The loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 4 dropped the Pittsburgh Steelers to 1-3 on the season. After a tremendous opening drive that ended with a dime from Ben Roethlisberger over an outstretched Jaire Alexander, that unit fizzled out much of the game the rest of the way.

Here are three Steelers takeaways from their 27-17 loss to the Packers.

1.) Big Ben doesn't have much gas left in the tank

Ben Roethlisberger's day couldn't have started any better for the Steelers.

A perfect ball, right into the lap of Dionte Johnson and over an All-Pro in Jaire Alexander. Unfortunately for Roethlisberger, it got progressively worse as the game went along and he had some bad misses.

The doubters have grown since late last season for Roethlisberger, who was said to have had his best offseason of his career. He changed his diet, his lifestyle but the results haven't translated to on field success for the Steelers' gunslinger.

It feels safe to say at this point that Roethlisberger is tailspinning fast into a quarterback that just doesn't have “it” anymore.

Pittsburgh is in a weird spot. There's no real succession plan unless you are buying big into Dwayne Haskins stock and they aren't really in a position to just sit Big Ben. Thus, they will likely continue to trot him out as he has become arguably the worst quarterback in his own division.

It was difficult to watch at times on Sunday against the Packers in what was hyped up to be a matchup of two hall of fame quarterbacks that had played against one another in a Super Bowl a decade ago. Instead, Aaron Rodgers looked the part of a quarterback that is still playing at a top tier level while Roethlisberger struggled mightily.

Mike Tomlin reiterated that it's a group effort that needs to get it done for the Steelers moving forward.

“Disappointing outcome, but there's nothing mystical about it. Like I just told the team, we need more detail in our play. We've got to put them in a better position to make plays, and then they've got to make more plays.”

Tomlin has always taken the high road in these situations but if Roethlisberger continues to struggle, the pressure will only mount on what the Steelers should do next.

2.) The schedule ahead still provides a path

Despite all the pessimism surrounding the play of Big Ben, there is still a path back to contention for the Steelers this year. Keep in mind this is a team that beat the Bills in Buffalo to start the year.

While the Steelers sit at 1-3 and are looking up at three, 3-1 teams in the AFC North, the schedule ahead provides plenty of opportunities.

Four out of the next five games for the Steelers will be at home in Pittsburgh. That's a huge stretch and a last gasp effort to crawl out of this early hole.

First up will be the Denver Broncos who just got smacked around by the Baltimore Ravens and lost Teddy Bridgewater in the process.

Bridgewater left Sunday's game against the Ravens while being evaluated for a concussion and it's too early to tell what his status will be against the Steelers.

After that, Pittsburgh will host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. Seattle is coming off an impressive win against the San Francisco 49ers on the road but a cross country flight to Pittsburgh coming off of two division games against the 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams could have the Steelers matching up with Seattle at the perfect time.

The home stretch ends three weeks later for the Steelers as they will host the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions in back-to-back weeks. Both are more than just winnable games for Pittsburgh, they will probably be heavy favorites in both.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin with quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields

Sonny Giuliano ·

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst with eyeballs emoji where his eyes should be looking at University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) quarterback Gavin Hardison throwing a football.

Ben Strauss ·

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk next to the logo for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both are surrounded by question marks.

Ben Strauss ·

While it looks bad now, there is a path for the Steelers over the next five weeks based off the amount of home games they have, who they are playing, and when they are playing them.

3.) Joe Haden wasn't offsides

This is a small throw-in takeaway that stems from a major turning point in the game.

The Packers were attempting a field goal on the final play of the half, already leading 14-10. The Steelers would go on to block the field goal and run it back for a touchdown. It was nullified due to an offsides call and Green Bay did it over and made the kick the second time away.

It's not to suggest the Steelers would've absolutely won the game but it was the momentum shifting play of the entire game. A special teams touchdown on the final play of the first half when the offense is sputtering is exactly what Pittsburgh drew up as a dream scenario. And they had it in their grasp before it was taken away due to a penalty.

When looking at the replay, it appeared as though Joe Haden, who was flagged on the play, timed it up perfectly.

Oh, what could've been.