Changes can be difficult to make in final week, but a few could benefit Steelers as they try to snap 3-game skid

A third consecutive loss was fresh in his mind when Mike Tomlin promised changes for the Pittsburgh Steelers heading into the season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“We’re not going to continue to do the same things and hope for a different result,” Tomlin said moments after a Christmas loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. “That doesn’t seem sharp to me. So we’re going to take a hard look at this.”

Tomlin brought his players to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Thursday for meetings and film review. He gave them the weekend to rest before presumably holding a bonus practice day Monday. The Bengals await next weekend, the final stop before the postseason.

Changes that Tomlin will contemplate can’t exactly be seismic. The playbook was constructed over an entire offseason and implemented in the spring and summer. It can’t be overhauled in one week. The roster will be the same, with perhaps a tweak one or two roles in the lineup. A return to health by cornerback Joey Porter Jr. can aid a leaky secondary.

Outside linebacker T.J. Watt wasn’t predicting any massive alterations when he met with the media after the 29-10 setback to Kansas City that followed a 34-17 loss at Baltimore and a 27-13 defeat at Philadelphia.

“We need to continue to work,” Watt said, using different versions of that sentence multiple times. “Look at ourselves in the mirror and get back to work.”

With that in mind, here are few items the Steelers can work on when they try to build on a 10-6 record that already has assured a wild-card playoff berth:

1. Start faster

Arthur Smith can’t wait for his old pickup truck offense to get going. He needs to find a faster, shinier model — all the while relying on the same parts of his unit to show some urgency.

The final game of the regular season would be an optimal time for the offense to score a touchdown on its opening possession for the first time this season. Or at least get a touchdown at some point in the first 15 minutes, something the Steelers have done just three times in 16 games.

The same quick-start mentality holds true for the defense. The Steelers have been outscored 30-3 in the first quarter during their three-game losing streak.

The Steelers haven’t taken a lead into the second quarter since they were ahead 3-0 against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11.

2. Get to the quarterback

The Steelers don’t need to reincarnate the Blitzburgh defense that was the staple of the championship teams in the 2000s. What they need to do, though, is generate more of a pass rush than they have for much of the season.

A group still led by Watt and Cameron Heyward no longer is near the top of the NFL in sacks. That has been the case for several years. But the Steelers have generated just 36 sacks, or barely more than two a game.

Watt leads the Steelers with 11 1/2 sacks, but he has been held without one in back-to-back games, three of the past four and four of the past six. Alex Highsmith has six sacks while being healthy enough to appear in just 10 games. The defensive line, aside from Heyward, doesn’t get a consistent push or collapse the pocket.

The Steelers have blitzed on 24.4% of their defensive snaps, which ranks No. 14. That’s a 10% decrease in blitzes since last season. The Steelers also rank No. 28 generating quarterback hurries, and they are doing so on just 5.1% of all dropbacks, which ranks No. 30.

It might be time to dial up the blitz against the Bengals.

3. Protect Russell Wilson

Cracks along the edges of the offensive line were exposed against the Chiefs as left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and right tackle Broderick Jones struggled to contain a Kansas City pass rush that was missing Chris Jones. The Chiefs sacked Wilson a season-high five times.

When the Bengals arrive at Acrisure Stadium, they will do so with defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who has 13 1/2 of the team’s 30 sacks, putting him in the league defensive player of the year discussion. No player has more sacks than Hendrickson.

The Steelers held Hendrickson in check when they met in early December. Expect Cincinnati, though, to try to cut him loose and try to force Wilson into off-balance throws. While George Pickens made little impact in his return from a three-game absence, Wilson wasn’t afforded the time to lock in on his top receiver. Whether it’s using an extra tight end as a blocker or having Jaylen Warren take that role, the Steelers need to find a way to provide Wilson more protection.

4. Expand Warren’s role

Warren already has played at least 50% of the offensive snaps for the past four weeks and five times in the past six games. The exception was in Week 13 at Cincinnati when Najee Harris played the majority of the snaps.

Harris surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season against Kansas City, but with his diminished usage and his impending free-agent status, the Steelers need to find more work for Warren. It’s becoming evident Smith likes what Warren brings to the offense. With a chance to end a losing streak heading into the postseason, it’s the right time to feature Warren more prominently.

5 Slow down the passing game

In three games, the Steelers have dropped seven spots in pass defense, and they are yielding nearly 227 passing yards per game to rank No. 24 in the league.

The Steelers played without DeShon Elliott, Donte Jackson and Porter at various stages of the losing streak, but all could be healthy for the season finale. The Steelers must find a way to keep Joe Burrow from replicating what Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts did before him: expose the soft underbelly of the defense. Those elite quarterbacks found tight ends open across the middle, receivers in advantageous spots in the flat and put up a combined 90 points against the Steelers.

Burrow, if you’ll recall, had 309 yards passing and three touchdowns while helping the Bengals reach a season high in points against the Steelers in a 44-38 game Dec. 1. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins each scored touchdowns, and Mike Gesicki had five receptions.

The Bengals frustrated a defense that had all four starters in the secondary. That must change, or the Steelers could enter the playoffs riding a four-game losing streak.