2018 was a year in which the Arizona Cardinals were on the wrong end of many blowouts. They were destroyed by the Denver Broncos on national television, and had similar results against the Los Angeles Chargers, Atlanta Falcons, and Washington Redskins.

This year, the team had been competitive in every game. Sure, there were a few that got away from them late in the contest (Carolina, New Orleans), but their competitiveness this year was one of the positives to build on.

Then came last Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. It appeared like the Cardinals were the same 2018 team that broke records for being awful. They were embarrassed in every phase.

This week, they’ll need to at least be very competitive throughout the game, or the hot seat under some coaches and executives might grow a lot warmer.

Let’s take a look at this week’s opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has done a masterful job in keeping his football team alive and in the playoff race. They started the season 0-3 and lost quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the season. Most teams would have folded and collapsed, but Tomlin has kept his team afloat through tons of adversity.

This season is the fallout of the Antonio Brown debacle in the offseason. Tomlin is on his third-string quarterback and just recently had his team go through the ugly brawl with the Cleveland Browns on national television. After all of this, the Steelers are 7-5 with eyes on the postseason.

Considering the history between the Cardinals and Steelers, I’m sure the team would like nothing more than to put a huge dent into the Black and Yellow’s playoff hopes.

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