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Numbers don’t lie -- and neither does the game film.

That was my first reaction to Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark's remarks that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sometimes "sees ghosts" in the pocket. I've watched games in person where Brady ducks, flinches or slides away from phantom pressure in the pocket. At 35, it happens more and more at the latter stages of Brady's career.

"In 2010, we saw it start with the Jets in the playoffs," Clark explained on ESPN's "NFL Live" this week. “When Tom Brady gets pressure and when you're man-to-man and bumping those guys and making it hard for him to throw, he sees ghosts.

"Even when guys aren't around him, even when he's not about to be sacked, when his clock goes off in his head that the ball should be out, we'll see him duck, we'll see him flinch. When you get Tom Brady doing that, the whole New England Patriots mystique goes away."

The statistics also back Clark's analysis.

According to ESPN Stats and Information, Brady’s completion percentage drops from 68.2 percent to 42.3 percent when he holds onto the ball for longer than three seconds. New England is very much a timing and rhythm offense. As Clark mentioned, opponents increase their chances of success by throwing off Brady's timing with his receivers. Brady’s Total Quarterback Rating also falls from a stellar 81.1 to an average 59.7 when he holds the ball four seconds or longer.

You cannot fault Brady for wanting to avoid big hits. Brady has been sacked 59 times the past two seasons, and each year those hits become harder to take. Brady, who just signed a contract extension through 2017, wants to play until he's 40. The only way he accomplishes that goal is by avoiding clean hits in the pocket.

The blueprint is out there to beat Brady. Teams like the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants have consistently beaten New England doing many of the things Clark explained. However, it's much easier said than done for most teams.

Clark and the Steelers will get their chance to make Brady see "ghosts" this upcoming season when Pittsburgh travels to Gillette Stadium to face Brady and the Patriots on November 3.

Steelers safety Ryan Clark breaks down Pittsburgh's offseason moves. The NFL32 crew discuss whether the Cowboys can compete in the NFC East.

For the past couple of weeks, every time a Steelers player opened his mouth, the team looked more and more splintered.

Safety Ryan Clark said there was a "fracture" in the locker room. Wide receiver Antonio Brown talked about a divided locker room. Even former Steelers receiver Hines Ward chimed in, calling it a locker room in "total disarray" last season.

The only player so far to shoot down this perception is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, which is the first promising sign of the offseason. Roethlisberger insists the demise of the Steelers' locker room has been greatly exaggerated. More importantly, he sent a message through The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Move forward, guys.

"I'm hoping by doing this to put a stop to it, to say, listen, everybody, as a leader in this locker room, as a guy who has been around here for a long time, I'm hoping that by saying there is no issue and this is fine, that this could be our exclamation point," Roethlisberger told the paper. "Let's move on with this offseason, to training, to getting ready. I don't think there's a reason to look back anymore. That's what I'm hoping to just say: Done."

Whether you believe him or not about the locker room, you have to admire the way Roethlisberger stepped forward and took control of the situation. The Steelers need Roethlisberger to be the leader, and he certainly played that role perfectly in this instance. The Steelers have been their own worst enemy in February, and Roethlisberger essentially told teammates to shut up and stop rehashing the past. This sure seemed like the matured Roethlisberger, who became a husband in 2011 and a father last year.

Though Roethlisberger became the starting quarterback in 2004, he didn't have to take charge until last season. There was always Jerome Bettis or Hines Ward on offense. With both gone, Roethlisberger was far from the model leader last season. There was speculation of friction throughout the season between him and offensive coordinator Todd Haley, and there was also the time that Roethlisberger openly questioned the play calling in an overtime loss at Dallas.

There have been fewer questions about Roethlisberger's leadership on the field. He's won 87 regular-season games in nine seasons in Pittsburgh and guided the Steelers to two Super Bowl titles. He's orchestrated 22 fourth-quarter comebacks (although he showed some late-game lapses after coming back from injury last season). Now, it's apparent that Roethlisberger has to assert himself off the field. And he said all the right things in addressing the strong comments made by Clark and Brown.

"For anybody to say there are locker-room issues or leadership issues are completely off base," Roethlisberger told The Post-Gazette. "I believe that's the frustration. I believe that it's frustration of last year, I honestly do."

