CHICAGO —For several weeks now, the Baltimore Ravens have been the objects in the rear-view mirror for the Pittsburgh Steelers , as the Ravens got through their brutal early season schedule and an incredible rash of injuries that including starting quarterback Lamar Jackson .
The Steelers, meanwhile, feasted against lesser opposition, and with both Jackson and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on the sidelines, jumped out to a big lead in the AFC North.
On Oct. 15, the Steelers had a 4-1 record — three games clear of the Cincinnati Bengals in second place and three and a half games ahead of the Baltimore Ravens.
By Nov. 23, the deficit had been erased. The Ravens and Steelers are now tied after Sunday's Pittsburgh loss and Baltimore victory, setting up a race to the finish between two teams headed in opposite directions.
After a hot start to the Steelers, plenty of flaws have been revealed in the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers defense has given up 30 points three times in the last six weeks and at no point has looked like the historic unit that was predicted this preseason. Entering Sunday's game, they were 12th in points allowed, before yielding 31 to the Bears.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey reacts during his team's road loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Ed Thompson/Steelers Now
The secondary that was hailed as a man-coverage monster was completely re-worked in-season. Compared to the way the Steelers started the year, only outside cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was in the same spot on Sunday.
Jalen Ramsey moved from the slot to free safety. Brandin Echols replaced him in the slot. Kyle Dugger replaced the injured DeShon Elliott . James Pierre started over an apparently healthy Darius Slay.
The end result? A unit that still allowed 239 yards passing and three touchdowns from Caleb Williams while forcing just one turnover.
The Steelers still get a lot of takeaways, but it's been feast or famine. Eleven of their 20 on the season have come in two games. They won both of those. They're 3-5 the rest of the time.
Sunday, the two takeaways weren't enough because backup quarterback Mason Rudolph also coughed the ball up twice, with Rudolph underthrowing DK Metcalf on a deep pass and losing a fumble on a sack.
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Mason Rudolph during a game against the Chicago Bears on Nov. 23, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
The Steelers' problems on offense have been more obvious for longer, but they're no less of an issue. The offensive line is young and inexperienced, and therefore inconsistent. They played well against the Bears. That hasn't been the case every week.
On the other side of the aging curve, Aaron Rodgers is 41, nearly 42, and has also been inconsistent, and is now hurt. Rodgers not being able to play all 17 should have been practically expected for a player of his age, and while Rudolph won his first game in relief, he was badly out-dueled by Williams against the Bears.
The Steelers also have basically no down-field passing game to speak of, whether it's Rodgers or Rudolph under center, with teams rarely giving out 1-on-1 reps to DK Metcalf and no one else making anyone regularly pay for that strategy.
With the Steelers and Ravens now in a race to the finish, it's not about what has happened, or how the Steelers got here. It's about what will happen over the next six weeks.
An awful lot has happened in the last six weeks. It's foolish to sit here on Nov. 23 and think that the Steelers will be the same team the rest of the way.
Last season, the Steelers stumbled into the finish of the season, playing some of their worst ball down the stretch run that included three games against contenders in 11 days that ended up wrecking their season.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce runs over Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick on Dec. 25, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
This year, they have the opportunity to put the shoe on the other foot, and be the hot team heading into the playoffs, against a suddenly beatable-looking AFC that has not been dominated by Jackson, Burrow, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen , but instead is led by Drake Maye , Bo Nix and Daniel Jones .
That's a lot more approachable path into the postseason than what the Steelers have been dealing with in the last few trips.
But they're out of time. Their margin is gone. The meme that has been going around with the white rabbit holding up the clock? Yeah, time's up.
The offense is probably not going to be able to be a lot better than it's been. The problems there are mostly intractable. On defense, though, the Steelers have oodles of talent. They just haven't found a way to get it all playing well.
At the very least, they seem to be well aware of the gravity of the situation.
"We can learn from this, but the hourglass is flowing and the sand is falling through," Cam Heyward said. "There's not a lot of time for mistakes."
"We have a lot of things that need to be fixed and be fixed quickly," T.J. Watt
said. " We need to be playing our best football in this stretch of the season. We need to get better and get better quickly."
It's one thing to say it. It's another to do it.
The clock is ticking.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Saunders: Time Is Running Out for Too-Talented-to-Fail Steelers Defense
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