Turn out the lights, because the party’s over. For all intents and purposes, the Steelers postseason hopes ended with their thorough 30-13 defeat at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. The Colts left no doubt who was the better team, by a disturbingly large margin.

The Steelers current three game losing streak has them squarely on the outside looking in, at the real playoff contending teams. You know, the type of teams that consistently strive for sustainable improvement throughout the season. The teams that are well coached enough to orchestrate their gameplans around the strengths and weaknesses of their available personnel, and the personnel of their opponents. The Steelers seemingly trot out the same gameplan every week, apparently praying for different results.

The Steelers three AFC North rivals have all positioned themselves nicely to be a part of the postseason festivities, while the Steelers have positioned themselves to get an early start on their offseason rebuilding process. I honestly could never imagine the Steelers finishing in last place in the AFC North division, but I guess there really is a first time for everything.

Steelers Stock Trending Down: Reality 

I have said it before, but watching this team perform each week is like being forced to watch a bad remake of the Groundhog Day movie. Not only is it not entertaining, at times it borders on cruel and unusual punishment. The Steelers struggle to do the routine things routinely. It didn’t even matter that the Colts were missing multiple starters on Saturday, because the Steelers make career journeymen look like established starters on a weekly basis. However, when the Steelers starters are out, the product on the field definitely suffers.

All week the Steelers players talked about how this game had a playoff like feel to it, which actually worried me more than just a little, because of the team’s recent playoff performances under Mike Tomlin. I thought maybe my concerns were unwarranted when the Steelers scored a TD early to go up 6-0, but then Chris Boswell missed the extra point. Boswell never misses extra points. That felt like a bad omen, or a precursor of things to come.

Then the Steelers went up 13-0 after a blocked punt, even though it took the Steelers four attempts to score after recovering at the one yard line. That’s about when the old familiar feeling of a playoff game under Mike Tomlin started to kick in. Another surprising soft defensive effort, especially up the middle of the field. Multiple turnovers committed, plenty of self inflected wounds via penalty, and numerous questionable at best coaching decisions. Please stop the ride, as I am ready to get off, because I have seen this song and dance before.

Although I have seen plenty of colorful adjectives utilized to describe the Steelers current situation, please allow me to keep this simple; the Steelers are a bad football team, on both sides of the ball. The NFL Network announcers seemed baffled by just how bad the Steelers really are on offense. They listed off numerous players at one point during the telecast that they apparently feel are talented offensive weapons, but they did mention the Steelers fluid QB situation. Truthfully, the real answer lies much deeper.

For the first time in my life, the Steelers lack leadership at the top of the organization. Art Rooney II is a far cry from Dan Rooney. This allowed Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin to go unchecked for far too long. We are now seeing the inevitable results of poor self evaluation. I honestly believe that Dan Rooney would have been wise enough to read the tea leaves, the handwriting on the wall if you will, long before now. I am drawn to believe that because the man was the most influential architect of the greatest franchise in NFL history. The same franchise was a laughingstock before him, and are slowly becoming that again after him.

So what is the answer? That’s a loaded question, because there are multiple answers. But the answer always has to start at the top. NFL Network analysis Kurt Warner mentioned the difficulty in identifying the Steelers offensive issues during the game. There are multiple issues, and the responsible culprits seemingly change by the week. However, the Steelers faithful recognize the repeat offenders. It’s going to be up to Omar Khan and company to start there this offseason.

On offense, the Steelers desperately need a NFL caliber coordinator, and everything that details. They also need capable positional coaches, because basic fundamentals and attention to details has fallen by the wayside. Coaches capable of developing the talent that Khan and company are able to obtain. Once again, the Steelers wide receiver’s effort levels remain unacceptable. The Steelers continued issues along the offensive line have to be urgently dealt with once and for all. That’s not everything, but it’s a good place to start.

On defense, the Steelers need upgrades on all three levels, but especially in the defensive backfield. The Steelers secondary is slow and soft, which is a dabilitating combination. It is perplexing trying to figure out if Teryl Austin is utterly clueless, or hopelessly handicapped by his personnel. I honestly believe that Tomlin feels it is the latter, although I am not entirely convinced. I will admit that Austin lacks the horses to adequately compete in the derby, but his personnel usage is questionable at best. Playing Levi Wallace over Darius Rush at this point makes zero sense, especially for a rebuilding franchise.

There’s that word again: Rebuilding. This season, for all intents and purposes, will finally put an end to all the Tomlin non-losing season nonsense, and hopefully remove the focus from sustained mediocrity once and for all. In the modern NFL, you either go all in, or you are not really trying. No more dipping your toe in the water, time to dive on in. Tomlin has some soul searching to do this offseason. Now that the bud has fell from the rose, is Tomlin willing to fully commit to this necessary rebuild, and everything that entails. Only Tomlin can answer that question, but the answer inevitably impacts us all.

This article only has one section, because nothing is going to change until the Steelers are willing to face their own reality. Change nothing, and nothing changes. If not, Steelers Nation will remain trapped in this rinse and repeat nightmare reality.