Dec 28, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – The Ben Roethlisberger-to-Antonio Brown connection has been arguably the best in the league in recent seasons.

But when opponents have worked to take Brown away, especially on third downs, the Steelers have struggled as their other receivers haven’t always delivered when called upon.

That was very apparent in the Steelers’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday, 20-17, a defeat that dropped them to 9-6 and out of a playoff spot.

Roethlisberger, the team’s franchise quarterback, hasn’t always played his best in road games the past two seasons, culminating with his performance against the Ravens.

After Sunday’s performance, Roethlisberger has now thrown 39 touchdown passes against 11 interceptions in home games the past two seasons. On the road, those numbers fall off to 11 TDs, including just two this season, and 12 interceptions.

Against the Ravens, Roethlisberger never seemed to get into a rhythm, and though he completed 24 of 34 passes, they went for only 215 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

“It’s hard to get anything done if you don’t convert third downs,” said Roethlisberger. “It’s really a game of inches and we didn’t make the plays to stay on the field.”

Pittsburgh went just 2-8 on third downs in the game, compared to 9-18 by the Ravens. It’s been something of a recurring theme for the Steelers, who have struggled at times when opponents have focused on limiting the damage done by Brown, particularly on third down. They went 3-11 on third downs in a loss last month to Cincinnati and followed that up by going a combined 9-28 in wins over Cleveland and Oakland afterward.

Pittsburgh had been converting just over 50 percent of its third downs over the past four games, but the issue reared its head again at Baltimore.

Both of the Steelers’ conversions against the Ravens were by Brown, who hauled in a 27-yard pass in the first quarter on third-and-8, and a 7-yarder on third-and-5 in the third quarter.

That’s not a surprise, given that Brown entered Week 15 as the NFL’s leader in third-down receptions with 38 for 604 yards and three touchdowns, nine more receptions than anyone else in the league in that statistic. Tight end Heath Miller had 12 third-down receptions entering the weekend. No other Pittsburgh player had more than 10.

Miller and fellow tight end Jesse James both had third-down receptions against Baltimore, neither of which went for a first down. Add in a pair of failed fourth-down conversions – one on a run and one passing – and it was a pretty anemic effort by an offense that entered the game ranked second in the league in total yards.

On passes to Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant on third or fourth down, Roethlisberger was 0-3.

Bryant, the Steelers’ deep threat, had just one reception for six yards against the Ravens and hasn’t caught a touchdown pass or one longer than 20 yards in the past three games.

Wheaton, meanwhile, had three receptions for 41 yards but couldn’t come up with a catch on third down on Pittsburgh’s second drive after a touchdown catch by Brown was overturned via replay, or a fourth-down catch late in the game that turned the ball over on downs.

“I just think we came out and didn’t play our best,” said Brown. “We can’t be flat. We’ve got to be at our best. And we weren’t.”

It came at a very inopportune time.

The Steelers find themselves needing to win Sunday at Cleveland and hoping some other things come together, either Denver which hosted Cincinnati Monday night – losing its final two games or a loss by the Jets at Buffalo to get into the playoffs.

It’s a situation they have been in before recently, 2013 to be exact.

The Steelers went into the final weekend that season needing a win and a Kansas City victory against San Diego to sneak into the postseason, but Chiefs placekicker Ryan Succup missed a 41-yard field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter and San Diego won in overtime.

“You see how that went in 2013, sitting at home and seeing if Kansas City was going to pull through,” Brown said. “We have got to take care of our own business and not rely on other people.

“If you rely on others, there’s a chance you get let down.”

Fullback Roosevelt Nix was placed on injured reserve Monday with a broken bone in his foot suffered against the Ravens. Linebacker L.J. Fort was signed off the practice squad to take his spot on the roster. … Brown has 123 receptions, putting him within six of his team-record 129 set in 2014. That total is the second-most in NFL history, though Atlanta’s Julio Jones currently has 127.