Pittsburgh Steelers may have lost the battle in Philly, but they won the war on Sunday. Although it was an embarrassing loss to the Eagles, Russell Wilson’s Steelers still came out on top. Well, thanks to the Dolphins and the Colts, who lost their respective battles on Sunday. This helped the Steelers clinch their playoff berth while remaining at the top of the AFC North.

When the Steelers decided to reward Russell Wilson with the starting job after benching Justin Fields. Most of them thought the Steelers would struggle to contain their momentum under the Broncos’ flop. However, look at them now: the Steelers could even clinch their division title with a win over the Ravens next week. So, securing the playoffs doesn’t mean the Steelers can slack off, as their nine-time Pro Bowler has sent a strong message to his team.

Taking to his Instagram stories, Wilson wrote, “Grateful more to do,” on a picture with the message ‘playoffs clinched Pittsburgh Steelers’ on it. Well, considering the Steelers’ recent success in the postseason. They shouldn’t really get ahead of themselves because their record isn’t great. Although this would be their fourth playoff appearance since 2020, the Steelers haven’t won a postseason game since 2016. Their 18-year coach, Mike Tomlin, has continued to deliver in the regular season.

This would be his 12th playoff appearance with the black and gold. But can they break this drought with Russell Wilson on board? Judging by their Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, the Steelers still have some work to do. They were simply outplayed on all corners by a resilient home team. The Steelers only managed to put up 163 total yards compared to the Eagles 401. As for Wilson, he had a pretty poor game to his standards.

The 36-year-old, who scored 3 TDs and recorded a career-high 414 yards against the Bengals in week 13, didn’t manage to leave any mark in Philadelphia. He only racked up 128 yards with a single TD. Apart from Russ, Steelers running back Najee Harris made a costly mistake that vanquished any chances of a Steelers comeback.

Najee Harris fumbles the Steelers’ hopes of a win in Philadelphia

Only six minutes of the third quarter remained when the Steelers’ fate in Philly was confirmed. It was during a second-half possession when the Steelers drove into the Eagles 26-yard line. However, when Russ found Najee Harris, he couldn’t hold on to the pass that the Eagles subsequently recovered. And what happened after that was even more painful for the Steelers? Within the next possession, Jalen Hurts led his Eagles to a TD, and the Steelers went behind 27-13.

After that, neither team managed to score, thereby putting Harris in a lot of heat. As Wilson later explained, “No, that was the play we had going on. It just, unfortunately, didn’t work out.” That turnover proved to be costly, but Harris owed up to his mistake in Philly, “I took my eyes off it. I was looking at the hole right and took my eyes off the football and I fumbled it.” But you cannot just blame Harris for the loss. The Steelers didn’t score any TD apart from Pat Freiermuth’s in the second quarter.

Even their kicker, Chris Boswell, was shaky: one of his efforts went in off the upright. After Sunday’s display, the Steelers need to sort themselves out as Wilson later expressed, “It’s unacceptable how we played. I think we feel like we have to be sharper.” Well, they need to be more than sharper because next up is the Ravens, who are breathing over their shoulders for that AFC North title.