Offense shows as little bite as defense
A victory in their opener against Cleveland put to rest any chance the Steelers would get off to the kind of miserable 0-4 start they did a year ago. But what if things turn worse? Maybe the second half of their 30-27 victory against the Browns in the opener wasn’t the aberration; maybe the first half was. Plenty of players spent their postgame interview minutes in the locker room Thursday night proclaiming they were not worried after their 26-6 shellacking in Baltimore. Maybe they should be. That first half against the Browns seems as far away as that second half of the 2013 season that seemed to provide the impetus for so much hope in this one. Yet a toothless defense — their main concern entering this season — has been joined by a suddenly ineffective offense over the past six quarters to raise doubts whether the Steelers can get off to that hoped-for fast start against a so-called weak schedule through the first seven games. “We have to evaluate ourselves and see where we can get better, that’s all we can do,” tight end Heath Miller said. “I don’t think there’s any panic in the locker room.” They are, after all, still 1-1 and they were not favored to win in Baltimore, which is also 1-1. But after getting outscored, 50-9, over the past six quarters, something else might be telling: Maybe they just do not have the talent, especially on defense. That defense had no sacks and no turnovers Thursday night, continuing a trend that first cropped up in 2011, when they produced just 15 turnovers — down from 35 in 2010. In 2012 and 2013, they managed 20 turnovers each. After two games, they have none. “They’re going to come,” promised defensive end Cam Heyward. “I’m not worried about that. We were
in the right position a bunch of times, we just didn’t finish them. We have to get back to raking the ball, we have to do what’s necessary. I don’t know what it is, but we have to get some turnovers and get off the field.” Sacks? They have three, all in the opener. Sacks allowed? Remember that stretch of seven games in the second half of 2013 when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked just seven times? He has been sacked five times in two games, four allowed by right tackle Marcus Gilbert. Roethlisberger has one touchdown pass, two interceptions. Once among the league’s best in creating more turnovers than giving them up, the Steelers have sunk toward the bottom of the NFL the past few years and stand 4-0 against them today. “When you go on the road and turn the ball over, it’s very hard to overcome,” wide receiver Antonio Brown said. “We have a good offense. We will go back to the drawing board and find ways to put points in the board. We need to improve individually and collectively.”
All about streaks
Two impressive individual streaks took different turns Thursday night. Antonio Brown had seven receptions for 90 yards, the 18th game in a row in which he has caught at least five for at least 50. The only player who has done that for 19 consecutive games since 1960 is Laveranues Coles, whose streak covered the 2002 and 2003 seasons. This, even though Brown missed virtually one quarter of play while he was examined for a concussion. The Steelers reported he passed all tests and he returned to play midway through the second quarter, missing one offensive series. “I’m just thankful I was OK, and they let me get back in the game,” Brown said. “I got hit in the eye, but everything was all right.” Roethlisberger’s accomplishment of throwing a touchdown pass in 30 consecutive games, a franchise best, ended. It was the second-longest active streak in the NFL to Peyton Manning’s 40 and tied with Dan Marino for the sixth-longest since 1960.
Penalties prove costly
The Steelers’ 171 yards on 20 penalties is nearly double the 90 yards on 12 penalties by their two opponents. It’s actually worse than that in crucial situations because their two foes made eight first downs on penalties to three for the Steelers. “When you turn the ball over, and you’re highly penalized, and you’re extending drives, you’re going to lose football games like that, and we did,” coach Mike Tomlin said. The Steelers cut down on the number of penalties and yards against them last season — 80 for 677, their fewest since 2007. At their current pace, they would have 160 penalties for 1,368 yards over the season. No one expects that pace to continue, but it has been a problem for them through two games. “It’s definitely frustrating,” said rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier. “When you get penalties, that really hurts you bad. That [stinks]. So we just have to work on penalties and take care of those things back in the film room.”