It is the first time in coach Bill Cowher's eight-year tenure that Pittsburgh entered Thanksgiving week with, basically, no chance at the playoffs. But if you didn't know better, you would think things were just as bad in Pittsburgh as in Cincinnati. Cowher is defending himself against accusations that he no longer displays a passion for coaching. And running back Jerome Bettis, much like the Bengals' Corey Dillon, laments a diminished workload as the Steelers ride a two-game losing streak. Bettis laughed as he said it.
Perception is up to the eye of the beholder.
After the Browns loss, a Pittsburgh columnist wrote that Cowher had lost some of his fire. Worse, he didn't even seem to care. After the Steelers lost again last Sunday, 16-10 to Tennessee, the old Cowher snarled to life at Monday's weekly press conference. He said he was working as hard as ever, and that several players' jobs were on the line. This is the first time we've been 5-5, and it's a different feeling.