NFL Champs on the Ropes

It's officially time to panic Steelers fans. The champs were already staggering as they headed into week eight, and they walked into a devastating right hook by the Oakland Raiders Sunday that was about as close to a knockout punch as you can get. Now they find themselves sitting at 2-5 and in danger of not even having a shot at defending their title in the postseason.

Actually, after dropping such an important game to a poor Raiders squad, the playoffs are looking like a pipe dream. The Steelers had no business losing this contest. They held the Raiders to just 98 yards of total offense, and still couldn't get the job done. And if they can't get the job done against one of the league's doormats, how can they expect to crawl back into contention with the Ravens? All they can do now is hope to get on a long winning streak like they did last season.

Much of the blame falls on QB Ben Roethlisberger, who tossed four interceptions Sunday, and has looked shaky much of the season. Against the Raiders, he looked very tentative... but who can blame him? Over the past few months, he's smashed a windshield with his face, had his appendix removed, and suffered a concussion on the playing field. Going through all that trauma in such a short period might tend to make a player gun shy in the face of a pass rush.

And it seems to me that Roethlisberger has been rushed back too soon... twice. And it has hurt the team. We'll never know how the Steelers would have fared in the early going had they sat Big Ben until he was completely recovered and allowed Charlie Batch to fill in. But I suspect they might still be in the playoff race instead of sitting in a tie for last place with the hapless Browns, hoping for another miracle run this year.

From here on out --or until they are eliminated from contention-- every contest is a playoff game for the Steelers.