Defensive stands to open second half becoming elusive for Steelers

One of the most important decisions for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday is one they won’t even make. It will involve whether a Denver Broncos captain calls heads or tails at the coin toss.

If the Steelers lose the toss — as has been the case in all three games of their losing streak — they almost certainly will kick off to open the second half. And based on the way the Steelers played coming out of halftime in recent weeks, that adds up to a losing proposition.

The Steelers were outscored 27-0 in the third quarter during losses to Las Vegas, Cincinnati and Green Bay, and they are one of only two NFL teams without a touchdown in the opening 15 minutes of the second half in any game this season.

That’s not a good sign heading into their matchup Sunday against the Broncos, who incidentally have not allowed a third-quarter point this season.

It’s not just the offense’s inability to score that has doomed the Steelers in the third quarter. They haven’t been successful getting off the field on third down, allowing the Raiders, Bengals and Packers to each add to their halftime leads.

“We have to make sure we correct all the things we did wrong in the first half and then go into the second half and try to hold them to three-and-out if we can,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said Thursday.

Easier said than done.

For the season, the Steelers defense has recorded one three-and-out in the third quarter, and that was after the Bengals had gotten a field goal and touchdown on their opening two possessions of the second half.

In the opener, the Bills had a 12-play drive that ended with a turnover on downs. The Raiders opened the second half in Week 2 with a six-play drive that ended with a punt. The Bengals had a three-and-out after taking a 24-7 lead, and the Packers lost a fumble after jumping to a 27-10 advantage.

The past two weeks, the Steelers have allowed long field-goal drives to open the second half followed by short touchdown drives that were the product of a Ben Roethlisberger interception and Pressley Harvin shanked punt, respectively.

That combination has been fatal to a Steelers defense that was so dominant at creating turnovers the past two seasons. The Steelers led the NFL with 38 takeaways in 2019 and ranked second with 29 last season, but they have gotten one interception and two fumble recoveries so far this year.

“Sometimes the most stout defense is the one that gets off the field on three-and-out,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “It’s not a turnover, but it provides more chances for the offense and keeps the defense fresh.”

The defense hardly has stayed fresh after intermission as evidenced by its No. 27 ranking in third-quarter possession share during the Steelers’ three-game skid. The Raiders and Packers each had more than a two-minute edge in time of possession, and the Bengals held a five-minute advantage.

“Our thing is winning third down,” Butler said. “Look at the last game, third down wasn’t very good (9 of 15 for the Packers). It has to be better. We have to be under 33% on them. We have to get them in third-and-long situations.”

Too often, Butler pointed out, the defense has been mired in third-and-short or third-and-medium situations that has limited his unit’s chance of pressuring the quarterback. Opponents have converted 45.5% of all third-down tries against the Steelers, putting them again in the bottom third of all NFL teams.

“We’ve got to get them into that position where we know they are going to throw the football,” Butler said. “If it third-and-3 or third-and-4 all the time, they are in run-pass situations. We have to try to get them in third-and-long as much as we can. If we do, I like our chances of putting a good rush on them.”

Conversely, the offense can do a better job assisting its defensive counterpart by putting together long drives once the ball is in Roethlisberger’s hands after halftime. The only third-quarter points the Steelers have generated this season were on two Chris Boswell field goals at Buffalo. Since then, the team’s six drives in the third quarter have ended in three punts, an interception, a missed field goal and a turnover on downs.

Longest drive: Seven plays, 37 yards.

“We try to focus coming out early in the first half, second half,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “We have to be more efficient, more productive. If we can get down there in the red zone, we have to find a way to score more touchdowns. We have to find a way to get better.”