Entering Week 13, the Steelers were 7-4 and the Cardinals were 2-10.
Nevertheless, Arizona posted a commanding 24-10 victory over Pittsburgh.
The Steelers scored first with Chris Boswell’s 29-yard field goal and didn’t score again until Diontae Johnson caught a 2-yard touchdown with just 4:25 left in the fourth quarter.
What happened to produce that result?
“I don’t know, I felt like that the whole week — once we got out there, I just felt like something was different,” Johnson said on Tuesday, via 93.7 The Fan. “We [weren’t] at our best and what not. But I feel like we just took them [more] lightly than we should have.”
Frankly, that’s not a great sign for a team that has postseason aspirations. But fortunately for the Steelers, they are still the AFC’s current No. 5 seed in what’s shaping up to be a highly competitive playoff race down the stretch.
The team will get the chance to right the ship against the Patriots in two days.
“We can’t come in this Thursday with the same mindset,” Johnson said. “We’re going to be fine. We’ve moved past it.”