Something's missing with the 2018 Steelers and it goes way beyond running back Le'Veon Bell.
This team has no identity.
Certainly the Steelers miss Bell. That becomes more apparent by the week as he lives it up in Miami, far away from the struggles of his former/current teammates.
A large portion of what's ailing this team comes down to that.
The latest example of that was Sunday night's 26-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. This team is making everything look too much like work. Everything is a struggle, from the start of the game right on through to the end. And it's happening each and every week.
There are too many mistakes being made. And too few plays. It's a lethal combination.
Is the problem a lack of coaching, preparation or ability, or is it some combination of all of those things?
Defensively, it comes down to the scheme. What the Steelers are doing doesn't work in today's NFL. It used to be OK to be a bend-but-don't-break defense because you could count on the opposing offense to make a mistake or two that would help the cause.
This defense, however, bends to the point of making contortionists uneasy.
Then again, given some of the things we're seeing around the league this season, given a lack of pure star power, there's not much else that does work defensively in this league.
There were 14 games played between Thursday night and Sunday in Week 4, involving 28 teams. Twelve of those teams scored 30 or more points. Five others scored 25 or more.
This is not the NFL of 10 years ago. Heck, it's not even the NFL of last season.
But it could be helped by any semblance of a running game.
Remember a couple of years ago when Ben Roethlisberger said the Steelers' goal was to average 30 points per game? As things currently stand, scoring 30 points per game wouldn't even put you in the top five highest-scoring teams in the league.
And six teams are allowing 30 or more points per game. That doesn't even include the Steelers, who actually improved their scoring defense with Sunday's effort against the Ravens. They're now allowing 29 points per outing.
The problem for this team in the first month has been, quite frankly, the up-and-down play of Roethlisberger. He needs a running game to help supplement things.
Roethlisberger leads the league coming out of Sunday's games with 1,414 yards passing. But that's also part of the problem.
James Conner had nine carries for 19 yards and now has 97 yards on 32 carries in the past three weeks.
They're too reliant on Roethlisberger's arm. They can't -- or won't -- run the ball. And when they try to do it, it seems like an inopportune time, such as back-to-back running plays to start the second half against the Ravens after passing their way back into the game.
And if Roethlisberger goes into a cold spell, as he most certainly did in the second half, the Steelers have nothing on which to fall back. The Steelers' only identity thus far this season is they are a team completely reliant on Roethlisberger having a monster day because it has nothing else.
"It's nothing to panic about," guard Ramon Foster said. "We've got to be a team that realizes what we are and turn it around. Nobody wants to be here, especially in Pittsburgh, with a 1-2-1 record."
What's that mean?
"As far as the way we execute and come out and finish games," Foster said.
See, even when it seems they might be figuring it out, they haven't.
• Roethlisberger was asked after this game what he needs to do to get back on the same page as Antonio Brown. They have looked off throughout the course of this season.
"I'm not on the same page with anybody right now," Roethlisberger said.
As they did in previous years with Roethlisberger, he has been taking Wednesdays off to rest his body. That's become even more important this year to have him not practice on Wednesdays because it gives young quarterbacks Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph more practice reps.
But Roethlisberger and Brown just aren't connecting as usual. It's almost as if the times Brown is seeing single coverage, Roethlisberger isn't seeing him. And when Brown is doubled -- or tripled -- is when Roethlisberger is forcing him the ball.
"We gotta make it happen," Brown said.
Indeed.
It might be time for Roethlisberger to start practicing on Wednesdays again. After all, he did it last year following a five-interception game against Jacksonville and rebounded well.
Even if it doesn't solve all of the issues, it sets the right tone for everyone else.
• There's a lot to like about Vance McDonald's game.
He's big, physical and surprisingly fast.
But he can't let a 210-pound defensive back such as Tony Jefferson take the ball from him as he did in the first quarter of this game. That just can't happen.
McDonald did partially make up for that by making a big catch-and-run in the second quarter that included him running Jefferson over. But that only drove home the point he can't allow Jefferson to strip him of the ball.
• This defense just isn't capable of consistently stopping people on short fields. And that's what McDonald's fumble gave the Ravens.
The other problem is that there aren't guys consistently making plays, particularly on the defensive line.
The Steelers have a lot of money tied up in Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt, and deservedly so. They are both much better players than what they have put on film thus far this season.
That's not to say they have played poorly overall. But they are being paid to be stars. The Steelers need more big plays out of that duo.
• The same could be said of T.J. Watt. He can't just show up against Cleveland twice a year and disappear as a pass rusher after that.
• The Steelers started a defense Sunday that included six first round draft picks -- five of their own and one from another team -- and three second-round picks -- two of their own and one from another team.
While none of the first-round picks outside of Joe Haden, who was selected by Cleveland, have been taken in the top 20 of the draft, they should be producing more than they are. That's a fair criticism.
The defense allowed three drives of 75 or more yards in this game, resulting in 17 points. Worse were the 12, 11 and 14-play drives in the second half that kept the offense standing on the sideline.
• Hey, Chris Boswell made all of his kicks Sunday. So perhaps that little bout of inconsistency is behind him.
• The special teams units also were solid in coverage and gave the Steelers some field position in the kickoff return game.
They also were not penalized in this game, which was a positive sign.
• As bad as the pass defense has been overall -- and it has been bad -- the run defense has been solid. The Steelers allowed a long run of 11 yards in this game and held the Ravens to 3.2 yards per carry.
That's been a recurring theme. The Steelers haven't been hurt by running backs carrying the ball. Quarterbacks, however, have been a different matter.
• Outside of its three scoring drives in the first half, the Steelers ran 30 plays for 55 yards on nine possessions. This from a team that returns five Pro Bowl players on that side of the ball.
That should never happen.