Roethlisberger can say there wasn't a problem in the locker room. But there was obviously something wrong with the Steelers last season. Pittsburgh finished 8-8 and half of those losses came against teams with losing records.

There are painful memories like the eight turnovers in Cleveland and Roethlisberger's interception in overtime in Dallas. Maybe the losses were more the result of a lack of focus than a fracture in the locker room. Either way, the only way the Steelers can turn it around is with Roethlisberger leading the way.

"I want it to be known there is no locker-room issue, there is no leadership issue," he said. "Even if guys say it out of frustration, they're trying to find something to say. I think it's important to know we all have each other's back."

You would think Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has some concerns about his locker room especially after two of his players described problems within it. But Colbert said he doesn't.

“Whether you win the Super Bowl or go 8-8, there’s no 100 percent harmonious locker room,” Colbert said Thursday at the NFL combine, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I don’t care where it is. That’s exemplified more when you’re 8-8. Quite honestly, I’m not concerned about our locker room."

Colbert added, "Coach [Mike] Tomlin and I had an opportunity to speak to our players since the season ended. We have a very good finger on the pulse of where we stand. From a team standpoint, we’re comfortable with that.”

I completely agree that you're never going to have a completely happy locker room. And, to be honest, you want guys to be upset when the team finishes 8-8. But the Steelers just can't ignore Ryan Clark and Antonio Brown talking about a splintered locker room on national television.

It was the wrong move for players to air the team's dirty laundry in public. But it's also wrong for the Steelers to act like they have the same team chemistry as years before.

As everyone knows by now, the Steelers have a fractured locker room. What's unknown is if the Steelers have the players to fix it.

All of this mess started Sunday when an anonymous player ripped LaMarr Woodley in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for being out of shape. Safety Ryan Clark compounded this by telling the NFL Network that this Woodley-bashing comment shows a "fracture" within in the Steelers locker room. Wide receiver Antonio Brown then told ESPN that Steelers locker room was divided last season, pointing out there were players who were more focused on individual goals than the team's record, which ended up a mediocre 8-8.

Way to keep the issue in-house, guys. What's next? Is Troy Polamalu going to share his feelings about this on Dr. Phil? Before you blame the media for blowing this out of proportion, it's Clark and Brown who are speaking out about a disconnect on a team that has already dealt with turmoil during the season. That's the problem here. Stop talking about this on national television and start addressing this matter with one another. This is how one non-playoff season turns into another.

The leaders on this team have to step up and rectify the matter. The Steelers players have to police themselves, and that's obviously not happening now. That's the Steelers Way. Inside linebacker Larry Foote said there have been fights in the Pittsburgh locker room but that never leaked out to the media. The reason why it remained inside the Steelers' walls was the leaders made sure it remained that way. It was the picture of solidarity when Alan Faneca and Jerome Bettis manned the locker room. There were no such problems when Hines Ward, James Farrior and Aaron Smith were here.

The Steelers said new leaders would emerge after the team cut Ward, Farrior and Smith last offseason. That didn't happen based on the incidents over the past year. Running back Rashard Mendenhall didn't show up for one game after being told he wasn't going to play. Nose tackle Alameda Ta'amu led police on a drunken chase through Pittsburgh. Wide receiver Mike Wallace blamed his drops on a lack of focus from not getting the ball often enough. Then, to top it all off, an unnamed teammate calls out Woodley. All of sudden, they've become the Pittsburgh Jets.

"It’s just sad," Brown said Wednesday on ESPN's First Take. "Our team was a team last year where guys wasn’t really together. As we know in the NFL, you got to have a band of brothers. Everyone got to be together and it got to filter down from the leadership. And for guys to throw a guy like LaMarr Woodley, a Pro Bowl player, under the bus just shows you the men we had in our locker room. And it’s something that we want to get corrected for 2013.”

Do the Steelers have the leaders to get this corrected? We'll find out. Last March, after parting ways with Ward and Farrior, general manager Kevin Colbert said he couldn't sit there and identify the team's next leaders. I wonder if he's still saying the same thing almost one year later.

