The Pittsburgh Steelers have already locked up a postseason appearance for January, but the locker room is apparently unraveling before the final week of the regular season.
The Steelers have lost three games in a row by double digits. On Christmas Day, they were embarrassed by the Kansas City Chiefs in a 29-10 defeat at Acrisure Stadium, dropping Pittsburgh’s record to 10-6.
The Steelers’ Week 18 matchup won’t be easy, as they’ll host a Cincinnati Bengals team that could be fighting for the No. 7 seed in the AFC. Pittsburgh needs a win in the worst way, as drama is starting to settle into the locker room.
Cam Heyward was frustrated after Wednesday’s loss
Defensive lineman Cam Heyward said after the loss to the Chiefs that the Steelers were “screwed” when 10 guys executed on a play but one player didn’t, per video provided by Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward on the communication breakdowns with his unit pic.twitter.com/Pz68YeBZUx
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 25, 2024
The Pittsburgh Steelers have issues in the locker room
Kyle Brandt with the NFL Network thinks the Steelers have issues with the personnel they’re using, especially on defense, after numerous defensive players spoke out on Wednesday about how certain unnamed players weren’t doing their jobs correctly.
“There’s all kinds of theories out there all the way from there’s something going on in the locker room even more specific that some of the defensive players aren’t speaking, but there’s someone on the defense that they don’t want to be on the defense,” Brandt said. “These are all conspiracy theories that are all coming out, and if you start to sew the quotes together, it’s making sense.”
Thoughts on the 10-6 Steelers pic.twitter.com/CwB0FaHw2d
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) December 26, 2024
The Steelers locker room drama is starting to sound a lot like what happened last year with the Philadelphia Eagles when rumors came out about issues with Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni, and A.J. Brown.
That didn’t end well for the Eagles, as they lost in the wild card round.
It’s up to Mike Tomlin for the Steelers to avoid the same fate.
