Few expected the Steelers to lose to the Eagles on Sunday. No one expected it to be historic.
As noted by Adam Schefter of ESPN, the 34-3 outcome on Sunday was the largest margin of defeat for the Steelers since Week Two of the 1989 season. On that September afternoon more than 27 years ago, the Steelers lost to the Bengals, 41-10.
Chuck Noll was the coach. Bubby Brister was the quarterback. But the season turned out well, notwithstanding the 31-point loss at Cincinnati and a 51-0 splattering by the Browns in Pittsburgh on week earlier. The two-game 92-10 debacle became an unlikely Week Three win over the Vikings, who were a trendy Super Bowl pick at the time. The upset sparked an eventual playoff berth for the Steelers, who would beat the Oilers in the wild-card round and lose to the Broncos the following week.
So there’s still hope for the 2016 Steelers, even if they have squandered bragging rights in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the next four years. Good luck getting anyone in Pittsburgh to see it that way today, as the city processes being on the wrong end of an ugly beating at the hands of a rookie quarterback who was playing for North Dakota State a year ago.