It's easy to blame coach Mike Tomlin for the problems. He needs to provide better direction for his players, but most of the accountability has to fall on the players. The Steelers suspended Mendenhall. They cut Ta'amu. There's only so much discipline that can be handed out. It's now up to the players to uphold their part.

The Steelers' problems in-house spilled out onto the field, where Pittsburgh stumbled repeatedly. There were embarrassing losses at Oakland, Tennessee and Cleveland -- teams who combined for 33 losses this year. You sensed there was something "off" with this Pittsburgh team.

According to Brown, Polamalu was among the veterans who spoke out and tried to explain to the team that selfish behavior wouldn’t be tolerated. But that apparently didn't work. Truth be told, if the soft-spoken Polamalu wasn't using a microphone, I'm not sure anyone could hear him.

The logical candidate to take a leadership role is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. But there have been signs that Roethlisberger hasn't been the most popular player in the team's locker room. After his second sexual assault allegation in less than a year, he wasn't voted to be a captain by his teammates in 2010.

With Brett Keisel and James Harrison nearing the ends of their Steelers careers, the team has to find leaders in the next generation of players. But no one knows if Brown, Maurkice Pouncey and Lawrence Timmons can handle such a role.

"Winning is not talent," Brown said. "It’s all about being on the same page, and each guy having the guy next to him’s back, and being committed to winning. You see a Ravens team that was committed to winning and togetherness, and that’s what it’s all about.”

When the Steelers say they need to be more like the Ravens, you know there is a problem in Pittsburgh. It's up to the players to fix it.

Steelers safety Ryan Clark gave his Super Bowl prediction on ESPN Radio and acknowledged that he's torn.

"I'm in a tough position because the Steelers' organization, they want the 49ers not to tie us [with six Super Bowl titles]," Clark said. "But I couldn't live with the Ravens winning and hearing it all season. So, I'm going with the 49ers."

Clark also spoke about his disappointment with the way Pittsburgh's season ended and touched on Bernard Pollard's comments about the NFL not being around in 30 years.

There won't be any celebrating for the Steelers after Sunday's season finale, but the defense is close to an impressive accomplishment.

The Steelers can become the sixth defense in NFL history to finish the season as the top-ranked defense against the run and pass. Pittsburgh would become only the second defense to record this accomplishment in 37 years and the first since the 1991 Eagles.

Through 15 games, the Steelers rank first against the pass and second against the run. The Buccaneers have allowed 57 fewer yards on the ground this season than Pittsburgh.

In comparison, the 1991 Eagles sent five players to the Pro Bowl: defensive ends Reggie White and Clyde Simmons; defensive tackle Jerome Brown; linebacker Seth Joyner; and cornerback Eric Allen. The 2012 Steelers defense currently has no one going to the Pro Bowl.

The Pittsburgh defense has ranked No. 1 overall for the past eight weeks, which is amazing when you consider the injuries this season. Five starters on defense have been sidelined this season: Troy Polamalu (nine games missed), Ryan Clark (one game), Ike Taylor (three games), James Harrison (three games) and LaMarr Woodley (three games).

This run of success despite the number of injuries shows how valuable defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is to the Steelers.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers need more than the return of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. This team needs a psychiatrist.

The Steelers' 34-24 loss to the Chargers clearly shows that, though this defeat makes sense in Pittsburgh's mind-boggling season. The Steelers can beat the top teams in the NFL, and they can lose to the worst ones. Pittsburgh can take down the defending Super Bowl champion Giants one week and then lose at the last-place Browns. The Steelers can upset the defending AFC North champion Ravens and then get punched in the face (those are Ryan Clark's words) by the lowly Chargers.

It comes down to a lack of focus, a lack of energy and a lack of urgency. Time for coach Mike Tomlin to get Dr. Phil on the phone before it's too late. The Steelers play down to their level of competition and anyone who doesn't believe that should put on the tape of the Steelers' losses to Oakland, Tennessee, Cleveland and San Diego.

The players called the loss frustrating and humbling. What no one wanted to say was how disturbing this lack of consistency has become. The Steelers came out flat against a team that hadn't beaten anyone else except the Chiefs since Week 2 and Roethlisberger looked like a quarterback who last played four weeks ago. It's disappointing when an unnerving loss like this happens in September. It becomes a red flag when it happens in a playoff race in December.

