Paul Zeise: Steelers are average, and it seems like these days that's the standard

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Chicago Bears on Sunday and their defense again looked incompetent and powerless to stop a fairly pedestrian offense.

This came one week after they played maybe their best game of the season in a whipping of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The game before that, the Steelers looked like a JV team as they were dismantled by the Los Angeles Chargers.

And the game before that, they looked like a Super Bowl contender and thrashed the AFC-leading Indianapolis Colts.

But the game before that against Green Bay ...

OK, you get the point — the Steelers are the most inconsistent team on the planet. And about the only thing they consistently do well is being inconsistent.

There are some people who are frustrated with the Steelers, think they should be better than 6-5 and think that there is some magical pill they will take to make a late-season surge to the Super Bowl.

They say, "You see what they did to the Colts and Patriots and it proves they're capable of beating anyone and making a run," and this is what they cling to because, well, it is all they got.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret about the Steelers — they are an average football team with enough star power to every so often rise up and beat teams they shouldn't beat.

They are average as average can be actually, and in some areas below average. And I know this because average teams generally hover around .500 and never stray too far north or south of that all season.

The Steelers are 27th in total offense, 11th in scoring offense, 28th in total defense and 20th in scoring defense. There is nothing outstanding about them and nothing that screams, "This is an elite team that is ready to bust out and go on a run."

There are two games left on the schedule the Steelers should win, both at home, against the woeful Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins. I presume the Steelers will win those games and that means they will get to at least eight wins, which puts them on the doorstep of the holy altar of nine wins.

And you know, nine wins means the Steelers will keep their non-losing season streak intact and that seems to be about the only standard that matters.

The funny thing is that their other four games are against the Baltimore Ravens (twice), the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions. I think the Steelers will be able to win at least one of those games, which would get them to nine wins. Maybe even two, though at this point I wouldn't bet on it.

The bottom line is the Steelers are just a team that is battling to be in the middle of the pack in the AFC and may need some divine intervention to make the playoffs.

I haven't given up on the Steelers just yet because there are six games left and a lot can happen, but what I am watching is definitely a team and organization that needs to come to grips with reality.

This is almost assuredly going to be a season that keeps the "non-losing season" streak intact, but it is also almost assuredly going to keep its "seasons without a playoff win" streak intact as well.

The former is meaningless. The latter, however, suggests the Steelers have completely lost their way. They have deluded themselves into believing this is good enough when in fact it is not.

They have not won a playoff game since 2016 and that means they are going on nine years in a row without one. I could rattle off a list of bad organizations that have managed to win a playoff game more recently than the Steelers — including all three of their AFC North rivals — but it is exhausting at this point.

Sunday's loss to the Bears was a microcosm of everything that has held the Steelers back for the last eight seasons.

There was a defense that huffs and puffs about being elite and being star-driven, and yet when it needs to come up big and get a stop, it can't. I saw an offense devoid of playmakers running some of the most conservative and elementary schemes on the planet and couldn't get out of its own way.

I saw a coach who doesn't seem to understand simple time management despite nearly two decades in charge. He also talks big about not living in his fears despite the fact that he does exactly that at just about every key moment of these games.

I saw a team that runs when it should pass and passes when it should run and a defense that seems to give up as many big plays as it makes.

I see a team with a lot of big-name players who no longer have big games or disappear far too frequently to be considered superstars anymore. We are enamored by the collection of names on the roster, but has anyone stopped to really examine who these guys are and what stages of their career they are in?

Again, we have seen it enough that I expect the Steelers to rally, spend the whole week puffing out their chests and talking about redemption and all that.

I expect they will go out and play one of their best games Sunday against the Bills and, actually, they will probably win the game. The Bills are the phoniest of phony teams out there, as they are a collection of very average players propped up by Superman at quarterback.

That won't change who they are and it will probably only serve to strengthen the fact that this is a very average team, capable of beating anyone on any given Sunday and also capable of laying an egg and losing to anyone, too.

None of that will change, however, until the people who run the organization are willing to make bold moves, make bold changes and stop settling for the new standard in Pittsburgh, which is "barely above .500 and home after the first weekend of the playoffs."

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