Steelers' comeback effort against Ravens was too little, too late

The crying shame isn't that the Steelers battled hard to the bitter end and lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 22-20, Thursday night, a loss that likely is fatal to their playoff chances.

It would have been a crying shame if the Steelers had won on a night they made a season-full of mistakes. A 54-yard pass play and a 73-yard kickoff return by the Ravens. A botched field-goal try by the Steelers. And, most hurtful, too many dropped passes to count, including a killer drop by wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders at the end on a 2-point try that would have tied the score.

The Steelers hardly deserved to win.

"Not enough today. Unfortunately," coach Mike Tomlin said.

Now, with a 5-7 record and their three-game winning streak a distant memory, it's hard to imagine the Steelers recovering enough in the final four games to make the playoffs. The schedule is hardly brutal with home games against Miami and Cincinnati, a game at Green Bay and another home game against Cleveland. But, really, did they show you enough against the Ravens to make you think they can win out?

Not me.