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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are 27th in the NFL in rushing and Le'Veon Bell, the highest-paid running back in the league, has yet to rush for 100 yards in a game. But head coach Mike Tomlin isn't worried about his star back or his highly-paid offensive line underperforming. Tomlin said falling behind against the Bears prevented the Steelers from running more than they did.
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"Last week, I thought we had acceptable yards per carry if you look at Le'Veon's numbers," Tomlin said. "Our issue last week was simply volume of runs. When we muffed that punt, we lost a possession in the first half and we gave them a possession. As you go in at halftime after the blocked kick, you're down by 10 and you're playing with 30 minutes. You worry about balance as time becomes a factor and you play catch-up football. We simply just didn't run enough because of circumstances that had nothing to do with the run.
"We got behind in the football game, and you're going to lose your balance when you do that. They possessed the ball because they were able to run the ball. We lost time of possession because they possessed the ball. None of those things have anything to do directly with the running game. The only issue I feel like we had with our run game in the last game was volume or lack thereof."
Tomlin's players have a little more urgency in getting the run game going. Several of them believe it's essential for it to improve if the Steelers want to get back on the winning track after they were upset by the Bears.
"We've gone away from it a little bit," tight end Jesse James said. "We were down in the Chicago game and we tried passing our way out of the deficit. That's happened to us in the past. We have to establish the run and keep it going. We got a penalty on a 10-yard run early in the game against Chicago. I don't know if that kept them away from that box of the play-call sheet, but we have to keep pounding the run if we want to be successful."
The opponent this week, the Baltimore Ravens, are traditionally strong against the run although they allowed 166 to the Jaguars last week in their 44-7 loss in London.
"The unfortunate part is we're playing a really good defense this week," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "This defense is opportunistic. They create a lot of turnovers, interceptions especially. We still need to come out and run the ball and almost force run it at times."
The Steelers opened as 2.5-point favorites in this game. The reason is the struggling Ravens offense. They are dead last in the NFL in total offense (263 yards per game) and tied for 23rd in scoring (17 points per game).
SERIES HISTORY: 43rd regular-season meeting. Steelers lead series, 22-20. The Steelers snapped a four-game losing streak against the Ravens with their 31-27 victory on Christmas Day last year, a win that clinched the AFC North. The Ravens are 12-9 all-time in games played in Baltimore and have won the past four at M&T Bank Stadium. The previous time the Steelers won there was 2012.
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Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey said Wednesday he was confident the Steelers would have all of their players stand for the national anthem Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.
The Steelers have been criticized for remaining in the tunnel just outside their locker room in Chicago last week. The only Steelers player to go onto the field for the anthem was former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva.
"I promise you one thing this week we'll all be standing out there for the national anthem," Pouncey said after practice Wednesday. "Trust me. We respect our flag and we respect the military. I think the bigger message was we were trying to stay out of it. That we should be united inside. It was all about the flag. It was just a big misunderstanding. Trust me, I'm very sorry to anyone who feels the way they do. I care about the flag dearly. Trust me, this team will be out there standing Sunday."
Pouncey also apologized to Steelers fans who were offended by the team not being on the field in Chicago.
"We have to make it right," Pouncey said. "I honestly think we will go out there and make it right. Our Commander in Chief said one thing and people really took it overboard, and rightfully so, because people have opinions. That's what America is about. So we can have opinions. But we're here to play football. We're not here to play politics.
"We love this country. This is America. Yeah, we know there is injustice in this world. But for me personally, football is for football and that's how we have to approach it. I tell a lot of the guys if you want to do anything in the offseason or on Tuesdays, Team Pouncey will be there with you. We'll help you and do whatever you want. But we're football players.
"I hate that the media tries to put politics in this and all this different stuff. Trust me, this team loves this flag. We love how we represent Al. We feel just as bad as everyone else does. Trust me, we do. This week, we'll show that. We're sorry for all of our fans who are upset about the things that went down. I honestly think we'll come together and this will be all out the window."
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Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger reiterated Wednesday what he said Sunday after the loss to the Bears. He feels responsible for the Steelers dropping that game.
Roethlisberger was 22 for 39 for 235 yards passing and missed several open receivers throughout the game.
"I didn't play well enough to win," Roethlisberger said. "I feel like we lost the game because of me. That's how I felt. You have to own it. If I play better in that game I feel like we win that game. If I play better in the first two weeks, we'll have a more productive offense and we won't have to answer why our offense is where it is."
Through three games, the Steelers are 21st in the NFL in total offense (303 yards per game) and tied for 16th in scoring offense (21.3 points per game).
NOTES: T Marcus Gilbert, who missed the Bears game with a hamstring injury, practiced for the first time in more than a week. ... OLB T.J. Watt, who missed the Bears game with a groin injury, also was a full practice participant. ... DE Stephon Tuitt, who missed his second consecutive game with a biceps injury, was a full participant in practice. ... OLB Bud Dupree was limited Wednesday with a shoulder injury. ... TE Jesse James also was limited Wednesday with a shoulder injury. ... S Sean Davis, who sustained an ankle injury against the Bears, did not practice Wednesday. ... G Ramon Foster, who left the Bears game with a thumb injury and did not return, did not practice Wednesday. ... WR Martavis Bryant did not practice Wednesday because of an illness.
