Slow finish against Titans adds to list of growing problems for Steelers offense

After starting slower than a dial-up web connection for the past month, the Pittsburgh Steelers offense encountered a new issue Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

They couldn’t finish fast, either.

Lost in the 19-13 come-from-behind victory Sunday was the way the offense bogged down after the defense repeatedly provided a short field in the second half.

Gift-wrapped the ball inside Tennessee territory after an interception and two fumble recoveries, the Steelers used three Chris Boswell field goals to tie the score, take the lead and get some insurance points.

But on those three drives, they totaled two first downs and gained 31 yards (not including penalties) on 15 plays.

It was a stark contrast to the way the Steelers heated up in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings when they moved the ball up and down the field and put up a combined 65 points.

And it’s a trend the Steelers (7-6-1) don’t want to continue if they expect to hang with the AFC-leading Kansas City Chiefs (10-4) on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

“The turnovers our defense got were great, but when you get the ball, you’ve got to end those drives with touchdowns,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said Thursday. “You’ve got to take care of the ball, which we obviously did, but we’ve got to make those key plays at key times.”

The Steelers didn’t do that, but thanks to the field position and Boswell’s right leg, they were able to knock off the AFC South-leading Titans and keep their own division championship hopes alive.

Even with a running game that ranks No. 31 in the league and an offense that hasn’t scored a first-half touchdown in the past four games, the Steelers can remain a half-game out of first place with a victory at Arrowhead.

“I don’t think you measure anything except for the win/loss,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said this week when asked about measuring offensive improvement. “I mean, you could sit there and say you did this, that or the other. At the end of the day, yeah, you’d love to put up 9,000 yards of offense in a game, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t win the game.

“We’ve had unbelievable offensive games where we’ve lost and really bad offensive days where we won. We’ll take the win, so that’s what you have to measure success.”

While the offense was stagnant in the fourth quarter against the Titans, wide receiver Chase Claypool spent much of the time watching from the sideline. Claypool was on the field for just three of the final 12 offensive plays, as he ceded time to James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud.

McCloud, in fact, played two more snaps (33) than Claypool for the game, and he was targeted on a third-down fade pass from the Titans 18 in the first half. That’s a play usually designed for the much taller Claypool.

“We do have faith in Ray-Ray; he’s certainly come on,” Canada said. “I don’t think over the long haul that it’s Chase vs. Ray-Ray. It’s the way the game went with the rotation we had trying to get guys going. Chase is a tremendously talented player that we have a lot of faith in and belief in.

“We have no doubt he’ll make a lot of plays for us.”

That didn’t happen for any receiver in a game in which Diontae Johnson had team highs with five receptions and 38 yards. The Steelers couldn’t get running back Najee Harris untracked either, as he finished with 18 rushing yards on 12 carries.

One week ago, coach Mike Tomlin said he would turn over all stones in order to fix problems. Apparently he hasn’t gotten to all of them on offense. In the four games in which the Steelers haven’t reached the end zone in the first half, they have three field goals to show for 22 combined possessions.

“Obviously, there are (stone left to turn over) or we would have changed it,” Canada said. “We’re still working on it. … There are a million reasons why, but none of them matter. We have to start better, play faster and when we get opportunities, we have to be better. We are still turning them all over as we can, but obviously we haven’t turned the right one over all the time.”