Pittsburgh's loss to the Seattle Seahawks was a hard pill to swallow, because they let a winnable game get away. But it may have been just the right thing to set the team up for the stretch run.
If the Steelers were going to lose a game in the post-bye week stretch run, this was the one it needed to be. And it may be a very good thing.
Sure, it would be better had they not lost. But the reality is that seven wins in a row -- and as many as eleven, if you expect them to go all the way -- is just not a realistic expectation.