Nov 30, 2014 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – On paper, the Steelers should be a better team.

On paper, they have offensive stars at all of the key positions – quarterback, running back and wide receiver.

On paper, the defense should be better than it is.

On paper, well, you get the idea.

The trouble, as it always seems to be when people talk about teams that should be good on paper, is that the game is played on the field. It’s not about who’s putting up the best fantasy football numbers.

It’s about who’s winning the most games.

As former Pittsburgh safety Lee Flowers once said of the Tampa Bay Bucs, the Steelers are “paper champions.”

They’re a better fantasy football team than they are in reality.

The bottom line for the Steelers is their 7-5 record following a 35-32 loss Sunday to the New Orleans Saints. That record is good, but not good enough in a competitive AFC playoff race.

Yes, the offense is putting up points and yardage, but as was the case against the Saints, all too often it has been at the end of games that were already decided.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s final statistics – 435 yards and two touchdowns – look impressive, at least until you realize that half of those yards and both touchdowns came in the closing minutes after the Steelers had fallen behind 35-16.

Those final numbers hide the fact that he was 8 for 22 for 115 yards and an interception in the first half. He had at least two other potential interceptions dropped and Pittsburgh was fortunate to come out of that first 30 minutes only down by 14-6.

Roethlisberger rebounded in the second half and played better. However, by then, Roethlisberger’s counterpart, Drew Brees, had found a rhythm.

After a slow start, Brees threw five touchdown passes in six possessions. Roethlisberger’s two touchdowns both came in the final 2:34, something that has become an all-too-familiar trend for the Steelers.

This team just can’t seem to consistently play well in all phases.

While Roethlisberger was struggling in the first quarter, the defense was shutting down the Saints, holding New Orleans to two first downs on its first three possessions.

After that, it was bombs away for Brees against the Pittsburgh secondary.

“We were getting off the field defensively in the first half,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “We weren’t putting touchdowns on the board. We were kicking field goals or even missing scoring opportunities. You can’t have that against an explosive offense like New Orleans.”

Earlier in the week, Roethlisberger called the game against the Saints a “must-win” situation.

The trouble with calling a game a must-win is what happens if you lose. Does that mean the season is now over?

Fortunately for the Steelers, it’s not. Both Baltimore and Cleveland lost, meaning Pittsburgh will be in the same situation they were last week.

If they win their final four games, they’ll be in the playoffs.

But after watching this team for 12 games, does anybody have faith in it playing consistently enough to put together a four-game winning streak?

The Steelers did so to close out the 2005 season en route to a Super Bowl victory.

That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s possible now.

“The past is the past. This is a different team,” said safety Troy Polamalu, one of the few remaining holdovers from that team.

“We’ve got to see what we’re made of this year. Looking in hindsight, I don’t know if we believed in 2005. It just happened, moment by moment. I think if we get too far-sighted, it’s not going to happen for us. We’ll see.”

On paper, it says the Steelers should have a chance in those games – two against Cincinnati and one each against Atlanta and Kansas City.

Given the Steelers’ penchant for playing only in spurts, that’s highly unlikely.

They’ll only be good on paper.

F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.