Stay on schedule.
That's critical for the Steelers this week when they travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals at Paycor Stadium.
It's something they didn't do particularly well in last week's 24-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns that snapped a 5-game winning streak.
Nine times in that game against the Browns the Steelers were forced to rely on quarterback Russell Wilson in a third-and-6 situation or longer.
And while Wilson was 12 of 13 for 203 yards and a touchdown throwing the ball on third downs in that game, the Steelers (8-3) were behind the chains far too often to have consistent success.
The wound up converting 7 of 16 third-down situations, but they also came up short of the sticks several times, forcing a field goal attempt that was missed from 58 yards and three fourth-down attempts, only one of which was converted into a new set of downs.
"We've just got to stay on schedule in first and second down," said Wilson.
That also has led to some of the issues scoring red zone touchdowns, as the Steelers have converted just 1 of their past six trips into touchdowns.
"We've got to make plays and we've got to find plays," said Wilson. "And I don't think we're far off, I definitely don't think that."
Playing the Bengals (4-7) could help.
While Cincinnati's offense has been very good this season, the Bengals rank 27th in third-down conversion percentage allowed at 44.4 percent.
The Bengals also are 31st in the league in allowing opponents to score once they get into the red zone, giving up a touchdown on 70.6 percent of those trips inside their 20-yard line.
Staying on schedule and avoiding penalties and sacks is critical to the Steelers' success in those situations.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he and his coaching staff spent the mini-bye week created after playing the Browns last Thursday to study some of the issues affecting the team's offensive and defensive output.
Wilson said that helps.
"I think we study the things we've done well, I think that's the first thing. And do more of it," he said. "I think that's one thing. I think the second thing is to figure out where we're missing. We've had third-and-longs a lot down there, it seems like, and so we've got to make sure that we're giving ourselves the best chance to run all of our red zone plays that we practice and do everything that we've prepared to do. I think that's important."
The Steelers also know they have to cash in their opportunities against Cincinnati. Quarterback Joe Burrow has already thrown for over 3,000 yards and leads the NFL with 27 touchdown passes, while wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is in line to win the receiving triple crown with 73 receptions for an NFL-best 1,056 yards and 12 touchdowns.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast Pittonline@iheartmedia.com
Wilson said the Steelers can't fall into the trap of feeling they have to put up a certain amount of points to win. They just have to play the game.
"I think it's always about the mentality," said Wilson. "I don't mean to be cliche in the thought process, but really, this game is about the next shot, the next play, the next moment. It's not about trying to multiply drives over and over again. It's just being great on this play, and that's how you get touchdowns, that's how you get conversions, that's how you stay successful, that's how you stay on the field over and over again.
"I think that if we can sustain drives in that way, we've got a great chance of what we can do."
