PITTSBURGH – Mike Tomlin and his team didn’t mince words after the Steelers’ third loss in a row.

“To be honest, that sucked,” the coach said after the Steelers’ 29-10 loss on Christmas Day to the Kansas City Chiefs. “Not the kind of ball we want to play and in that respect it’s eerily similar to our last performance in that we’re not doing the basic things well enough.”

By losing to the Chiefs (10-6), the Steelers not only failed to compete with another top team in the league, but they also lost the ability to control their fate in the race for the AFC North title and a coveted home game Hand take playoff game. Despite once leading the division by two games, the Steelers must now beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the regular season finale and let the Baltimore Ravens lose their Week 18 game against the Cleveland Browns to capture the crown.

“It has to be a wish,” linebacker Alex Highsmith said of righting the ship. “There isn’t enough of it at the moment. There must be a desire. It’s that time of year when we still have two guaranteed games. We’ll find out who wants this. Everyone in this room has to do it. “That’s the only way we can move forward and get better.”

The Steelers’ once-potent defense has given up an average of 30 points per game over the past three weeks, and the turnovers that once defined the team’s success are no longer coming. The Steelers have recorded just three takeaways in their last three games after conceding three in each of the four games prior to the losing streak. The Steelers failed to score a takeaway against the Chiefs, although they did force a fumble on a punt return that the Chiefs were eventually able to recover.

And over the past two weeks, the Steelers have allowed five touchdowns and thrown no interceptions on throws outside the numbers. Through Week 15, they had allowed just six passing touchdowns and six interceptions on such throws, according to ESPN Research.

“People can’t be completely open. Do your job,” safety DeShon Elliott said of solving the Steelers’ recurring problems. “I feel like we communicated with each other. The boys just didn’t do their damn job. Back to the drawing board. It’s week (17). These problems shouldn’t exist. … This is a Week 1, Week 2 problem. “So I don’t know where we went, it became a completely different defense across the board (than we were), but we had to get back to who we are.” “

The Steelers’ freebies have exacerbated the problem. Although they still have the second-best turnover margin in the NFL, the offense turned the ball over five times during the losing streak, including twice on Wednesday. Quarterback Russell Wilson threw an interception in the end zone in the first half, and tight end Pat Freiermuth fumbled on third down in the fourth quarter to give the Chiefs a short field. The visitors scored four plays later and led 29:10.

“We have taken steps backwards in terms of our turnover culture, in terms of possession and winning the ball,” Tomlin said. “We’ve been a positive group for the most part and that’s really been a catalyst for us in terms of the games turning out the way we want them to. In the last two weeks in particular, we have not been positive in this area. “We were in the red in that area and the results are what they are.”

Before the gauntlet of three games in 11 days, members of the Steelers organization said they would learn a lot about their team along the way. When asked what he learned about his team, defensive captain Cameron Heyward was just as candid as his coach.

“We played great the last three weeks,” said Heyward. “It’s that simple. I own this. Every player has to (own this). I can’t miss opportunities, whether it’s turnovers, whether it’s going off the field, whether it’s scoring touchdowns, it’s a variety of things, and it’s improved his big Head.

“The group will never lack my confidence. It’s just amazing from an execution standpoint. We have to get everything done on these plays. We sit in meetings and bring it to the field. “It doesn’t mean anything” if you don’t do it in the game.