Sep 14, 2014 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – Two games into the season, the Steelers find themselves in a familiar position – on the wrong end of the turnover battle.

After turning the ball over three times Thursday night in a 26-6 loss at Baltimore, the Steelers (1-1) are already minus-4 in turnovers, a statistic that is usually indicative of a team’s success. The better the turnover ratio, the better chance you have to win.

For the Steelers, however, the issue just isn’t its own turnovers, it’s also the defense force turnovers.

Since 2011, the Steelers have forced an NFL-low 51 turnovers, including none in their first two games this season. By comparison, New England entered Sunday with a league-best 107 over that same period.

“I wish I knew the answer to that because we’ve been asked about that for a while,” said Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel. “We’ve got to give our offense the ball and give them a short field and put points on the board. We all work together.”

The Steelers said the addition of safety Mike Mitchell and linebacker Ryan Shazier to their defense would help their takeaway issues. Thus far, neither player has made any kind of impact.

Mitchell had four interceptions and two forced fumbles for Carolina last year, while Shazier, this year’s top draft pick, had an Ohio State-record nine forced fumbles during his college career.

Shazier is third on the team in tackles with 17 and Mitchell is fourth with 12, but neither has made anything close to an impact play.

Then again, neither has anyone else.

And with the offense contributing three lost fumbles and an interception, it added up to a long nightin Baltimore.

“When you go on the road and turn the ball over, it’s very hard to overcome,” said Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.

That’s especially true when your own defense doesn’t help by giving the offense any additional opportunities. The Steelers turned their 18 forced turnovers last year into 69 points. Opponents scored 79 points off the Steelers’ 22 turnovers.

Opponents have scored 10 points already this season off Pittsburgh’s turnovers.

“We have to control the turnovers,” said Keisel. “We can’t let teams drive down the field on us after turnovers. It’s something we have to address.”

The Steelers had chances for takeaways. Shazier, fellow inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons and cornerback Ike Taylor each dropped potential interceptions against Clevelandr, and cornerback Cortez Allen dropped one against Baltimore.

“They’re going to come,” said defensive end Cameron Heyward. “I’m not worried about that. We were in the right position a bunch of times, we just didn’t finish them. We have to get back to raking at the ball. We have to do what is necessary. I don’t know what it is, but we have to get some turnovers and get off the field.”

The Steelers had 80 penalties last year, an average of five per game, but have been penalized 20 times in their first two games. … Antonio Brown has caught at least five passes and gained 50 yards in 18 consecutive games. The NFL record is 19 set by Laveranues Coles during the 2002 and 2003 seasons.