Hartings: Steelers aren't 'the most confident team'

Three straight losses have Pittsburgh reeling.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- They couldn't possibly have seen this coming when they were 7-2, when the AFC North seemed to be theirs to win again. After all, no team in Pittsburgh Steelers history has missed out on the playoffs after winning seven of its first nine.
This team might do exactly that.
With injuries everywhere, a quarterback with two shaky knees and a black-and-blue thumb, three running backs who don't have a lot of yards among them and an admittedly fragile psyche, the Steelers (7-5) must make a late-season surge merely to get into the playoffs as a wild card.
After winning 22 of 25 games over two seasons, the Steelers have plunged into a three-game losing streak amid a breakdown of their running game, an unhealthy mix of three starting quarterbacks in four weeks and problems aplenty on both sides of the ball.
And it's largely because of one of the biggest losses of the Bill Cowher era -- a 38-31 defeat Sunday at home to Cincinnati that caused a huge swing in the standings. Rather than being tied for the division lead, and owning the tie-breaker, the Steelers now trail the Bengals (9-3) by two with four games to play and would lose a tie-breaker.
That's not all: They're fourth in a four-team race for two wild card spots that also involves the Jaguars (9-3), Chargers (8-4) and Chiefs (8-4). And while the Steelers are likely to be favored in at least three and possibly all four of their remaining games, it may take a four-game sweep to give them a chance for what seemed to be inevitable only a few weeks ago: a fourth trip to the playoffs in five seasons.
"I don't think, right now, we're the most confident team," center Jeff Hartings said.
Everything is wrong
No wonder, not with all the strengths from the team that went 15-1 last season breaking down all around them. The running game that was the NFL's second best a season ago can barely get 100 yards a game, much less have a 100-yard rusher -- the Steelers are averaging 84 yards rushing during their three-game losing streak.
The defense that was No. 1 overall in the league last year is barely in the top third this year after allowing 64 points in consecutive losses to the Colts (12-0) and Bengals (9-3). The No. 1 defense? That's Chicago, which brings an eight-game winning streak to Heinz Field Sunday.
Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for a career-high 386 yards against the Bengals but also was intercepted three times, said the Steelers can only be looking ahead, not looking back.
"We have to bounce back," he said. "If anybody is questioning themselves, they don't need to be out there. I think this team will bounce back strong, hopefully stronger than ever."
Right now, this season is beginning to resemble 1998 for the Steelers. Then, just like now, they were coming off a big regular season and a trip to the AFC championship game behind a first-year starting quarterback -- then, it was Kordell Stewart.
Just like now, the Steelers seemed to be in control of their division after starting 7-4. But after a bizarre overtime loss to Detroit on Thanksgiving -- the Jerome Bettis coin flip game -- the Steelers didn't win another game all season and finished 7-9.
A collapse like that doesn't seem likely now -- not with the Browns (4-8) and Lions (4-8) to play -- but this losing streak has shaken a team that lost only one game in a full calendar year, to New England for the AFC title in January.
"We still have four games to play. And we've still got a chance," Hartings said. "I think we're going to need some help, probably. Hopefully, we'll get some. But you can't be the kind of team that keeps looking around at other teams and what they're doing. You've got to take care of your own business these last four games."