Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers have lost their first two home games to AFC teams who failed to make the playoffs a year ago, I’m left to ponder one weighty question.

Where are the wins remaining on the schedule?

I mean, even if the Steelers are to meet my relatively conservative nine-win preseason prediction, how will they cobble together that total?

I suppose I could be getting too far ahead of myself after back-to-back upset losses at Heinz Field to the Las Vegas Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals. I’m not quite ready to say 4-13 in the NFL’s first 17 game season or anything.

Well, perhaps not yet anyway.

However, I do think it’s at least fair to start wondering when their next win is going to come. And with their putrid performances on both sides of the ball the last two weeks, it’s not an exaggeration to say we may not see one for more than a month.

It’s entirely possible the Steelers are underdogs in their next four games and maybe longer.

Up next, the 1-2 Steelers go to Green Bay this Sunday. The Packers were dreadful in a 38-3 loss to New Orleans to start the year. Indeed, the Steelers’ anemic offense may be able to score a few points against Green Bay’s defense. It has allowed totals of 38, 17 and 28 points to the likes of the Saints, Lions and 49ers.

Not exactly a murderer’s row so far this year. But do you think that banged-up Steelers defense is capable of slowing down Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and Aaron Jones to the point that their own offense can keep up?

Yeah, neither do I. So now they are looking at 1-3.

Then there’s the Denver Broncos game at Heinz Field on Oct. 10. Denver’s schedule has been softer than the ACC Coastal. Their opponents (Giants, Jaguars and Jets) are a combined 0-9. Yet Denver’s defense appears legit, giving up a piddly 26 points in three games. That’s the best in the NFL. They are second against the run and in total yards allowed, while boasting the third-best pass defense, too.

Based on how bad the Steelers offense has been to this point, good luck against that outfit. I’ll be interested to see if the gambling lines list the Steelers as an underdog in their own building for that one. Regardless, don’t be shocked if Mike Tomlin’s crew wakes up the next day at 1-4.

If that’s true, they’ll be at the same mark that they were to start the 2019 season when the club was being quarterbacked by Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges after Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the season due to injury.

That was also their record after five games in 2013. That team rallied to finish 8-8. Theoretically, this team could do the same.

Theoretically.

Following that game against Denver, the Steelers host the Seattle Seahawks on “Sunday Night Football.” Primetime games at Heinz Field, especially ones against visiting NFC foes, usually amount to victories for the Steelers. And at 1-2, the Seahawks have plenty of their own problems, namely 63 points allowed the last two weeks.

Again, though, is the Steelers offense capable of exploiting that weakness while the defense contains Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett?

Yup. I’m skeptical, too. That contest is followed by a trip to Cleveland to face the Browns and their 174.7 yards per game on the ground.

Oh, and in between, it’s a bye week. I expect “Bye” to be a seven-point favorite over the Steelers, too.

But, in all seriousness, is a 1-6 start to the season out of the question before the Steelers get back-to-back home games against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions in Weeks 8 and 9 of their schedule on Nov. 8 and Nov. 14?

I don’t think so. And if that happens, it’ll be the worst start to a season since 1988 when the franchise won its first game over the Dallas Cowboys 24-21, then lost six in a row and finished 5-11.

Based on the 10,000 no-shows at Heinz Field under perfect weather conditions Sunday, we might be looking at 50% capacity at that point in November.

So much for all those recent complaints about long lines to get in the building and buy concessions. It may feel like a Pirates game by then.

Am I giving you the most apocalyptic, doomsday scenario possible? Yes. I am.

Am I perhaps being too hyperbolic in the wake of back-to-back upset losses while the offense has not quite gelled under a new system and the defense is ravaged by a slew of injuries?

You could say that.

Is that projection completely unbelievable? No. It’s entirely possible the Steelers will be underdogs in every one of their upcoming games between now and the end of October.

In fact, the biggest question that I have about the Steelers right now is, “How the heck did they beat the Bills in Week 1 anyway?”

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