Not stopping the run: Heading into Thursday night's game against the Browns, Coach Mike Tomlin stressed the importance of stopping Cleveland's ground game, the one-two punch of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
"I think if you're playing these guys, and you're looking at their offense, boy you better minimize Chubb and Hunt," said Tomlin during his weekly press conference. "A lot of ball rolls to those guys. They're not 1 and 2, they're 1 and 1A. They are a formidable tandem and probably the most complete tandem in football, so we've got our work cut out for us there."
The Steelers weren't able to minimize the ground game though, with Chubb going for 113 yards on 23 carries and Hunt adding 47 yards on 12 carries.
"I thought they controlled the line of scrimmage, particularly in the second half," said Tomlin after the 29-14 loss. "If you can't slow down Chubb, you can't beat this group. And we knew that, and we didn't get it done. So, we got to own the outcome, and we will.
"There's not a lot really to talk about. We got to look at this tape and learn and get better and get better very fast."
The Steelers were down only two, 16-14, when Chubb scored on a one-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 23-14, a lead the black and gold wouldn't be able to overcome.
"I thought they controlled the game, and they possessed the ball," said Tomlin. "Nick Chubb controlled the game."
Coming up short: The Steelers offense put 14 points on the board in the first half, with a five-yard touchdown run by Najee Harris and Mitch Trubisky taking it himself on a one-yard run.
But in the second half, they came up empty on the scoreboard.
Tomlin was asked if he was encouraged by what he saw from the offense in the first half, but that wasn't what he was looking for.
"I wasn't looking to be encouraged," said Tomlin. "I was looking to win the game. I would expect us to get better in all phases, so I don't know if I share that perspective."
As far as Trubisky, he completed 20 of 32 passes for 207 yards, and while Tomlin acknowledged he did some good things, only one thing mattered.
"Thought he made some plays, but we all collectively came up short," said Tomlin. "That's how we measure performance. Man winning is our business and we didn't handle business. We don't break that apart and look for the feel good."
Tomlin was asked if he would consider a change at quarterback before the next game, and his answer was simple.
"I'm not in that mindset," said Tomlin. "I'm interested in reviewing this tape and looking at the totality of it and figuring out how we collectively get better. So, the answer to that question is definitively no."
Just gotta get better: Quarterback Mitch Trubisky assessed Browns 29, Steelers 17 as a job half down.
"We just gotta be better in the second half," Trubisky lamented. "I thought the first half we did pretty good. We're getting there, it's just not where it needs to be in order to get a victory.
"I thought in the first half we made some steps in the right direction, second half just wasn't good enough."
Trubisky connected on 20 of 32 passes for 207 yards, didn't throw for a touchdown or an interception and finished with a passer rating of 81.1.
He was 9-for-13 for 109 yards in the first half, which ended with the Steelers leading, 14-13.
"We had some crucial plays in the second half that, if we get those plays it might have been a different story and we just didn't hit on them," Trubisky continued. "There's a few more details in there that we'll have to go back and watch on the film but that's kinda what it felt like in the second half, just those plays we need to hit, we just didn't."
Trubisky also carried twice for 7 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run, on read-option keepers.
"I was reading the (defensive) end and pulled it," he said. "The O-line did a great job with their blocks, (tight end) Pat (Freiermuth) made a great block and got in the end zone.
"Look to do more of that stuff going forward."
Trubisky also said he's feeling more comfortable with each successive start after spending last season as the backup in Buffalo.
"I feel like I'm in a good rhythm with my routine, I felt good (Thursday night)," he said. "We just gotta be better in the second half."
