PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff hopes are quickly slipping down the drain following another painful loss.

The Steelers dropped another winnable game, continuing a disturbing trend this season in a 31-28 defeat to the Chicago Bears in Week 12. The loss dropped their record to 6-5 with six games remaining in the regular season schedule.

Not only are they one game above .500, their stranglehold on the AFC North has suddenly evaporated. The Baltimore Ravens now have the same overall record as Pittsburgh and a better divisional record, putting them in first place in the division. Unless the Steelers reclaim the North and find a way to clinch the division, their chances of making the playoffs are painfully low.

The Steelers’ road to the playoffs is rather simple. They need to win the AFC North to guarantee a spot in the postseason.

Trying to claim a Wild Card spot is a dangerous and risky proposition for a team that’s failed to win crucial games on multiple occassions this season.

Making matters worse is the loaded AFC playoff picture. Three teams in the AFC South and the AFC West have six wins, while two teams in the AFC East have at least that many victories.

This means securing a Wild Card spot could require 10 wins. Are the Steelers confident they can win four out of their final six games to get to that mark? Otherwise, the only possible way forward is through their own division.

Just like the NFL script writers draw it up and the fans love, the Steelers and Ravens have two matchups scheduled between Weeks 13 and 18 of the regular season. Both games are now absolute must-wins for both teams.

Their first matchup comes in Week 14, when the Steelers travel to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to take on the Ravens. Their second matchup concludes the regular season schedule for both squads, as the Ravens and Steelers could very likely decide the division winner and which one of these organizations participate in the postseason.

The answer to that question, which is a resounding no, is even simpler than the Steelers’ path to the playoffs.

The Steelers have failed on multiple occasions this season. When facing inferior teams, like their Thursday Night Football debacle against the Cincinnati Bengals earlier in the year, they crumble. When they face potential playoff teams, as they did in their Week 10 drubbing by the Los Angeles Chargers, they crumble.

Yes, the team has had great performances this year. They defeated the worst organization in football to open the season despite allowing more than 30 points to the New York Jets. They traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to defeat the Minnesota Vikings. They created six turnovers against the Indianapolis Colts to hand one of the top teams in the league a surprising loss.

Those wins came in Week 1, Week 4 and 9. As great as it is to have your team play well every third or fourth week of the season, it’s a fairly difficult task to make the playoffs and then succeed there at that pace. The team has six weeks left to fix many issues and revive their season, but their playoff chances are dwindling quickly as the 2025 schedule continues.

Make sure to bookmark Steelers On SI to get all your daily Pittsburgh Steelers news, interviews, breakdowns and more!

The Pittsburgh Steelers saw their No. 1 cornerback go down with an injury during the first half of their Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears.

According to Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten, Joey Porter Jr. suffered a leg injury and is questionable to return to the contest.

He is one of two Pittsburgh stars to sustain injuries at Soldier Field alongside wide receiver DK Metcalf (ankle), who has since come back into the game.

A second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Porter played in each of the Steelers’ 17 games as a rookie. He did, however, suffer a concussion in the team’s Wild Card round loss to the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs that year.

In 2024, Porter missed Pittsburgh’s Week 17 bout with the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day due to a knee injury that he sustained the game prior vs. the Baltimore Ravens.

He also dealt with a minor hand injury during training camp this past summer before suffering a hamstring injury against the New York Jets in Week 1, which ultimately kept him sidelined through the Steelers’ Week 5 bye.

Porter made his return vs. the Cleveland Browns in Week 6, and he had recorded 25 tackles to go with an interception entering Week 12.

It remains to be seen if Porter can make his way back into the game at Soldier Field, but if he can’t, the Steelers will be forced to switch some things up in their secondary.

James Pierre has been a revelation for Pittsburgh over the last few weeks, and he has remained on the field for nearly the entire day opposite of Porter while the latter was still healthy.

Should Porter remain sidelined, however, it’s likely that Darius Slay Jr. will get some playing time after previously having not been involved vs. the Bears. The 34-year-old did not suit up against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11 after suffering a concussion in Week 10 vs. the Los Angeles Chargers, and Pierre had been playing ahead of him in Chicago despite the fact that Slay is active.

Elsewhere in the secondary, Brandin Echols has served as Pittsburgh’s slot corner since Jalen Ramsey moved to safety in Week 9. If Porter can’t return, though, perhaps he could get some snaps on the boundary out of necessity throughout the rest of the game.

Make sure to bookmark Steelers On SI to get all your daily Pittsburgh Steelers news, interviews, breakdowns and more!