"We coached poorly today and we played poorly today," Tomlin said. "It's a shame given the opportunity that was in front of us, but it is what it is. Hopefully, we can make corrections and move forward because, regardless of what happens in other stadiums, if we play the way we played today, it does not matter."

The only thing that went right for the Steelers happened in other stadiums. The Ravens and Bengals both lost, which meant the Steelers didn't lose any ground. Pittsburgh (7-6) remains tied with Cincinnati (7-6) for the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC. The Steelers also stayed two games back of the AFC North-leading Ravens (9-4), although there's only a slim shot at the division title with three games remaining. Pittsburgh closes the season by playing at Dallas before home games against Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Being lucky that the Ravens and Bengals lost doesn't overshadow the fact the Steelers looked far from a playoff team at home against a crumbling one. Wide receivers Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown dropped long passes downfield when the game was still close. The blocking was so poor that Roethlisberger scrambled frequently and nearly ended the game as his team's leading rusher (his 31 yards were just one shy of Jonathan Dwyer's total). And Roethlisberger's two turnovers in the second half (a fumble on a lateral and a fourth-quarter interception) led to touchdowns and sealed the loss.

It was a total team meltdown. Nickelback Curtis Brown was so bad on third downs that he was benched for Josh Victorian, a practice squad player just promoted this week. The special teams also allowed the Chargers to convert a fourth-and-2 on a fake punt.

How can the Steelers win in Baltimore with a third-string quarterback and lose at home with the franchise's leading passer to a last-place team?

"I have no clue," said Roethlisberger, who was 22-of-42 for 285 yards in his first game back since injuring his rib and shoulder on Nov. 12. "If I knew, I don't think that we would do it anymore. We just have to play better."

The scary part is that the Steelers aren't surprised that they lost to the Chargers, a team that had to address rumors all week that their coach and general manager are about to get fired. In fact, Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel warned teammates before the game, "If we don't come out and play, this team can beat us."

Keisel said he spoke out for two reasons: He didn't feel any urgency from the team and he knew how the Steelers have played this season against struggling teams.

"I wanted us to be ready to play and we weren't," Keisel said. "You got to be ready to play regardless of who you're playing. Hopefully guys start to realize that. We got to play better especially coming down these final games or we're going to be watching [the playoffs]."

Keisel's speech obviously provided no inspiration. The return of Roethlisberger didn't, either. Roethlisberger was ready to come back, showing he can make all of the throws and can take hits. He was just never in sync with his teammates, completing only nine of his first 20 passes for 105 yards.

In the first half, Roethlisberger was let down by his receivers and offensive line. In the second half, Roethlisberger made two costly mistakes deep in his own territory. He threw a pass into the back of tight end David Paulson that ricocheted into the end zone and was recovered by the Chargers for a touchdown. He then was picked off when he tried to force a pass over the middle, a turnover that the Chargers converted into a touchdown for a 34-10 lead.

"I didn't make plays," Roethlisberger said. "I didn't get it to the receivers or the right guy. I didn't give them a good ball to run or catch with."

In Pittsburgh's first seven drives, the Steelers punted six times and failed to convert a fourth-and-1. The longest drive in that opening stretch was 28 yards.

"We just keep tripping over our own feet," Wallace said. "We can't get out of our own way. If we eliminate our mistakes, we'll be a much better football team."

That's easier said than done when it comes to Wallace. Even though he scored two touchdowns -- his first since Nov. 12, the last time Roethlisberger played -- Wallace let a deep pass go through his hands with no one between him and the end zone. That happened in the second quarter when the Chargers were ahead 3-0. The sellout crowd at Heinz Field let Wallace know their level of dissatisfaction with him this year.

"The way we played, we deserved to be booed," Wallace said.

The only time the crowd cheered in the second half was when the scoreboard showed that the Ravens and Bengals were losing. Baltimore fell in overtime and Cincinnati lost in the final seconds. The difference with the Steelers is they were never in this game.

"You can't clap when you see Cincinnati and Baltimore losing on the scoreboard when you play worse than both of those teams," Clark said. "We're not excited about that. The thing that it does give us is an opportunity to continue playing for the playoffs."

