Never has it been more important this season for the Steelers to strictly adhere to the 24-hour rule. That’s the rule that gives teams only 24 hours to celebrate or mourn the game they just finished before moving on to the next one. Because of where they are on their schedule and what they have immediately ahead of them, what happened in Philadelphia is irrelevant.

The 27-13 loss to the Eagles dropped the Steelers to 10-4, but they still have a 1-game lead in the AFC North, and because Miami and Indianapolis both lost on Sunday, they secured a playoff berth place in the AFC. However, with a one-game lead in the division, the Steelers can clinch the AFC North with a win in Baltimore.

As division champions, the Steelers will receive hats and T-shirts to commemorate their achievement, which they can wear until they get home. But as division champions, they also receive a more favorable position in the postseason, which for them begins with a home playoff game in the Wild Card round against an opponent other than the Chiefs or the Bills.

And since seeding determines the opponent and the division champions have better seeds, beating the Ravens is a step toward changing their designation from “making the playoffs” to “winning the playoffs.”

“We have to learn from this,” Cam Heyward said. “We are not given much time. We must have a memory like a goldfish We must learn from our mistakes and move on.

The mistakes that cost them in Philadelphia are mistakes they made early in this regular season, and while that can be simultaneously disappointing and frustrating, one must consider the magnitude of the difficulty. The reality is that the Eagles are one of the two best teams in the NFL right now, and after Buffalo put up 197 rushing yards, 559 total net yards and 48 points, including 6 touchdowns, against the previously 12-1 Lions in Detroit, They have a dispute as the best team in the NFL. At the moment, anyway.

Chuck Noll liked to answer the media’s either/or questions with the following versions: “It’s like asking, ‘How would you rather die? In a fire or by drowning?’” This is what the Eagles offer their opponents with an offense that includes 1,600-yard rusher Saquon Barkley and his 11 touchdowns as well as receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, who have 1,389 yards receiving and 9 to the party came touchdowns. Which element deserves more resources and attention from a defense? How do you want to die?

The Steelers did a more than decent job with Barkley, who finished the game with 65 yards rushing on 19 attempts (3.6 average) and no touchdowns, as well as a harmless reception of 9 yards. And aside from a 22-yard run, Barkley was quieter than he has been in any game this season.

But Jalen Hurts was efficient, precise and careful with the football, and behind an offensive line that is talented, physical, experienced and adept with the hand, Brown and Smith were a two-headed ticking time bomb. They combined for five plays of 20 to 22 yards, but no longer, and each receiver got into the end zone once. All in all, not a catastrophic result.

This brings us back to an issue that has been a hot button all season – the need for an offense that scores in the 30s. Consistently. Or at least have an offense capable of getting the number close enough to 30 so that the opponent can stay comfortable and play large portions of the game both offensively and defensively with little risk.

On consecutive possessions in the first quarter, the offense was sparked by takeaways – one came from special teams when Mark Robinson forced a fumble on a punt return and Nick Herbig recovered it, and the other came from defense when TJ Watt hit Hurts Ball out of hands and Beanie Bishop retrieved it. All the Steelers got from it was a 37-yard field goal from Chris Boswell.

The first half ended with the Steelers having 7 possessions and a plus-2 turnover ratio, but the offense only had 80 total net yards and 1 touchdown (13 points total thanks to a 49-yard field goal with 37 seconds left). in the second half). Quarter).

The touchdown came from a great catch in traffic by Pat Freiermuth in the end zone, but just one of those will never be enough to beat a team as strong as the Eagles. With the Steelers unable to take advantage of their circumstances early in the game, they were off the hook.

This is what happens when you let a team that is currently playing at home and is on a 9-game winning streak off the hook: With the kickoff of the second half, the Eagles started a 13-game streak with 7 minutes left on the game clock lasted and ended with a field goal that extended their lead to 20-13, and after the Steelers lost the ball on a fumble by Najee Harris on a first-and-10 from the 26-yard line Philadelphia’s turnaround took 4 plays. Later, the Eagles went 74 yards on 13 plays and scored on Hurts’ 1-yard tush with 6:33 left to make the score 27-13 after two plays in the fourth quarter.

By the time their charter flight crossed the commonwealth and landed in Pittsburgh, it was Monday. Four days later they are scheduled to board another flight that will take them to Baltimore for the most important game of the season.

“There are bigger fish to fry,” Heyward said. “We’re not just trying to squeeze into the playoffs. It’s nice to know we don’t have to wait until Week 18 to find out whether we’re in the playoffs or not. We have a playoff team. We have that.” We knew that before this game. We didn’t play our best, but we still have a lot of room to play “MVP caliber team with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.”

There is not much time that is best spent on tomorrow instead of wasting it grieving over yesterday. Because honestly, they had to beat the Ravens in Baltimore no matter what they did in Philadelphia.