Mark Madden: Remaining Steelers games are about humility, survival, avoiding embarrassment

Yinzer Nation got chapped when ex-Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Mike Hilton danced, waved and took a theatrical bow to fans at Heinz Field (not including the 10,000 no-shows) when his current team, Cincinnati, was finishing an easy 24-10 victory this past Sunday.

Locals also took offense when Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd, a Pittsburgh kid by way of Clairton and Pitt, said the Steelers “gave up” at the end of that game. (I don’t believe the Steelers gave up. I think they were just terrible.)

In these instances, Steelers fans have zero legit cause for outrage.

Their heroes perpetrate disrespect all the time.

Juju Smith-Schuster danced on opposition logos for his TikTok. He dismissively said, “The Browns is the Browns” before Cleveland beat the Steelers in last season’s playoffs.

Chase Claypool then absurdly pooh-poohed the Browns after they eliminated the Steelers, saying they would get “clapped” by Kansas City in the second round and “be on the couch right next to me next week, so it’s all good.”

Passes are clanging off Claypool’s hands with alarming frequency this season. He’s betraying his reputation for making battle catches. Is it still all good?

As for Smith-Schuster, let’s see how much the citizens love him doing “Corvette, Corvette” when the Steelers are 2-5.

Football and winning are what matter. Everything ancillary flows from that.

Smith-Schuster should know. His free agency soiled the bed and will do so again next offseason if he keeps making minimal impact.

Disrespect has a funny way of circling back around. Hilton and Boyd are messengers of that notion. It’s not harmless fun when it’s done to you.

There’s little reason to believe the Steelers are a playoff team given how they’ve looked, especially in losing to Cincinnati.

If that turns out to be the case, all of Pittsburgh will get a lesson in humility.

The aforementioned 10,000 no-shows at this past Sunday’s game likely will skip class. Fifteen percent of the ticket-holders apparently gave up after the Steelers lost once.

The Steelers haven’t seen their season collapse early since 2003, when they started 2-6 and finished 6-10. This will be a different experience for that locker room.

Humility can be an effective teaching tool — but only if you let it.

Humility could make the Steelers dig in and take a stand, too — but only if they want to.

The Steelers lead the NFL with 11 dropped passes. That seems a much lower figure than we’ve witnessed. Get some stickum and do better.

The Steelers have committed six false-start penalties, second-most in the league. The offensive line lacks talent — but at least get the basics right.

For the Steelers to hang in there, they must do no worse than split the next four games.

The Steelers are going to lose Sunday at Green Bay and Oct. 31 at Cleveland. That’s locked in. Aaron Rodgers is Aaron Rodgers, and the Browns is the Browns.

They’ve got to beat Denver Oct. 10 at home and Seattle on Oct. 17, also at Heinz Field. The Steelers are 0-2 at home, losing to underdogs both times. They must do better on their own turf.

Denver is 3-0, but the Broncos’ foes to date are a combined 0-9.

Seattle is 1-2 but has Russell Wilson, who is among the NFL’s top five quarterbacks. That game will be a battle between the Steelers’ putrid offense and the Seahawks’ vomitous defense.

If the Steelers get to 3-4, their next two games are at home and winnable: Chicago and Detroit.

It’s not about winning the division, or making the playoffs, or even preserving coach Mike Tomlin’s invented pseudo-accomplishment of never having a losing season.

It’s not about dissecting the poor play of Ben Roethlisberger, or the worse play of the offensive line or the plentiful coaching incompetence.

It’s not about using injuries as an excuse.

The way the Steelers have looked the last two games, it’s about survival and avoiding embarrassment. It’s about proving Boyd wrong.