The Pittsburgh Steelers fell victim to the “trap game” this past weekend, losing 24-10 to the Arizona Cardinals. Given that the Steelers are in the thick of a competitive AFC playoff race, this could not have felt like a worse loss for what should have been an easy win.
After the game, wide receiver Diontae Johnson admitted they may not have taken their opponent seriously enough.
“I don’t know, I felt like that the whole week — once we got out there, I just felt like something was different,” Johnson said, via 93.7 The Fan. “We [weren’t] at our best and what not. But I feel like we just took them [more] lightly than we should have,” via Myles Simmons of NBC Sports.
Johnson and the Steelers are far from the first team to fall into a trap game. Even the Dallas Cowboys fell into the trap and lost to the Cardinals earlier this year in Week 3. Since that loss, Micah Parsons has shared that Dallas uses it as a reminder to not look past any other team. It's worked for them — they've basically dominated every other “weak” opponent they've played.
With an upcoming matchup against the 2-10 New England Patriots, the Steelers could follow the same mindset as Parsons and the Cowboys. Even with the Patriots looking like a dumpster fire, New England could easily pull off an upset if Pittsburgh isn't ready to play.
“We can’t come in this Thursday with the same mindset,” Diontae Johnson said to 93.7 The Fan. “We’re going to be fine. We’ve moved past it.”
Hopefully this game was a wakeup call for the Steelers, who are 7-5. If they lose any other winnable matchups, they'll risk dropping out of the playoffs.
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