Daily Press (Sunday)

Steady Steelers back in AFC North mix

- By Will Graves The Associated Press

Pittsburgh survives rocky start to move over .500 before bye

PITTSBURGH — Joe Haden knows distractio­ns and disappoint­ment. Call it the byproduct of spending the first seven seasons of your career in Cleveland.

So the Pittsburgh cornerback always kind of wondered about the level of concern and borderline panic — outside the locker room anyway — that accompanie­d his team’s bumpy start. Yes, ending the first quarter of the season with a losing record isn’t exactly what the Steelers envisioned. Yet Haden checked the roster, the pedigree and the history, and couldn’t quite wrap his head around the “sky is falling” narrative.

“I think just we have so many good players here, so many different personalit­ies,” Haden said. “At the end of the day, everybody just wants to win. Winning cures everything. The questions go away when we win.”

Or at least, they quiet down. A dominant performanc­e against Atlanta and the latest in a series of seemingly never-ending escapes in Cincinnati, and the Steelers (3-2-1) entered their bye week just where they thought they’d be all along: right in the mix in the competitiv­e AFC North.

“This is the second quarter (of the season),” defensive end Stephon Tuitt said. “That’s when you want to find the identity of your team. You get out the rust in the first quarter. About this time is when everybody gets it together, starts performing at the highest level.”

Pittsburgh’s run of four straight playoff appearance­s has included its fair share of early headscratc­hers.

In 2014, it was a home loss to a Tampa Bay team that ended up 2-14. In 2015, it was a Thursday night loss to Baltimore in which a 13-point second-half lead vanished. In 2016, it was a 34-3 pounding on the road to a Philadelph­ia team led by rookie quarterbac­k Carson Wentz. Last season, it was an overtime setback to Chicago on an afternoon remembered far more for the stark image of the Steelers standing in the tunnel while left tackle Alejandro Villanueva saluted the national anthem by himself.

While the Steelers stressed they weren’t going to rely on the past to comfort themselves in the present, there has been a sense of normalcy during their two-game winning streak. The defense is giving up yards at an alarming rate but is also on pace to break the franchise record of 56 sacks establishe­d a year ago. The offense has found balance behind running back James Conner, who is thriving while Le’Veon Bell waits to sign his one-year contract.

The nearly constant inquiries about Bell have slowed. So, for now, has the frequent drama surroundin­g star wide receiver Antonio Brown. The chatter about the All-Pro’s social media spats, lawsuits and his spotty “Wi-Fi” connection with Roethlisbe­rger has been replaced instead with touchdown highlights, the last a 31-yard catch and run with 10 seconds to go in Cincinnati.

“I don’t think anybody in this organizati­on felt great about the way we started,” Tuitt said. “Our leaders do a good job on this team. I think they do a good job communicat­ing what they want, and I think everybody focused on the task at hand.”

That includes coach Mike Tomlin, who made sure to spread the level of blame and responsibi­lity evenly during film sessions and team meetings. As ugly as it looked at times — particular­ly in home losses to Baltimore and Kansas City — Tomlin didn’t feel the

Next game

Steelers were far off.

“He doesn’t ask for anything crazy or anything extra,” Haden said.

Maybe, but the Peninsula native is not above asking certain players to take on additional responsibi­lity. That list includes Haden, who held Atlanta’s Julio Jones without a catch through three quarters during a potentiall­y season-altering victory over the Falcons. Haden also kept Cincinnati’s A.J. Green out of the end zone as the Steelers won for the 18th time in 21 visits to Paul Brown Stadium.

Asked if he believes he’s getting better at age 29 — a time when many defensive backs start to see a noticeable dip in things like closing speed — and Haden nods.

“I really do,” Haden said. “You’re only supposed to be in the league three years. Once you start getting older, cornerback­s start getting slower.”

The Steelers have needed Haden to give their shaky secondary some semblance of normalcy. Cornerback Artie Burns is struggling, and his potential replacemen­ts — Coty Sensabaugh and Cam Sutton — haven’t quite done enough to unseat him.

So while Tomlin experiment­s with personnel, Haden quietly goes about his job. He’d never been on an NFL team that was above .500 six games into a season until 2017, his first with Pittsburgh. What the Steelers endured during September wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t exactly anything he worried about.

“We just don’t need to be to be giving up 40 points or 30 points,” Haden said. “We just need to keep them to 20 or 17 or 14. We do that, we’re balling.”

 ?? DON WRIGHT/AP ?? Steelers running back James Conner, who has taken over for the absent Le’Veon Bell, runs against the Atlanta Falcons during a Pittsburgh victory.
DON WRIGHT/AP Steelers running back James Conner, who has taken over for the absent Le’Veon Bell, runs against the Atlanta Falcons during a Pittsburgh victory.
 ?? ANDY LYONS/GETTY IMAGES ?? Antonio Brown celebrates after scoring the winning TD late in the fourth quarter last weekend in Cincinnati. Cleveland (2-3-1) at Pittsburgh (3-2-1), 1 p.m. Oct. 28, CBS. The teams tied in Week 1.
ANDY LYONS/GETTY IMAGES Antonio Brown celebrates after scoring the winning TD late in the fourth quarter last weekend in Cincinnati. Cleveland (2-3-1) at Pittsburgh (3-2-1), 1 p.m. Oct. 28, CBS. The teams tied in Week 1.

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