It's time to start worrying about the Pittsburgh Steelers

Aside from the Patriots, no team from the AFC – and perhaps the NFL – has been as consistent as the Pittsburgh Steelers in recent history. Their series of four consecutive playoff appearances is the second longest in the league, and they have managed to accomplish this feat while undergoing a good deal of adversity. A suspension of Le'Veon Bell here, a Facebook Antonio Brown Live, it does not matter. Like on wheels, they have always managed to recover in the middle of the season.

An optimistic supporter of the Steelers surely hopes that 2018 will not be different after a disappointing 1-2-1 start. But considering their level of out-of-field drama higher than usual, improving their opponents' game of division and the general uselessness of their product in the field for four weeks, it may be time to worry.

The Steelers were separated by the Ravens Sunday night, losing 26-14, while showing a mediocre mediocre football mark to a national audience. Their defense was burned for the fourth consecutive game, giving up 451 total yards and allowing Joe Flacco and John Brown to regularly burn their secondary goal. Ben Roethlisberger, who has averaged 327.2 yards and 2.7 home touchdowns since 2016, had 274 yards, one touchdown and one pick.

"I do not think I'm on the same page as anyone right now," Roethlisberger told ESPN.com. "I do not play well enough. I need to play better. Today was just a bad day at the office. … I promise I'll be back to play better. "

Everything seems to be going bad for the Steelers at the same time. The defense was an underestimated force last season, finishing fifth overall in the NFL, but collapsed to second place in 2018. The attack is still more disconcerting, especially at home. In their two home games in 2018, they have never had the opportunity to dominate. Brown, who is usually automatic, has not yet registered a 100-yard match.

It is easy to blame Bell, who has not yet played in a match in a tense and highly publicized contract dispute. But unlike 2015 and 2016, when he was suspended to start each season, he is completely unsure when he returns. Pittsburgh has already announced the return of the star in trade negotiations, and if he had any hope of ending his career, Count Thomas might have ended his mission.

Thomas, stuck in a similar dispute with the Seahawks, chose to play while publicly expressing his fear of injury while he was looking for a new contract. Against the Cowboys on Sunday, Thomas suffered a leg injury late in the season, playing for a team that had no interest in paying him after 2018.

"Smh, exactly … go straight to brother!" Writes Bell in an ESPN message about Thomas. "I will continue to be the" bad guy "for all of us."

Although the Steelers have declared they want a "good" player in a potential exchange with Bell, the team they have now will likely be the team they'll have for the rest of the season. And with the Ravens and Bengals sitting at 3-1, combined with the Browns' improvements, the battle for division seems to be difficult. To make a final race at the Super Bowl, they must get closer to the team that beat the 13-3 mark last season and prove that the first four games were a stroke of luck.