would inspire confidence in the direction this team has been building over the past two seasons. Any playoff win should, but a win against a struggling Houston team wouldn’t be as satisfying. Follow that up with a loss in the division round and we would hear all offseason about how it was a flukey win against a team that wasn’t viewed as a serious contender. Beat Baltimore, and that becomes a lot harder to argue.

Game notes: Bengals vs. Steelers

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Read & React already previewed the Cincinnati Bengals this season — you can read that article HERE. As a result, we’ll be providing some up-to-date thoughts on the Steelers’ upcoming opponent instead of another preview, showing what’s changed since the last time the two teams met.

RB (offense): There’s not a ton to report here. The Bengals offense is still really, really good. Cincinnati hasn’t scored under 24 points in the last eight games, and the team is currently on a four-game winning streak in pursuit of a playoff berth. With a lot of momentum and hopes of making the postseason, Cincinnati is a very dangerous team.

The one piece of somewhat big news is that running back Chase Brown suffered a high ankle sprain on Saturday. Brown has emerged as a key part of the Bengals’ offense over the last half of the season and would be a big loss if he missed time; his backup is Khalil Herbert, who has just 61 rushing yards on the season.

The Bengals are hoping Brown can go against Pittsburgh, but if he’s not 100%, it could be noticeable as his game is built heavily on speed.

Also on the injury report are both starting offensive tackles, Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims, listed as limited. Star wide receiver Tee Higgins was also limited. Brown Jr. could be a name to watch — he’s reportedly been playing with a broken fibula.

At the end of the day, injuries will obviously play some sort of a role in this game, but as long as Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase are on the field, the Bengals offense needs to be taken very seriously.

RP (defense): It’s not much different on defense either. Taking inspiration from Ryland’s comments about the offense, the Bengals' defense is still really, really bad. The rushing defense is bottom 12, the passing defense is bottom 10, and they allow the fourth-most points in the league.

This is despite being relatively healthy on that side of the ball. They did lose starting defensive end Sam Hubbard when he tore his PCL catching a two-yard touchdown after lining up as a tight end, but the rest of the starting lineup is healthy.

Trey Hendrickson, currently leading the league in sacks, will need some attention as the Bengals’ only consistent pass rushing threat. The Bengals are in the bottom half of the league in blitz rate and only five teams have fewer sacks than the 32 Cincinnati’s managed this year. Pair that with a secondary allowing more separation on passing targets than all but three teams, plus a front seven that is in the bottom half of the league in average yards allowed after contact (3.08) and you have a recipe for a lot of shootouts. There will be opportunities for the offense if the Steelers can avoid beating themselves.

Join in on Steelers Read & React by sharing your takes on this week’s topics. What should the Steelers’ New Year’s resolution be? What are you hoping for in the Wild Card round? Thoughts on the season finale? Let us know in the comments! Feel free to pitch future questions in the comment section, on Twitter/X: tag @_Ryland_B or @RyanParishMedia, or via email at steelersreadnreact@gmail.com.