Nov 17, 2014 4 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The bye week couldn’t come at a better time for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Perhaps it’s time for head coach Mike Tomlin to sit down and have a long talk with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Tomlin has repeatedly said that Roethlisberger is whatever the Steelers need of him on a given day.

What the Steelers need, particularly on the road, is a full four-quarter effort from their star quarterback.

The Steelers haven’t gotten that one time this season.

Roethlisberger’s final numbers from Monday night’s 27-24 at Tennessee don’t look bad – 21 of 32 for 207 yards, one touchdown and one interception – but they don’t tell the whole story.

There’s just no way that an offense that has as many talented players as those the Steelers currently employ should continually struggle away from the friendly confines of Heinz Field. But each time the Steelers head on the road, that’s exactly what happens.

Only the opponents change.

Pittsburgh entered Monday night’s game at Tennessee ranked dead last in red zone efficiency on the road, converting just one quarter of its trips inside the opposing 20-yard line into touchdowns.

The Steelers didn’t help that percentage in this game, kicking a field goal from the Tennessee 5 in the first quarter, then Roethlisberger, who had earlier overthrown a pair of receivers badly in the end zone, threw an interception from the Titans’ 17 with less than one minute remaining in the first half.

Making matters worse, on the very next play former Steelers wide receiver Nate Washington got 25 yards behind the nearest Pittsburgh defender and caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger.

Instead of going into halftime leading, the Steelers found themselves trailing, 17-13.

That, too, has been a recurring theme for the Steelers.

Last week against the New York Jets, the Steelers squandered scoring opportunities with interceptions, fumbles and a missed field goal.

The interception at the end of the first half and Titans’ touchdown was no less than a 10-point swing.

That’s difficult to overcome, regardless of the opponent. That’s especially true when you consider the defense was playing without six players who were in the starting lineup on opening day, five because of injury – safety Troy Polamalu, cornerback Ike Taylor nose tackle Steve McLendon and linebackers Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier – and cornerback Cortez Allen, who was on the sideline because of ineffectiveness.

It was that defense that provided the Steelers’ lone touchdown through three quarters as the offense went up and down the field, gaining empty yards and not scoring points.

In wide receiver Antonio Brown, running back Le’Veon Bell and Roethlisberger, the Steelers have three of the best players at their respective positions in the NFL. They shouldn’t go three possessions without scoring a touchdown, let alone three quarters against the Titans.

But this game marked the fourth time in six road games that the Steelers have either failed to score an offensive touchdown or were held without one until the fourth quarter. And in one of those other games, at Jacksonville, the Steelers managed just one offensive touchdown.

If the offense were also struggling at home, that would be one thing. But considering the Steelers are averaging 35 points per game at home and less than half of that on the road, there’s an obvious issue.

Maybe it’s as simple as convincing Roethlisberger that every quarter is the fourth quarter.

Back in the days when the Steelers had a shutdown defense, Pittsburgh could afford to play things close to the vest and allow its quarterback to pull things out in the end.

With this defense, that’s just not a luxury the Steelers can afford.

“It wasn’t pretty early,” said Roethlisberger. “It wasn’t ones of those that you’re going to go home and be proud of it, but at the end of the day, it was the scoreboard that matters.”

F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.