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For Steelers, red zone turns into twilight zone
Prior to that game, the Steelers had scored a touchdown on 15 of their 27 trips inside the red zone, a 55.6-percent rate that ranked 12th in the NFL.
But against the Bengals, the Steelers stalled on each of four trips inside the Cincinnati 20-yard line, settling for field goals.
"It was very uncharacteristic," said wide receiver Hines Ward as the Steelers (6-3) prepare to play at Kansas City (2-7) Sunday.
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Part of the problem was a rare off day by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 20 of 40 passes for 174 yards.
Inside the red zone, Roethilisberger's stuggles were magnified. He was sacked twice and had two passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. The Steelers also were penalized once for holding in a goal-to-go situation.
"There was just something missing all day," Roethlisberger admitted. "Something was weird about the day. It seemed like even the crowd at the beginning - everyone was just kind of different."
When the quarterback isn't feeling right, it's a big deal.
"He's got control over everything," said wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who had a team-best seven catches for 88 yards but also dropped a pass in the end zone at the end of the first half.
"He controls who gets the ball and dictates where the ball goes. If he felt that way, that's probably why we didn't win the ballgame."
Ward said opponents have been defending the Steelers differently the past few games after watching the Pittsburgh passing game gain yardage at a team-record pace.
"I've seen more bracket coverage in the slot," said Ward, whose 42 red-zone touchdown receptions since 2002 rank second to New England's Randy Moss.
"They really have taken myself and Santonio away. They're trying to put the safety over Santonio, but we've been moving Santonio around, switching him with Mike (Wallace)."
Against the Bengals' numerous blitzes, Pittsburgh kept tight end Heath Miller, who's second on the team with 47 receptions, in to help block more often. Ward said that was a factor in the red-zone struggles as Miller was limited to four catches for 26 yards.
"We've got to get him out of pass protection and into route running," Ward said.
The Steelers aren't ready to consider what happened in one game a trend.
"We've got to get the ball to the playmakers and continue to keep blocking like we've been all season," Holmes said. "How could we not find a rhythm when we drove all the way down the field? We just didn't put up points on the board."
Odds and end zones
Safety Troy Polamalu (knee sprain) wore a brace on his left knee but did not participate in practice. ... Wallace (illness) also did not practice. ... Defensive end Travis Kirschke (calf) and fullback Carey Davis (hamstring) were limited in practice. ... Nick Sirianni, brother of Washington & Jefferson College head football coach Mike Sirianni, is the offensive quality control coach for the Chiefs. ... The Steelers signed former Vanderbilt linebacker Curtis Greenwood to the practice squad to take the spot opened when linebacker Donovan Woods was put on the active roster Tuesday.
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