The Pittsburgh Steelers limped into the postseason and barely made it out alive. After ending the regular season on a four-game losing streak, they bombed out in the Wild Card Round. The Ravens jumped on them with a 21-0 halftime lead, and quelled any momentum with a responding touchdown to their own in the third quarter.
For the players in the locker room, it surely felt like more of the same. Some of the same issues that kept the Steelers from winning in the second half of December were still present. What was working in the early portions of the season, for various reasons, was no longer viable.