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Luckily for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they had already secured a spot in the AFC playoffs weeks prior. If not, their Week 18 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday would have felt much worse. Still, the loss didn’t sit well with anyone in Pittsburgh.
The defeat marked the Steelers’ fourth consecutive loss, a stunning collapse for a team that started the season 10-3. At one point, they seemed poised to win the AFC North for the first time since 2020, but somewhere along the way, they fell apart down the stretch.
Even if Pittsburgh had won on Saturday—sweeping the Bengals for the season and eliminating them from the postseason—they still wouldn’t have clinched the division title. The Baltimore Ravens dashed those hopes earlier in the day by dominating the Browns to secure their second straight division crown.
With the loss, the Steelers fell from a potential No. 3 seed with a home playoff game to the No. 6 seed, forcing them to go on the road—ironically, to face the Ravens. They also missed an opportunity at the No. 5 seed, which would have sent them into a much more favorable matchup against the Houston Texans.
It wasn’t a pretty way to end the regular season, even if it ultimately resulted in a playoff berth. So, who’s to blame for this one?
Russell Wilson's final drive of the game
One of the main reasons the Steelers have failed to pick up a win over their last four games is their inability to score more than 20 points. Before their game against the Bengals, their previous three opponents—the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs—featured formidable defenses. However, that wasn’t the case against Cincinnati, which entered the game with the 29th-ranked scoring defense in the NFL, allowing 26.1 points per game.
The Steelers’ offense has outright sputtered, especially in the second half. Prior to the Bengals game, Pittsburgh had managed just 10 second-half points in their previous three games combined.
Down 19-17 with under two minutes remaining, Russell Wilson had a chance to lead the Steelers on a game-winning drive but ultimately came up short. Starting at their own 24-yard line, Wilson and the offense managed only 16 yards in seven plays.
Two key plays by Wilson defined the drive. The first was taking a sack instead of throwing the ball away, which resulted in a five-yard loss and forced Mike Tomlin to use the team’s final timeout.
The second came on the very next play when Wilson missed an open George Pickens–extending the narrative between the two–leaving the Steelers with a difficult fourth-and-12. On the following play, Pat Freiermuth dropped a pass that would have extended the drive, sealing Pittsburgh’s fate for the night.
Wilson finished going 17-for-31 (54.8%) for 148 yards and one touchdown and 16 yards rushing.
George Pickens has crucial drops
George Pickens has been a frequent target of criticism from pundits and Steelers fans this season. He’s been called out for his inconsistent route running, among other issues, including key drops—one of which happened again on Saturday.
Pickens finished the game with just one reception on six targets for no gain and three drops. It marked his worst performance since the Steelers’ Week 5 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, where he recorded three catches on seven targets for 26 yards.
Then again, perhaps Pickens’ bad day wasn’t entirely unexpected. This was only his second game back after missing Weeks 14-16 with a hamstring injury, and his quarterback was going to take up for him.
“It feels like he hasn't made plays in forever because he was out for three weeks,” Russell Wilson said after the game, per ESPN. “I mean, it's hard to compile all that and look back and be like, ‘Oh yeah, he hasn't made plays in five weeks.' Well, he missed three of them. Last week didn't go our way for whatever reason, then tonight obviously, it didn't go our way. And I think that great players—sometimes it doesn't go their way that day.
“But if anybody believes in George, I do. I have no hesitation to throw the football to him and what he can do and what he means to us and our football team and the rest of the guys too.”
While Pickens totaled just five drops on the season, the fact that three of them came at such a critical time deserves its fair share of scrutiny.