The Steelers say they're focused on making the playoffs. But, as those who have watched the Steelers know, focus hasn't been this team's strong suit.

Here are some notes heading into Sunday's games:

RAVENS: Ravens defensive lineman Art Jones was devastated by the news of Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who fatally shot his girlfriend Saturday and then committed suicide at Arrowhead Stadium. Jones was a childhood friend and former wrestling teammate of Belcher. "We would all share stories how we all would make it one day," Jones wrote in a text to The Baltimore Sun, "and dream about our first nice car and house we would all own one day, things we would buy our family. He was a super hard worker that never back down from the challenge. ... I'm thankful for all the great times that we shared together and all the great memories he is giving me. He definitely will be missed by me and all the lives that he has impacted."

STEELERS: The Ravens can win their fourth straight game over the Steelers today, something that hasn't been done by either team in this rivalry in 10 seasons. “They’ve beat us three times in a row. They kind of have our number right now,” safety Ryan Clark told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “But it’s like the same old Steelers going to play the Ravens, playing as hard as we can, and we’re going to try win a football game.”

BENGALS: Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu is likely done for the season, according to the team's official website. Sanu, who had established himself as the No. 2 receiver opposite A.J. Green, is expected to go on injured reserve Monday after having surgery. He suffered a stress fracture in his left foot during Thursday's practice. Andrew Hawkins is scheduled to return today after missing the past two games with a knee injury.

BROWNS: Cleveland's run defense may be turning the corner. The Browns are coming off back-to-back games in which they surrendered fewer than 65 yards rushing for the first time since 1989, according to The Plain Dealer. "Guys are taking ownership of the defense," middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said. "Once you taste success it's like a drug, and you want to do anything you can to get it again." The Browns are playing at Oakland, which has the 29th-ranked run offense.

A Steelers player coming to the defense of a Raven seems to break some sort of code in the most heated rivalry in football. But, after Ravens safety Ed Reed was suspended by the NFL for one game for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Pittsburgh wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, Steelers safety Ryan Clark spoke out in support of Reed on Twitter:

Tough on Ed getting suspended. I can't say that I agree w that. It was a penalty but I don't believe he was intentionally trying to harm E.

— ryan clark (@RealRClark25) November 19, 2012

It might be surprising for some to see this support between rivals. But Reed and Clark are childhood friends who grew up in Louisiana. Clark visited Reed in the Ravens' locker room after Sunday night's game and asked him a question while posing as a reporter. Here's a video of that from The Baltimore Sun.

Clark is also not a big fan of fines from the league. Last season, he was fined a total of $55,000 for two illegal hits. "You can't go for the guy's head, you can't go for his neck," Clark said this past offseason. "You have to try to adjust your aiming point, which is hard sometimes, because if the offensive player does crouch, or does lower his shoulder, it's still upon the defensive player [to avoid helmet-to-helmet contact]. But you still have to play. You have to play this game fast."

PITTSBURGH -- Steelers safety Ryan Clark is playing Sunday night against the Ravens despite suffering a concussion in two of his past three games. But Clark is taking some precautions.

He told ESPN's Rachel Nichols he will wear a special helmet tonight. It's one size bigger than usual and packed with bullet-proof Kevlar. This is the same type of helmet worn by Steelers linebacker James Harrison.

What won't change is his style of play.

"If it's the fourth quarter, [and a] two-minute drive and a guy's trying to catch the ball, I'm going to sell out every time until I'm not playing," Clark told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "When I decide I can't play the way I've always played, I'll stop playing football, period."

Clark has had no worries about playing Sunday night after clearing all of the concussion tests this week. He practiced Thursday and Friday.

"People make this more dramatic than it is, and there is no drama involved in the decisions I've made," Clark said Friday. "I've only had two [concussions] and I've been playing football since I was 5. There are people with eight and 10 who still continue to play. There are people on this team who have had tons more concussions than I have who still continue to play."

Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall is expected to play in Sunday's game against the Ravens after missing the past four games with an Achilles injury. Mendenhall is listed as probable on the Steelers injury report.

Steelers safety Ryan Clark is also likely to play despite suffering his second concussion in three weeks. He is also listed as probable.

