PITTSBURGH — This is becoming Mike Tomlin’s worst December since the infamous “unleash hell” year of 2009.

OK, maybe it was 2020, when the Steelers crumbled down the stretch and got destroyed by the Cleveland Browns in a home playoff game.

Wait. Maybe it was 2018, when the Steelers blew a huge lead in the AFC North and Antonio Brown quit.

So many collapses, so little time. But back to 2009, when Tomlin made a bold promise with five games left. He guaranteed his team would “not go gently” and in fact would “unleash hell” in December.

Instead, the Steelers went gently, extending a losing streak to five games in December on their way to missing the playoffs.

I couldn’t help but think of that Sunday. The Kansas City Chiefs became the third straight team to smash the Steelers’ faces in, beating them 29-10 before a crowd that already was dispersing by the time “Renegade” played. A better choice might have been “Silent Night.”

This was a bigger mismatch than Macaulay Culkin against the burglars in “Home Alone.” It was a tale of teams seemingly headed in very different directions, too. One appears to be gearing up for another Super Bowl run. The other appears to be gearing down for another non-competitive first-round loss, which would mark the eighth straight season without a playoff win for Tomlin.

Anybody for 10?

The Steelers haven’t been competitive in any of their four measly playoff games in the past seven years. They weren’t competitive Sunday, either, which brings to mind another unfortunate Tomlin quote.

Just two weeks ago, after the Philadelphia Eagles brutalized his team, Tomlin scoffed at the idea that the loss could linger into subsequent weeks.

“It’s a loss,” he said. “I mean, let’s not get dramatic.”

That has quickly become three losses in 11 days. Can we get dramatic now?

Can we say it’s officially a collapse?

The Steelers — relatively healthy compared to last week’s blowout loss in Baltimore — were badly overmatched in the two most important areas in the sport: quarterbacking and coaching. Their defense is sadly overrated. Their offensive tackles are junior varsity. Their play-calling is predictable. Their back end in coverage is constantly disorganized.

And now it’s fair to ask: Will they win again this season?

Nobody’s asking such questions about the Chiefs, who are unbelievably becoming the healthiest AFC contender. They’re also playing their best football and will be the most rested team after a first-round bye.

Kansas City’s defense is its backbone. The Chiefs haven’t scored 30 points once, but they stifle opponents. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, even without star lineman Chris Jones, took apart Arthur Smith’s offense.

On the other side of the ball, Hollywood Brown changes Kansas City’s offense now that he's healthy. Rookie wideout Xavier Worthy gives them a Tyreek Hill-like speed element. Travis Kelce looks like himself again, and Mahomes (29 of 38, 320 yards, three TDs, 127.9 passer rating) is simply sublime. His precise short passing attack works as a de facto run game. He keeps plays alive with his feet. He looks unstoppable again, or at least you can imagine him being unstoppable when playoff games come down to the final few drives.

Reid positively carved up Tomlin’s defense, keeping it off balance from beginning to end. After yet another Steelers coverage bust, Netflix analyst Nate Burleson, said, “Once again, that pre-snap movement is confusing the defense, allowing guys to run wide open.”

It’s just an embarrassment. And it reminds me of what Tom Brady and the New England Patriots used to do against the Steelers defense. In fact, Mahomes’ numbers against the Steelers are every bit as ridiculous as Brady’s were.

As a KDKA postgame graphic reflected, Mahomes is 4-0 against the Steelers, completing 78% of his passes for 327 yards per game, 17 touchdowns, one interception and an average score of 37-19.

But let’s not get dramatic.

Meanwhile ...

— I was wrong about Russell Wilson and the Ravens last week. He lost that game almost single-handedly. Everybody could see that. But I thought his overall play lent itself to optimism, so long as he could remove the turnovers. He didn’t. He put the ball on the ground on the third play of the game after an awkward, Kenny Pickett-like scramble in which he ran into trouble instead of the opposite. He luckily recovered that ball but looked small in the pocket at times and threw a horrible end-zone interception (although Burleson wondered on the air whether George Pickens had a big piece in it by perhaps running the wrong route and thus failing to draw a safety toward him near the end zone).

— Wilson was not good, but he didn't deserve all the blame. People were ripping him for holding the ball. Is he supposed to throw to receivers who aren’t open? Omar Khan did a lousy job finding receiver depth. None can get open, apparently. That is problem No. 1. Or maybe problem No. 2, behind shoddy offensive line play.

I’m with ex-Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke, who said on the KDKA postgame show that Wilson had nowhere to go and nowhere to throw. He had rushers coming at home from the outside and pushing up the middle.

“They’re beating (tackles) Dan Moore Jr. and Broderick Jones,” Hoke said. “Then the middle of the pocket ... they’re getting knocked back into Russell Wilson. He cannot step up into the pocket. That’s why you see him spinning out. The Steelers need to fix their protection.”

— In eight games against teams currently in playoff position, the Steelers are averaging just 17.1 points per game. That kind of number got Matt Canada fired.

— Tomlin has said many times that the starts of games aren’t overly important. Maybe the Steelers should test that theory by actually getting off to a good one against a good team. They’ve been outscored in the first quarter 30-3 in their past three games. Does that not speak to poorly prepared players?

— I’ve been touting Reid for weeks now as the runaway winner for NFL Coach of the Year, for obvious reasons (at least I thought they were obvious): His team is going for a three-peat and thus has a giant target on its back every game — and has played more football than any team in history over the past several years — and all it does is win. The Chiefs are 15-1. Then you watch an absolute offensive clinic like this, masterminded by him, and it really should be an easy call. Reid should be coach of the year.

— Pat Freiermuth finally became a bigger part of the offense (eight targets, seven catches) but also fumbled for the second time in three games.

— I’d be curious to see what Jaylen Warren could do with a 25-carry game. Or even 20. He deserves one. He is the Steelers’ best running back. Najee Harris had most of his best plays on a meaningless late drive. But I’d take either over Cordarrelle Patterson on third-and-2. That happened in the second quarter. The Steelers were bailed out on a fourth-down penalty, but that carry needs to go to Warren. Many more of them do.

— I hated to see that Pickens catch-and-run get blown dead on the sidelines. Officials should treat that play no differently than the short-yardage run plays they keep alive forever, usually ending with a bunch of offensive linemen blasting into the runner’s back and pushing him ahead.

— T.J. Watt once again looked like a shell of himself. If he’s not right for the playoffs, the Steelers are in bigger trouble than they already appear to be.

And they appear to be in very big trouble.

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