What if the Steelers lose out?

What if they go from 10-3 to 10-7, then drop their first playoff game?

It’s not an unlikely scenario. The Steelers play worse every week. Against Kansas City, they played like it was the middle of next month. The Steelers are clearly a level below legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

What should the Steelers do if their season finishes in collapse?

They should:

• Fire Mike Tomlin. Eight years without a playoff win, three playoff wins in 13 years and only four seasons in 18 that included a playoff win or wins. That gets any other coach sacked.

• Fire Omar Khan. Get a GM who’s not a bean counter, with more qualifications than being handy when the job opened up. Khan has assembled a flawed roster. He mangled the No. 2 wideout situation. (Khan has drafted poorly, too, but the Steelers haven’t drafted well in a long time.)

• Move on from Russell Wilson. He’s been adequate, a professional quarterback. But it isn’t worth $30 million per to not win a playoff game.

• Trade T.J. Watt. You could get two first-round picks, maybe more. Watt is 30. He will be retired before a legit window to win opens. You’d do Watt a favor while retooling for the future.

• Trade George Pickens. You could get at least a second-round pick. If Pickens plays out the last year of his rookie contract as a lame duck, he’ll be a bigger nutcase. If he gets a big-money extension, he’ll be a bigger nutcase. It’s no-win. You don’t win with players like Pickens.

These are the headlines.

• Steelers' season finale against Bengals scheduled for prime-time Saturday kickoff • Madden Monday: 'How long is (Mike) Tomlin going to be Teflon with the national media' if Steelers lose out? • Tim Benz: Forget big New Year's resolutions. Steelers need quick fixes ASAP

The bigger picture is moving on from an outdated philosophy of football that just won’t win enough. In an era of scoring more and faster, the Steelers emphasize running the ball and defense. They’re bad at the former, badly overrated at the latter.

Here’s the disclaimer:

The Steelers won’t do any of the above.

They could lose their next two games by a cumulative margin of 100. They just won’t take drastic measures.

That’s their biggest problem.

Nothing is ever on the line for anybody. Nobody ever has to earn their keep, not beyond the mediocrity that ownership is clearly comfortable with.

Any other coach’s job security would be in question if he was in Tomlin’s situation.

Tomlin knows he won’t get canned. No matter what. That’s not healthy for the organization.

Some teams escape the mushy middle, mostly by having the good sense to plunge to the bottom first.

For the Steelers, the mushy middle has become quicksand.

What the heck happened to the expectations of the franchise?

What the heck happened to the expectations of the fan base?

You still hear that happy horse manure that “the goal every year is to win a Super Bowl.” But those are just words. Empty rhetoric.

Everything should be on the line in these next two games.

But nothing is.

Winning the wild-card game and then losing in the divisional round won’t prove anything beyond ending the Steelers’ seven-year drought without a postseason victory. Not when the Steelers were once 10-3 and within reach of the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

But Pittsburgh might celebrate with a parade.

Tomlin’s career record is 183-106-2. That’s a .632 winning percentage. He’s 8-10 in the playoffs. He’s been to two Super Bowls, winning one.

Mike McCarthy’s career record is 174-111-2. Winning percentage of .610. He’s 11-11 in the playoffs. He won his only Super Bowl, beating Tomlin.

Tomlin and McCarthy have similar records.

Yet Tomlin has absolute job security and media-wide praise. McCarthy is always under fire.

I’ll hang up and listen.

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