Must win against Jax?

Breathe easy. I know you were worried that we got in a bath tub, turned on the water, and plugged in the toaster after watching the Steelers offense in the first half of the Baltimore game. But, we’re still here. I just needed a whole week to cool off after watching three of the most boring games in Steelers history the last three weeks. If I posted a blog after the game this week, it probably would have been a profanity-laced diatribe declaring my hatred of Bruce Arians. But, I’ve had time to relax and accepted that our offensive coordinator is an idiot. I had many other thoughts about this week’s game, but these two posts (here and here) pretty much covered most of my thoughts. Although, my biggest concern about the team that doesn’t seem to be getting much coverage is that the defense allowed Joe Flacco to drive 80 yards for a game tying drive in the 4th quarter. I’m not sure that bodes well for the rest of the season.

Anyway, back to the title of this post. I particularly hate when announcers state that this is a must-win game for a team, but it’s only the second week of the season. Truly, there aren’t many must win games until the last couple games of the season. For the Steelers, they have an incredibly tough schedule from here on out. Here is the schedule for the next thirteen weeks.

Courtesy of PittsburghSteelers.com
Sunday, Oct. 5 @ Jaguars
Sunday, Oct. 12 Bye Week
Sunday, Oct. 19 @ Bengals
Sunday, Oct. 26 vs. Giants
Monday, Nov. 3 @ Redskins
Sunday, Nov. 9 vs. Colts
Sunday, Nov. 16 vs. Chargers
Thursday, Nov. 20 vs. Bengals
Sunday, Nov. 30 @ Patriots
Sunday, Dec. 7 vs. Cowboys
Sunday, Dec. 14 @ Ravens
Sunday, Dec. 21 @ Titans
Sunday, Dec. 28 vs. Browns

Other than the two Bengals games, the Browns game, and the Ravens game, the easiest games left on the schedule are the Patriots, Colts, and Chargers. I never thought I would write that sentence. Unfortunately, the Patriots seem to have our number. The Chargers can still bring some heat on D. And Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning. So let’s forecast the rest of the season.

Jacksonville: Despite our inability to block or stop the run, we sneak out of Jax with a win on Big Ben’s shoulders. 4-1

Cinc: The Bengals suck. Let’s hope they give Marvin Lewis a contract extension. 5-1

NYG: Can’t stop the pass rush. Loss. 5-2

Was: Steelers get caught up in Washington hype on Monday night, the day before election day. Campbell throws a late touchdown. Loss. 5-3

Ind; We get back on track at home. Harrison and Woodley put pressure on Manning. Win 6-3.

SD: Rivers, LDT, Gates too much power. Sproles returns a kickoff for a TD. Loss. 6-4

Cin: Bengals suck. Win. 7-4

NE: Belichick vs. Tomlin. Who would you take? Loss. 7-5

Dallas: TO is a distraction after we get pressure on Romo. Steelers rise to occasion at home. Win. 8-5

Balt: We always seem to split with Balt. Loss. 8-6

Titans: Haynesworth kills the interior of our line. Ben gets sacked 18 times. Loss. 8-7

Browns: Brady Quinn has never faced the Steelers. Too bad for him. We need this one to make the playoffs. Big win at home. 9-7

The Steelers will win the division at 9-7 and be well tested going into the playoffs. If Ben is still alive after a 60 sack season, I say we are a tough out in the playoffs. But, we have too many glaring weaknesses (O-line, Arians) to make it deep into the playoffs. I hope I’m wrong.

Thoughts?