You know what word I’m sick of hearing regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers?

OK, maybe it’s two words: Trap game.

Those words do not belong in the same sentence as the post-Killer Bs Steelers unless they’re the ones laying out traps for the Chiefs or Bills.

The modern Steelers simply aren’t good enough to be the victims of trap games. They have too many problems. They have too many questions that need to be answered. They haven’t won a playoff game in seven years.

However, that hasn’t stopped fans and the media from being frightened of an upcoming opponent who might be seen as less than.

The Colts were seen as a “trap game” opponent– aka a typical Mike Tomlin loss–in the days before Pittsburgh visited Lucas Oil Stadium for a Week 4 matchup. Why?

First, the Steelers were favored by no more than 2.5 points heading into the game. Sure, it was on the road, but a 2.5-point spread means Vegas expects the matchup to be close, which it was. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh was on the wrong end of a field goal margin, as the Colts jumped out to a 17-0 lead before hanging out to win by a score of 27-24.

Second, Indianapolis blew the doors off of the Steelers in a Week 15 matchup at the same venue last December 16. Sure, Mitch Trubisky was the starting quarterback that day, and he eventually gave way to Mason Rudolph due to ineffective play. Neither of those guys was on the roster for Sunday’s matchup, while Justin Fields was the starting quarterback. That was a nice change, but was the defense THAT much different than the one that was gouged for 372 total yards–including 170 on the ground–in the 30-13 loss 10 months earlier? The Colts head coach for that game–Shane Steichen–was also in charge on the sidelines this past Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Speaking of Steichen, he was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator when they blew out the Steelers by a score of 35-13 at Lincoln Financial Field on October 30, 2022. Jalen Hurts was deadly efficient, completing 19 of 28 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns. You might say, “Well, the Steelers won the time of possession!” Yes, and they spent most of it not scoring points. You may also say, “Hey, T.J. Watt was absent that day!” Yes, and he was this past Sunday, too.

Third, except for 2020, the Steelers have spent the past six years either barely making the playoffs or barely missing them. In other words, Pittsburgh is one of the two dozen squads that the late, great Sam Wyche often referred to when he watched preseason tape of all 32 teams during his broadcasting days: They’re going to finish anywhere between 6-10 and 10-6 (updated to 7-10 and 10-7), and a few plays over the course of the entire season will determine their record.

The Colts are also one of those two dozen teams that Wyche referred to, and they made just enough plays to win Sunday, while Pittsburgh did not.

In my estimation, the Steelers haven’t had a true trap game since Week 3 of the 2017 season when they lost to the Bears in overtime at Soldier Field. Perhaps not surprisingly, 2017 was likely the last year the Steelers were one of the five or six teams that Wyche knew would win 12 or 13 games after watching tape of them in the preseason (he could also spot the five or six that would lose 12 or 13 games).

Not even the back-to-back home losses to the Cardinals and Patriots last December could be considered trap games, at least not in my opinion.

The Steelers have been stuck in the NFL parity cycle for a very long time. Teams in that cycle don’t get trapped into losing games. They just fail to make enough plays against teams at or near their level.