Playoffs don’t always end well

The only thing guaranteed in the NFL Playoffs is heartache with an occasional smile. To paraphrase ESPN’s “Around the Horn,” 12 enter and one will emerge smiling. This year, the smiling ones aren’t wearing Black and Gold.

The Steelers took a 3-0 playoff record against the Ravens into Saturday’s wild-card game. They also were 9-0 when playing a division opponent in the playoffs. That mattered little as the Ravens won convincingly, 30-17, at Heinz Field.

It was quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s worst performance in a losing playoff game since the January 2005 AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field in his rookie season (Patriots, 41-27). In the others, the Steelers stayed in the game until the bitter end. Not Saturday.

The Steelers’ playoff skid is now at three. It started four years ago in Super Bowl 45 (31-25, Packers). A year later, the Steelers (12-4) were humiliated in Denver with an overtime loss to the Broncos (8-8) and quarterback Tim Tebow.

Saturday’s loss wasn’t unexpected. When running back Le’Veon Bell hyperextended his knee in the Week 17 win over the Bengals, the Steelers had no experienced backup ready to go. Their offense became one-dimensional. It showed.

And let’s give credit where it’s due: Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco shredded the Steelers secondary.

The Ravens earned this victory but that didn’t make it any easier to endure. As our section of the stadium emptied out late in the fourth quarter, about two dozen Ravens fans were serenading Steelers fans with the White Stripes’ “7 Nation Army.” It’s my new least-favorite song. A little surprisingly (after all, alcohol was sold for the previous five hours), no fights broke out.

Some fans grumbled about a Super Bowl trip squandered. Not exactly. The reality of the 2014 Steelers is that as impressive as they played down the stretch, this team was not built to win a game against Tom Brady in Foxborough, Mass.

And when a team loses at home to the Buccaneers (2-14) and on the road to the Jets (4-12), there is little need to talk about a seventh ring.

Ripped off is what Lions fans are feeling after Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Cowboys. A controversial picked-up flag allowed the Cowboys to avoid a pass interference call that could have secured Detroit’s first playoff win in 23 years.

Instead, Lions fans feel robbed — and rightly so. It’s one thing if an officiating mistake costs the Steelers or Cowboys or Patriots or Ravens. They have championship memories. It’s something else entirely when a downtrodden franchise has its heart crushed by an unexplained mistake.

Thanks to a soft schedule, the Steelers finished 11-5. It won’t be so easy next year. Instead of playing the lowly NFC South, AFC North teams will be facing NFC West teams, the conference’s best. Road trips to New England and Seattle await.

And maybe more heartache.

Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Williams_Vindy.