Nov 3, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Regardless of who has been at quarterback, the Steelers have struggled to score.

Through the first half of the season, it’s largely been the defense, a unit that had struggled for two seasons, that has been responsible for keeping the team in games.

Who saw that coming?

Heading into a key game Sunday against the Oakland Raiders (4-3) at Heinz Field, the Steelers (4-4) have leaned heavily on their defense because of a litany of injuries and suspensions to offensive players.

That could continue in the second half of the year as Pittsburgh has the task of finishing the season without its leading rusher and scorer from a year ago, running back Le’Veon Bell and placekicker Shaun Suisham, respectively, and offensive linemen Maurkice Pouncey and Kelvin Beachum.

Halfway through Keith Butler’s first season as defensive coordinator, the Steelers have been markedly better, allowing 18.4 points per game compared to 23 a year ago. It doesn’t sound like a huge improvement until you consider the Steelers are fifth in the league in that statistic this season compared to 18th in 2014.

Sacks have increased, with the Steelers’ 22 ranking fifth. They were 26th with 33 sacks last season.

The defense carrying the load was never more evident than Sunday in a 16-10 loss to Cincinnati. The Steelers blocked a field goal and intercepted Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton twice in the final 18 minutes, only to see their own offense turn the ball over twice. Those two turnovers – both interceptions by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger – led to Cincinnati’s final 10 points.

“Our goal is to win the game,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. “(The defense) created some splash. They challenged a very tough offense, one that was hot and created a lot of big plays. We minimized those things. We were competitive. I thought we played well in situational football – third-down when the field was short. But we didn’t get out of the stadium with a win.”

It was, however, another strong effort by the defense against one of the top offenses in the NFL.

The Steelers have faced the NFL’s top three scoring offenses in New England, Arizona and Cincinnati. They held those teams to their lowest point total of the season, allowing 28 points to the Patriots, 13 to the Cardinals and 16 to the Bengals.

But, as Tomlin noted, the goal is to win and the Steelers are 1-2 in those games.

Because of injuries on the defense, the Steelers have been forced to mix in backups, who have gotten the job done. Against the Bengals, that included using nose tackle Steve McLendon at defensive end in place of injured Stephon Tuitt with second-year player Daniel McCullers at nose tackle. McLendon stayed on the field more often in the nickel defense as a pass rusher and had his first sack of the season.

“I thought they both did some good things, particularly getting push on the pocket,” Tomlin said. “That’s something that concerns you when you’re losing a talented rusher like Stephon Tuitt. I thought both guys filled the bill, but filled it in a different way. They’re pocket pushers as opposed to edge guys, but I thought both guys did a nice job.”

The Steelers could get Tuitt, who has missed two games with a sprained knee, back this week along with safety Will Allen, who has missed three games with a sprained ankle.

The Steelers need all of their defensive players as they push forward with an offense that has lost so many key players.

“We just gotta keep fighting,” said cornerback Antwon Blake, who is tied with safety Mike Mitchell with a team-best two interceptions. “We’re going to have to just keep pushing. It’s the halfway point of the season. I don’t see why we can’t go undefeated the rest of the way out.”

Tomlin said Bell’s ACL is intact and that Bell and the medical staff discuss whether surgery is an option to repair his two torn knee ligaments. … Mitchell, who left the game against the Bengals, is going through the NFL’s concussion protocol. … Tomlin expressed displeasure that the Steelers were penalized a season-high 10 times against the Bengals. “That’s not how we are going to play. We are going to fix that as soon as possible,” he said. … Tomlin admitted replacing Bell would be a multi-player job but newly signed running back Isaiah Pead won’t be in the mix until he learns the offense.