Cannot afford to lose Thursday

I will go so far as to say that a loss Thursday night will likely mean the Steelers will NOT make the playoffs, not because it becomes mathematically impossible--because it doesn't. But because a loss under these circumstances will demonstrate that this Steeler team simply isn't very good.

Some considerations:

1. Tennessee is not only 1-4, they have an NFL worst -93 points differential. In short, this is a bad team.
2. First-year head coach is facing his first short-week preparation. Tomlin and staff have been through this every year. They are 4-1 in those games, 1-1 on the road.
3. The Titans have played just one short-week Thursday night game since 1999. This majority of players on this team, like the coach, have little experience with this situation.
4. The Titans played on the road on Sunday, negating some of their advanatage on a short week.

This game should be a gimme. SHOULD BE. Everything is in line for a Steeler victory. I'd argue that a loss here would be even worse than the one in Oakland.

 

Totally agree. While not a MUST WIN it will tell alot about the players and coaches and their ambition.

 

NAW!!!!! Were good we can take the Titans, after that we got a tough schedule ahead just hope we can keep rolling with thw W's :swordsman:

 

In the words of Mike Tomlin, it's about "stacking wins". Fact is, these are the games that championship caliber teams take care of in a business-like fashion. I expect an aggressive game plan defensively much the same as we played against Philly in the 1st half. Offensively they need to get the lead early, score TD's not Fg's, and then kick dirt on them by halftime. If we do what we are capable of, this should be the first Leftwich sighting of the season in the 4th quarter. Then it's on to Heinz South for another win against the Bungles!!!!

 

Looks like another trap game to me and if we keep our top spot as the most penalized team in the NFL we need to get double the yards just to compensate for the penalties, dont take this game lightly, because we arent a team thats good enough yet to take any game for granted....

 

A win isn't good enough. If we want to be a contender this year, Tennessee is a team we need to beat easily. They are probably the worst team in the NFL right now, much worse than Oakland. They have no defence and no offence.

 

This is exactly the kind of game that ends up frustrating me every year. You know going into it that the Steelers should easily win, but you don't want them to be over confident. But during the game, it's all "edge of the seat" until you realize that they are going to lose after all, despite everything being in their favor.

I of course hope that this doesn't happen Thursday, but history does not help me feel much better. I have always, and always will love my Steelers, but I agree with Diamond that it could be another trap game and that they may not come prepared.

 

this is a game where the Steeler need to impose their will. they need to be crisp and hit on every opprotunity.

they cant leave any plays or points on the field. they are very close to turning the corner on offense.

even on Sunday they just missed on 3 td's. i like what im seeng and they have the weapons and the offensive game plan to be very explosive. its just a matter of making the plays.

the defense looked much better last week. i cant believe that the addition of Harrison made that much of a difference, but something did.

there is know reason why they shouldnt beat the Titans by 21 points.

 

in theory we can afford to lose two more games in all season and neither one as to be vs the ravens or bungles

 

It is strange, but I don't feel this team has quite hit their stride overall. Look back at the last 2 games. In Oakland, the offense was firing pretty much on all cylinders. They made plays and they put up points. The defense couldn't stop anything. This week, both units were pretty efficient, but continuously shot themselves in the foot....even if it wasn't all their fault. I don't think I have seen 2 things from this team yet that I would really like to see...

1. I would like to see both units play well for 60 minutes.
2. I would like to see both units simply play well in the same game.

Now, as much as I would like to see this....I don't want to see it too early in the season. Give it to me starting about week 13 heading into the playoffs. Getting hot at the right time is almost as important as anything else.

 

One reason I'd hate to see a loss on Thursday is because it's another AFC conference opponent. Doesn't help out the tie-breaker situation.

Of course, the Steelers can just sweep the AFC North to squash those issues. Lol!

 

I find myself worrying about these kinds of games more often than when we play good teams. We sure seem to have a history of playing down to our opponents. Frustrating.

 

Yes this does look like a trap game. It is frustrating when we lose or barely beat teams we should easily win against. If we cut down on the penalties and our receivers catch the ball I think we easily win this game.

 

I love a beatdown as much as the next guy, but with more injuries to key players, a very short week on the road, and a still crappy OL, I will be happy with a win of any kind. We don't have to be great all year, just good enough. Then great at the end of the year.

 

Aye, a win and some improvement will be the best result for me. I'm not expecting the team to suddenly turn around and play ten times better than Sunday. If we win, I'm happy. If we start to show signs of hitting stride, I'm happier.

 

I totally agree. This is not a gimme game for this team by no means.

 

Rest assured it will be another nail-biter with whoever has the ball last winning. It simply is the Steelers way. Never up or down by more than 13..............

 

Just for once, i would like to see the Steelers come into one of these so-called "gimme" games, and just light up the scoreboard to the point we have backups starting later in the third. Somehow i just know it won't happen...

 

As Thursday approaches I get more and more nervous. I wish we were playing New England. Every time we have a game that should be a "gimme" we go in prepared for ****e and end up looking like ****e. Hopefully this is the one that we actually turn it around and dominate and get moving in the right track. I am not thinking it will be that easy though and we will need the extra time off once again to regroup and prepare for a late season run...

 

the raiders game SHOULD HAVE been a gimme too.. how did that work out for us? that loss could be the killer for our playoff hopes this year.. i think we all had that as a win

HINES

 

if we want to make the playoffs.. and i think we do .. we NEED to win this game.. my prediction is IF we lose this game we do NOT make the playoffs

HINES

 

This is a game the Steelers need to win, whats the old adage
you must win the games your suppose to win? Well this and Oakland were/are those games.

 

Hey - If the running backs can beat off the defenders, the O-line can beat off the rushers, and the linebackers can beat off the blockers, this game should not be a problem.

In short - if everyone is beating off someone, we'll win the game.

 

If this happens, everyone's a winner!