Falcons-Steelers lost shine in September
PITTSBURGH — When the 2018 NFL schedule was released in the spring, Atlanta’s trip to Pittsburgh on the first Sunday in October looked like a potential Super Bowl preview.
Then September happened, and the lofty preseason expectations evaporated, replaced by an unruly and unpredictable reality.
Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell extended his franchise-tag induced sabbatical indefinitely, wide receiver Antonio Brown couldn’t stop making headlines for things that had little to do with football and the revamped secondary spent far too much time chasing opponents to the end zone. The Falcons, meanwhile, couldn’t stop sending defensive starters to the trainer’s room or finding excruciating ways to drop close games.
The AFC North’s Steelers (1-2-1) and the NFC South’s Falcons (1-3) both have stressed that panicking with three-quarters of the season to go is unwise, even with both clubs in highly competitive divisions.
Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said the Falcons “don’t want to look down the road about things that are two or three weeks away,” explaining that it’s important to keep “the mindset of just own now, man, own this week.”
Maybe Quinn should settle for his team owning the final minutes. Atlanta has led in the fourth quarter in each of its three losses. At least the Falcons have been close.
The Steelers, not so much. They have not held the lead at any point in their past three games at Heinz Field.
“Last year we kind of started a little sloppy, too, so you know you guys can look at records all you want; we’re not,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “We’re looking at this next week and trying to get a win, because that’s all that really matters.”
The Steelers have been sluggish in September under coach Mike Tomlin before rounding into form as the days grow shorter and the temperature drops. Tomlin is 30-13 in October in his career, and a year ago Pittsburgh began a sluggish 3-2, then ripped off eight straight wins on its way to a second consecutive division title.