The Pittsburgh Steelers made NFL history on Thursday night, but not the kind any team would want to make.

By losing to the Arizona Cardinals 24-10 on Sunday and the New England Patriots 21-18 on Thursday, the Steelers dropped back-to-back games to teams that had 2-10 records. Pittsburgh became the first team with a record better than .500 to lose consecutive games to teams that were at least eight games below .500 in NFL history.

Pittsburgh safety Minkah Fitzpatrick had a harsh assessment of the Steelers’ feat.

“In order to see the fruit, you’ve got to toil for it,” Fitzpatrick told ESPN. “I think too many people don’t want to toil for it. They just want to walk out here and think that they’re going to make plays and think that they’re going to perform at a high level. I think we need to have more people who want to work for it, not expect it to be handed to them.

“This is the NFL. Nothing’s handed to you. You got to earn everything. I think that dudes just think that because they’re wearing the Black-and-Gold that they’re going to win games, and I think we need to check that mentality and make people realize that they got to earn that mentality, and they got to earn every single blade of grass, every single splash play and every single rep that they get out there. They got to earn it.”

Fitzpatrick returned from a four-game absence caused by a hamstring injury to play against Arizona on Sunday. During that game, the former Alabama All-American broke his left hand in the first half. But Fitzpatrick finished the contest against the Cardinals and played every Pittsburgh defensive snap on Thursday night, too.

The Steelers owned a 7-4 record after beating the Cincinnati Bengals 16-10 on Nov. 26 and had two of the worst teams in the NFL next on their schedule. Instead of emerging at 9-4 and battling the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North lead, Pittsburgh is outside the current conference playoff picture and playing without starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, who had surgery this week for an ankle injury sustained against Arizona.

The Steelers play three of their remaining four regular-season games on the road, and all their opponents are currently at .500 or better, with the Bengals and Seattle Seahawks at 6-6, the Indianapolis Colts at 7-5 and the Ravens at 9-3.

“We get ready for our next opportunity next week,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “It’s what we always do. Obviously, this stings, but we’ll be back. This is what we do. This is who we are.”

The Steelers visit the Indianapolis Colts at noon CST Dec. 17 in their next game.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.