CHICAGO -- In the aftermath of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears, Jalen Ramsey reluctantly fielded questions for 1 minute and 13 seconds on his way out of the visitors locker room at Soldier Field.
The Steelers' safety used just 20 words to answer the first seven questions. But on the eighth and final inquiry, Ramsey didn't need a verbal response -- at least not an audible one -- to convey his thoughts.
Asked if it felt like the season was slipping away, Ramsey let out an exasperated, rueful laugh, shook his head and walked away, muttering under his breath.
As the Steelers dropped to 6-5 on the same day their AFC North rival -- the Baltimore Ravens -- improved to 6-5 with a win against the New York Jets, the question is more than warranted. And so is Ramsey's frustration.
Once holding a 2½-game lead in the division, the Steelers have squandered their advantage ahead of a season-ending gauntlet that features three divisional games -- including two against the Ravens in Weeks 14 and 18 that could decide the division.
"The hourglass is going and the sand's falling through," Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward said. "There's not a lot of time for mistakes."
With a 4-1 record through the first six weeks of the season as their division opponents roiled in injuries and turmoil, the Steelers entered their Thursday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7 with a 2½-game lead on their hosts and a 3½-game lead on the Ravens.
"It sucks," Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen said of Pittsburgh squandering its division lead. "Definitely sucks. But at the end of the year, there's going to be a lot of implications. More intense football, so can't wait."
Beginning with the Week 7 loss at Cincinnati, the Steelers have dropped four of their past six games, thanks to inconsistency in all three phases. Before losing to Cincinnati in Week 7, the Steelers' odds to make the playoffs reached 84.7%. After Sunday's loss at Chicago, their odds are hovering at 50%, per ESPN's Football Power Index.
The Steelers cooked up recipes to beat the Indianapolis Colts and win a rematch against Cincinnati, but Pittsburgh fell short against the Packers, Chargers and Bears as the defense surged and then faltered, plagued by recurring coverage busts and ill-matched schemes.
"Just knowing what's coming and us not doing nothing about it," Queen said when asked what was most frustrating about the team's current situation. "You hear guys talking all over the field, communicating what's coming, and the play still happens. So, it is tough. It's upsetting, obviously, but I know the guys in this room, every single person in this room cares."
Meanwhile, the offense, once the Steelers' bright spot as the defense foundered, slumped as 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers began to struggle and then suffered a fractured left wrist. And though backup quarterback Mason Rudolph had moments of proficiency, his turnovers Sunday proved costly. The playcalling also struggled to find a consistent rhythm in the run game in those losses. The Steelers racked up 125 rushing yards in the first half against the Bears, but managed just 61 in the second half.
"We were trusting our path, trusting the O-line," said Kenneth Gainwell, who led all running backs Sunday with 92 yards on 10 carries, including a 55-yard rushing touchdown. "And I think in the second half, we just had to continue to just press more and do what we had to do."
The Steelers have authored late-season surges to make the playoffs throughout coach Mike Tomlin's career, especially in recent years. Rudolph's three-game win streak at the end of the 2023 season led Pittsburgh to an improbable playoff berth. In 2021, the Steelers clinched a berth with a Week 18 win against the Ravens and a Sunday night win by the Raiders over the Chargers.
But all that history doesn't make their current positioning any less frustrating or deflating. Entering the season as the league's highest-paid defense, one billed as capable of doing "historic things" by Tomlin and an offense led by a four-time MVP winner whom the team publicly courted for months, the Steelers had aspirations of not just making the playoffs, but making a postseason run.
As the team continues to ride the same rollercoaster it decried after each game, the goals of the 2025 season seemingly slip further away.
Rudolph has plenty of experience with the ever-changing odds of the Steelers' playoff hopes, and he has beaten them before. That gives him a unique perspective, even as the rest of the team was dejected after the loss in Chicago.
"There's never been panic here," Rudolph said. "I've been a Pittsburgh Steeler long enough to know we've been down in the division and up, and it's a natural ebb and flow of the season. I'm very confident in our guys to keep fighting and end up on top."
So what mindset do the Steelers need for the final month-and-a-half?
Ramsey found a word to answer that question.
"Win."