Uneven Steelers need a hot December

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers call it “December football,” a time when the missteps of the previous three months can either be washed away or amplified.

Long one of the NFL’s best when the calendar flips to Dec. 1, the Steelers (7-5) find themselves still searching for an identity. Are they the team that turned the team record book into confetti while crushing Indianapolis and Baltimore around Halloween or the hot mess that was basically blown out by underachieving New Orleans last Sunday?

The next four Sundays will provide the answer starting at first-place Cincinnati this weekend.

“We’ve got to take care of business,” running back Le’Veon Bell said.

“We can’t look forward to four or five weeks ahead.”

Pittsburgh is 20-13 in regular season games played after Dec. 1 under Mike Tomlin, but just 5-4 in the last two years.

The fact the Steelers missed the post-season both times is not a coincidence. With a logjam of teams at 7-5, whatever wiggle room Pittsburgh had before last Sunday is long gone.

“We’re not worried about what our standings are,” defensive end Cameron Heyward said.

“We’re just trying to win game after game.”

Or any game, for that matter. Four wins would likely secure a playoff spot and the AFC North title. One problem: Pittsburgh has won four straight just twice in the last five years, the last time in 2012. Going 3-1 or worse would make for a significantly tougher road.

Tomlin isn’t panicking, perhaps because it’s too early. Still, he chastised his team for its uneven play against the Saints despite having a week off and a handful of starters back in the lineup following injury.

“We didn’t complement ourselves well enough to secure victory,” Tomlin said. “There are many examples of it, in all three areas of the game.”