As expected, four starters for Pittsburgh have been ruled out: quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (shoulder), safety Troy Polamalu (calf), wide receiver Antonio Brown (ankle) and offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (ankle).

For the Ravens, starting defensive end Pernell McPhee (thigh) is listed as doubtful a day after telling reporters that he was at full strength. He will be replaced by Art Jones.

Cornerback Jimmy Smith is the only player for Baltimore who has been ruled out. He had groin surgery Thursday.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A few thoughts on the New York Giants' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

What it means: The end of a four-game winning streak and a poor start to the second half of the season after the Giants' standard 6-2 start. This loss in their ninth game of the season will raise easy questions about the Giants' record in the second halves of their seasons during the Tom Coughlin era, but of greater concern is that they appeared to lose the physical battles up front on offense and especially on defense for most of this game.

Superman slumping? This was the fourth consecutive game in which Giants quarterback Eli Manning saw his passer rating drop. It was 103.3 in the Week 5 victory over Cleveland, 87.4 in Week 6 in San Francisco, 78.9 in Week 7 against the Redskins, 58.4 last week in Dallas and 41.1 on Sunday against the Steelers. Manning has thrown four interceptions and one touchdown pass in his last three games. He looks surprisingly jittery in the pocket and he's missing open receivers with his throws. Without Manning at his best, the Giants cannot expect to compete with the league's best teams. The Giants were 2-for-10 on third-down conversion attempts Sunday.

Soft in the middle: The Steelers ran the ball up the gut all day against the Giants with Isaac Redman, who's basically their third-string running back. It was not a banner day for Mark Herzlich, who got the first start of his career in place of injured middle linebacker Chase Blackburn. The Steelers seemed to spot a weakness in the Giants' defense in the middle of the field, and they were able to reliably take advantage of it.

A little help: The Giants' 14-10 halftime lead came with a lot of help from their opponent. The Steelers racked up 87 yards' worth of pass interference penalties in the first half, and a personal foul penalty by Ryan Clark in the end zone on third down set up the Giants' first touchdown. Once the breaks stopped going the Giants' way, the Steelers were able to take control of the game in the second half as the Giants were unable to get their offense going.

What's next: The Giants travel to Cincinnati where they will play the Bengals at 1 p.m. ET next Sunday. The Bengals have lost four games in a row after a 3-1 start and have allowed a total of 106 points in those four games.

PITTSBURGH -- Steelers safety Ryan Clark is out of Sunday's game against the Redskins with a concussion.

Clark took a shot to the head on a tackle in the third quarter. He walked off the field on his own and then went to the locker room for evaluation.

The Steelers are now without their two starting safeties, Clark and Troy Polamalu (calf). Ryan Mundy has joined Will Allen as the Steelers' safeties.

Pittsburgh is up on the Redskins 27-9 with 5:13 left in the third quarter.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- As the Steelers packed their bags after another stunning loss on the road, no one was searching for any panic button to push. But the 26-23 loss to the Titans is a clear indication that they might want to learn where it is.

It's easy to chalk up Pittsburgh's sloppy play to injuries. The reality is that it's painful to watch the Steelers on the road, especially in the fourth quarter. The Steelers should beat a Raiders team that has lost its other three games by an average of 20.3 points. They should beat a Titans team that gives up more points than my 8-year-old cousin on Madden. But Pittsburgh (2-3) failed to finish two struggling teams on the road and has more worries than falling two games behind the AFC North-leading Ravens (4-1).

If the Steelers can't beat the Titans (2-4) and Raiders (1-3), how can they have any confidence in going on the road against the Bengals, Giants and Ravens? Is winning at Cleveland even a lock anymore? You think I'm joking, but the Titans ranked 26th on offense and 29th on defense. They're only the second team in NFL history to give up 30 points in their first five games. The Titans are a bad team. So, what does that make the Steelers at this point? A flawed team any time it steps outside of Heinz Field.

"Are we overly concerned? No," Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor said. "But concerned, yeah."

On the night when Ben Roethlisberger became the Steelers' all-time passing leader, the Steelers set a team record in self-inflicted wounds. Give coach Mike Tomlin and his players credit for not using injuries as an excuse. Three projected starters aren't on the offensive line. Their top two running backs got hurt (Rashard Mendenhall injured his Achilles and Isaac Redman hurt his ankle), which is why Baron Batch scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. There was also no Troy Polamalu or LaMarr Woodley on defense.

