After 2nd straight upset loss, Steelers searching for ways to reverse late-season slide

It was only three seasons ago that the Pittsburgh Steelers, off to a franchise-best 11-0 start, lost four of their final five regular-season games.

That slide set the tone for their one-and-done playoff appearance, a 48-37 home defeat to the Cleveland Browns.

On the other side of the country, the Arizona Cardinals were going through a similar meltdown, only they didn’t get the chance to make amends in the postseason.

After a 6-3 start, the Cardinals lost three in a row and five of their final seven to finish with an 8-8 record.

Patrick Peterson was a cornerback on that team that was edged by the Chicago Bears for the final wild-card berth on a tiebreaker. He wants to make sure the same fate doesn’t happen this year to the Steelers.

“I tell guys all the time: you can position yourself very well, but what are you going to do in the third and fourth quarter of the season,” Peterson said Friday, a day after a stunning 21-18 loss to the New England Patriots. “That’s when it really matters.”

The Steelers may be careening to an early offseason after back-to-back losses to the two-win Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots leave them with a 7-6 record with four games remaining. The situation is dire but not irreversible, Peterson maintained.

He recalled a quote that coach Mike Tomlin told the team in training camp.

“Two is a pattern,” Peterson said about the Steelers’ first losing streak of the season. “We have to find a way to get out of this funk that we’re in. We’re way too good of a team to be losing games like that. I try to allude to the young guys all the time, the window is only open so wide. You have to take advantage of opportunities that are at hand.

“Hopefully guys gravitate to that message, and we’ll see where it takes us from there.”

After having a weekend to absorb the loss, Steelers players will return to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Tuesday to begin preparations for the closing stretch of four games that begins with a matchup at Indianapolis (7-5).

Heading into this weekend, all four teams remaining on the Steelers schedule have .500 records or better. That’s a sobering thought for a team that couldn’t defeat the lowly Cardinals or Patriots at home.

On Thursday night, All-Pro free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who played with a broken hand, criticized the team’s attitude.

“In order to see fruit, you’ve got to toil for it,” Fitzpatrick told ESPN. “I think too many people don’t want to toil for it. They just want to walk out here and think they’re going to make plays and think that they’re going to perform at a high level.

“We need to have more people who want to work for it and not expect it to be handed to them. This is the NFL. Nothing is handed to you. You’ve got to earn everything. I think that dudes just think that because they’re wearing the black and gold that they’re going to win games.”

Fitzpatrick’s words echoed what second-year running back Jaylen Warren said after the 24-10 loss to the Cardinals. Warren said the Steelers “expected to win instead of wanting to work to win.”

For the second game in a row, the Steelers didn’t come out with a sense of urgency once pregame introductions subsided. After falling behind by 21 points against the Cardinals, the Steelers found themselves in a 21-3 hole against the Patriots in the second quarter.

“Either guys learn or you’ve got to change who’s in there, myself included,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “If I can’t execute, then you’ve got to take me out. That’s just the way the group rolls. That’s the way we’ve always done (it), but I think we have capable men.”

Peterson, who like Heyward also is in his 13th season, believes the Steelers can finish strong — even if they are running out of time to prove it.

“The road is very narrow at this point in the season, and we have to find a way to get it in gear very quickly if we want to be where 14 other teams possibly could be,” he said. “I truly believe we have the right guys in this locker room. The leadership and the right groups to make sure we keep guys level-headed and realize that everything we want to accomplish is right there in front of us.”