Up-and-Down Steelers Can't Afford Another Letdown Game vs. Floundering Falcons

The AFC North has been a slugfest in 2014. All four teams in the division have winning records as Week 15 begins.

Without question, the hardest combatant in that fight to figure out has been the Pittsburgh Steelers. One week, the team looks like the class of the division, an offensive juggernaut propelled by one of the NFL's best trios at quarterback, running back and wide receiver.

The next, the team can't get out of its own way, pitching and lurching its way to losses to doormats like the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

With that said, about one thing there is no question. Fall Sunday in Atlanta to a 5-8 Falcons team, and any hopes the Steelers have of making the playoffs for the first time since being Tebow-ed back in 2011 will be all but dashed.

Sorry about that, Steelers fans. It's just a reminder of what's at stake and the cost of taking your eyes off the prize, if only for a moment.

Pittsburgh running back Le'Veon Bell told The Associated Press (via Fox Sports) that he's fully aware what's at stake this week:

"

We have a great opportunity in front of us, so I'm going to embrace it. This is the part of the year where things get a little tight, they get more exciting. Everybody in the locker room is excited about this last couple of weeks.

"

That's good, because as goes Bell, so go the Steelers.

	YPC	RYPG	TYPG	TD
8 wins	5.53	112.0	160.0	7
5 losses	4.19	67.0	128.8	1

The second-year pro is currently riding a hot streak of three games in which he's eclipsed 200 total yards. Only the great Walter Payton accomplished that feat before Bell.

To no one's surprise, the Steelers are 2-1 over that three-game stretch. In fact, there's a glaring difference between Bell's stats in the team's eight wins this year vs. its five defeats.

The same holds true for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

	Comp. %	PYPG	TD	INT	Rating
8 wins	70.69	314.8	22	2	119.6
5 losses	60.91	307.9	7	6	81.2

While it makes sense that Big Ben's numbers would be better in victory than defeat, what doesn't jibe is why Roethlisberger has had some of his worst games of the year against the mediocre pass defenses of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets.

	Comp.	Att.	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Week 4 vs. TB*	29	40	314	3	0	120.2
Week 10 @ NYJ	30	43	343	1	2	81.8
Week 13 vs. NO	32	58	435	2	2	76.4

If there was no excuse for Roethisberger's struggles against the Buccaneers and Jets, then there would be even less if he falters against the Falcons. Of the 32 teams in the NFL, none are allowing more yardage through the air than Atlanta, who surrenders nearly 290 yards per contest on average.

Roethlisberger told ESPN's Scott Brown that the Steelers aren't trying to figure out why they've struggled against inferior opponents, instead preferring to remain singularly focused on beating Atlanta:

"

I’m not going to reflect on the season right now or what’s beyond this game. It’s the here and now. We’re installing Atlanta stuff. Our focus in 110 percent on Atlanta and we’re doing everything we can to play the best football we can.

"

That's good, because Roethlisberger may have inadvertently touched on the Steelers' biggest problem in those losses.

You'd never get the Steelers to admit it, but it's possible the team's focus leading into those games earlier this year may not have been what it should have been.

When the Buccaneers came to Pittsburgh back in Week 4, they were a winless laughingstock. Roethlisberger had thrown six touchdown passes in two straight games heading into Pittsburgh's Week 10 matchup against a one-win Jets squad.

Maybe, just maybe, the Steelers got caught looking ahead, and it cost them.

This time, the stakes are that much higher. In addition to the logjam in the AFC North—where 1.5 games separate the first-place Bengals and last-place Browns—there's a huge pack of teams in the AFC sitting at either 8-5 or 7-6.

Fall to the back of that pack with two games left, and the Steelers odds of making the postseason take a massive hit.

At the end of the day, there's no reason the Steelers shouldn't win this game. "First place" team or no (the NFC South is redefining the term "awful" in 2014), the Falcons aren't much better at stopping the run (21st in the NFL) than the pass.

Wide receiver Julio Jones, who is easily the Falcons' top offensive weapon, is a game-time decision for Week 15 after missing practice all week with a hip injury, according to NFL.com.

However, if Pittsburgh underestimates the Falcons and comes out flat like it did against the Bucs, Jets and Saints, then the Steelers are going to get their heads handed to them.

Along with an invitation to watch the playoffs on TV again this year.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.