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Four score and maybe more 

The Steelers produced a season-high 38 points in last Sunday's victory over Philadelphia, and as it turned out they needed just about every one of them.

The final touchdown, a 35-yard pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to wide receiver Chase Claypool, achieved some much-needed separation with 2:59 left in regulation in what had been a 31-29 game.

The Steelers were one of 10 winning teams to reach the 30-point plateau in the 14 games on the NFL's Week Five slate.

Three of those teams scored 40 or more (Las Vegas, Minnesota and Tennessee).

Kansas City scored 32 points and lost.

Among the four winning teams that failed to register at least 30 points, Baltimore and Seattle came close with 27 apiece.

"I think you're going to see scores like this for a while," Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner offered this week.

The Steelers aren't perceiving 30 as a magic number on offense, although it's worth noting they could have gotten there, potentially, had they not taken a knee from the Denver 6-yard line in the closing seconds of a 26-21 win on Sept. 20, and had they not done the same, this time from the Houston 3, in a 28-21 triumph on Sept. 27.

"We have to score more points than they do, whatever that number might be," Fichtner said. "Proud of the guys for just the general opportunity when we have gotten into the red zone. We have complemented the defense on a turnover.

"Just those kind of situations, we really have to take advantage because they flip games."

Take a look at the best photos of the Steelers offense from the Week 5 game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field

The Steelers are averaging 29.5 points per game through four games.

One way to nudge that number upward would be to get off to faster starts.

The first four game-opening possessions this season have produced one field goal (at the conclusion of an 11-play, 63-yard march in 5:11 against the Texans), two three-and-outs and a drive against the Eagles that produced one first down and then stalled.

"Well, I'll take scoring every time, and it doesn't have to be those 14-play drives, either," Fichtner said. "We'll take it in one.

"Starting fast is obviously something we talk about. We talk about it openly with our players. The challenge, again, comes back to us. It comes back to a lost-yardage play here, maybe a penalty. It's going to be hard to overcome the third-and-longs. And generally, that is kind of what's happened."

Against the Eagles it was a sack of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that lost 8 yards on second-and-9 from the Philadelphia 43 that proved too much to overcome initially.

But the offense got it in gear thereafter and scored on its next five possessions while in the process of building a 31-14, third-quarter lead.

"The object is to score, and we would like to score on every series," Fichtner said. "Obviously, the first series is as important as ever, and we would like to score on the first series.

"We're going to keep working on it."

The Steelers prepare for the Week 6 matchup against the Cleveland Browns

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