The problem is the starters who are out there aren't getting the job done. Taylor is getting beat in coverage or getting penalized -- and sometimes both. Cornerback Keenan Lewis dropped an interception that could have ended the Titans' touchdown drive that tied the game at 23 in the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger, who carried the Steelers to victory five days ago, was throwing behind his receivers and overthrowing them at times. The special teams handed the Titans a touchdown when it allowed a punt to get blocked deep in Pittsburgh territory.

Even Tomlin has to shoulder the blame. With the game tied at 23, he decided to go for a 54-yard field goal with 54 seconds remaining instead of punting to pin the Titans offense. If it was my call, I would've kicked the field goal as well because Shaun Suisham had nailed a career-long 52-yarder less than eight minutes earlier.

"He banged the other one before that pretty clean, so I decided to give him a shot at it," Tomlin said. "I take the responsibility for the miss."

The one mistake was Tomlin calling a timeout before the kick to think about his options. He essentially iced his own kicker. Tomlin, though, doesn't second-guess the decision.

"It was a clock stoppage," he said. "Shaun's a mentally tough guy. I didn't want the play clock to run down."

Taking over at the 25-yard line, the Titans only needed a 25-yard pass to Jared Cook, who outran linebacker James Harrison, to put them in field goal range. Rob Bironas' 40-yarder as time expired completed the upset and added another chapter to the Steelers' fourth-quarter flops.

The Steelers held a five-point lead in the fourth quarter at Denver and lost 31-19. They were up by 10 points in the fourth at Oakland and fell 34-31 on another game-ending field goal. And on Thursday night, they led by seven points with eight minutes left and lost 26-23. In total, Pittsburgh has been outscored 40-16 in the fourth quarter on the road this season.

The only fingers that are being pointed are at themselves.

"(The offense is) going to say it's a team game and they should have made one more play, but it's not true. It's not. It's the defense," safety Ryan Clark said. "They gave us enough points to win. They made enough plays to win the game. We had the lead in the fourth quarter. We need to keep it and we didn't do it."

Roethlisberger produced a lot of yards (363) but wasn't sharp at crucial times. On passes to the end zone, he threw behind tight end Heath Miller and sailed one too far outside when Mike Wallace got behind the defense.

Then on Pittsburgh's final drive, the Steelers moved to Tennessee's 35 before Batch lost a yard on second down and Roethlisberger's pass to Miller fell incomplete on third down.

As a result, the Steelers managed 23 points against a defense that had been giving up 36.2 points per game.

"We didn't score enough points," Roethlisberger said. "We put Suisham in such a long field goal. I have to complete one more pass just to make it easier on him."

Even if the problem is injuries, no one knows when the Steelers will get healthy. The only positive coming from this game is they have 10 days before playing at Cincinnati. Who knows if Mendenhall or center Maurkice Pouncey will be ready by then?

Perhaps the biggest question surrounds the return of Polamalu, who is week-to-week with a calf injury. The Steelers are 7-9 since the start of 2009 without him. The defense doesn't look the same without its quarterback on the field.

"I want him out there, don't get me wrong. But we've lost games with Troy playing, too," Clark said. "We've lost games with Troy and I out there at the same time. Last I remember, we lost the Super Bowl that way. That's no excuse. We can't sit there and cry because we don't have Troy out there. We have to go out there and make plays. If you can field a team, you can win a football game. We're fielding a team and we're just losing."

The Steelers are a strong team at home. They can get in the head of Mark Sanchez and take out a potential playoff team like the Eagles.

It's a different Pittsburgh team on the road. The Steelers make too many mistakes. They can't make the plays at the end of games to beat the teams they're supposed to beat. The Steelers have now lost four in a row on the road. This marked the second time they started 0-3 on the road in the past 20 years (also 2006, Bill Cowher’s final season).

"We are not doing enough to finish games in hostile environments," Tomlin said. "That's just the reality of where we are right now. Hopefully, it's just right now."

If not, the Steelers had better keep that panic button close by.