The Pittsburgh Steelers are not in a good place, but only from an internal standpoint. There are teams in the NFL which would kill for a 7-6 record and to be the 6th seed in the AFC Playoff Picture with four games left in the regular season. However, the way the Steelers enter this part of the schedule has fans everywhere uneasy.

After dropping back-to-back games to two win teams, the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13 and the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football in Week 14, the team enters the final four games with no momentum. In fact, they enter with a feeling of a team plummeting down the stretch.

Yet they still control their own destiny. The margin for error is razor thin, but if they can string together some wins they very well could be punching their ticket to the AFC Playoffs. In fact, for some the playoff mentality starts now.

“It’s playoff football four weeks early,” said center Mason Cole. “Each game from here on out is ever important. It has a feeling of playoff football already.

“These next games are important, starting with Indianapolis.”

A playoff mentality is something which absolutely couldn’t hurt this team. Putting their full focus and attention on the upcoming slate of game, starting with Indianapolis, could be what the doctor ordered for an ailing team. When you think back to the 2005 Steelers, it was when the team wiped the schedule clean and focused on just one game at a time when they started to rattle off wins en route to the Super Bowl.

I’m not suggesting that type of finish is in the books, merely talking about the mentality which can help breed success on the field.

“You come in with the same intense mindset every day,” said linebacker Markus Golden. “Come to work every day. A lot of people come to work like that no matter what. The whole team is thinking like that.

“We will be ready.”

Fans are skeptical, and rightfully so, of the team being “ready” for what lies ahead. Most are taking a wait-and-see approach, starting with the game Saturday in Indianapolis.

“We know what it is. The sixth spot to the 11th spot is the same record. Every game is a playoff game for us.” said linebacker Mykal Walker.

“It’s exciting. We lost the last two games that everyone in the world thought we shouldn’t have lost. We have a chance. We have an opportunity. We can control things. Any time you are in a situation like that, it’s a great thing.

“Now it’s about every drill, making sure every rep is detailed. We have to lock in. It’s all about the buy-in. We have great leadership in this locker room. Everyone is on the same page. I could feel it in the meeting room this morning.”

The players are saying the right things, but will that equate in a change in the play on the field? Will this team, even dealing with some serious injury issues on the roster right now, be able to turn the page and put a better product on the field?

“I think this team is capable, I think we have always been capable,” said Cole. “If we play to our ability and how we can play, there is no doubt we can not only make it to the playoffs, but make a run too.”

It all starts with one game, and that is Saturday in Indianapolis vs. the Colts, a team the Steelers haven’t lost to since 2008. Let’s hope it’s the magic elixir this team desperately needs.

Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the regular season, starting with the Colts on Saturday in Week 15.