Quite how Boro are sitting pretty in second place in the Championship and still looking primed for an automatic promotion spot must be an absolute mystery to Sheffield Wednesday fans and players.
Twice they've come up against Aitor Karanka’s side this season.
Twice they’ve had the better of a below-par, off the pace outfit who fell way short of the standards they’ve set themselves throughout the campaign.
Fortunately the displays seen against the Owls have been rarities and the defeat at the Riverside earlier in the season came shortly before a superb run of form that saw Boro establish themselves as genuine contenders for a spot in next year’s Premier League.
How Aitor Karanka’s men need to kick-start another run like that some time soon.
While last week’s defeat at Leeds was a kick in the teeth, Boro were the best team by far on the day, only lacking a cool head in front of goal.
But the no-show against the Owls offered no branch of optimism. For the 4,500 who left Hillsborough, the only saving grace was Derby’s defeat at Fulham.
But that in itself is a reminder that unpredictable results in the Championship are no anomalies.
It’s a setback, the “worst performance of the season”, according to the boss, who was quick to point the finger in his own direction, but Boro are still clinging on to that second automatic promotion spot.
That said, they can’t afford many, if any, more performances or results like this if they want to be one of the two sides avoiding the lottery of the play-odds.
Here’s what we learnt from the defeat at Sheffield Wednesday:
Aitor Karanka’s selection gamble backfired
Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday.
The relentless nature of the Championship will undoubtedly take its toll on Boro’s players. Rotation is a necessary evil, a requirement to keep players fresh.
But to leave Leadbitter, Lee Tomlin, George Friend and Ryan Fredericks out of the starting XI and to change the system was a gamble that backfired for the boss.
He made similar changes at Blackpool and Boro got away with it - just. But Wigan Athletic won 3-1 at Bloomfield Road this weekend, the team directly above the Tangerines in the table, an indicator of just how poor Blackpool are.
Sheffield Wednesday were a different proposition all together. But they’re a limited side, that’s why they’re languishing in mid-table, and Boro should have had more than enough to cope with the Owls.
They didn’t and for the second time this season they were out-battled and out-thought by Stuart Gray’s organised side.
Aitor Karanka took the blame after the game, saying he will learn from the mistakes.
But even after he made wholesale changes, the players who he selected are not exactly strangers to each other. They under-performed, did themselves no justice whatsoever and missed an opportunity to impress the boss.
Finger pointing doesn’t change the result. Rather than dwell on the defeat, Boro need to put it right on Tuesday and convincingly beat a team who aren’t far away from tumbling into a crisis at the bottom of the Championship.
Inconsistency is creeping in at the wrong time
As well as a side that’s been easy on the eye this season, Karanka has built a team with a steely core and an ability to grind out a result when the chips are down.
Yet suddenly Boro find themselves with just one win in four in the league in what has arguably been the kindest run of games for some time.
It’s concerning and the inconsistency has crept in just at the wrong time.
Kenneth Omeruo looks a shadow of the player who was head and shoulders above the majority of defenders at this level last year while at the other end Boro’s strikers are in desperate need of the goals that will provide a much-needed injection of confidence.
But while Boro may well be stuttering through a slight blip - it’s expected of teams at the top - is it just pressure beginning to take hold?
A look at results elsewhere would suggest so.
Bournemouth, so frustratingly efficient throughout the campaign, now find themselves without a win in five, Brentford have slipped up regularly in recent weeks, Ipswich have stuttered and Derby came unstuck at out of form Fulham.
Yet Boro can’t continue to rely on results elsewhere going their way. It’s still in their hands and Karanka’s men need to keep it that way.
The players have a point to prove against Millwall ahead of a season-deciding run of games
A quick glance at the unsavoury images of Millwall fans following their side’s defeat at Rotherham shows all you need to know about the state of play with the struggling Lions at the minute.
One win in six and six points adrift in the relegation zone. Millwall’s life support machine is in danger of going out and Boro can provide a fatal blow on Tuesday night.
Aitor Karanka made five changes ahead of the game at Hillsborough. Judging by his reaction post-match, his side will have another makeover before the visit of the relegation favourites.
Regardless of who gets the nod, they’ll feel like they have a point to prove.
A convincing home win to banish any of the doubts creeping in is exactly what the doctor’s ordered and it would be the perfect way to set-up a crucial run of games coming up.
Nottingham Forest, Ipswich, Derby and Bournemouth follow. Should Boro still occupy a top two spot after that difficult flurry of fixtures, they’ll be confident of finishing the job.
The defeat at Hillsborough would also be a distant memory.
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