We've all heard the saying, "It's not how you start, it's how you finish."
And while that might be true in some cases, certainly in situations where there is a race involved, the Steelers are finding that to be not necessarily the case on the football field.
Of course, part of the problem is that the Steelers are neither starting nor finishing strongly. It's added up to a 1-2-1 record for the team heading into a Week 5 meeting Sunday at Heinz Field against the 1-3 Falcons.
"We don't like the state we're in," Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. "We met (Monday) and paused and talked about the game, but we also did a quarterly report and talked about the current status, but more importantly than that, we talked about some trends and things that have produced that."
A couple of disturbing ones that have emerged is that the Steelers have been outscored 42-6 in the first quarter and 44-9 in the fourth in their first four games, averaging more than 10 points allowed in the first and last quarters of each game.
That's not a solid recipe for success.
The numbers for the opening 15 minutes show an even greater disparity when looked at further. For example, the Steelers have run 44 plays on 11 possessions, an average of four per possession. They have had six three-and-outs and gained 231 total yards.
Opponents have gained 394 yards on 59 plays covering 12 possessions, scoring touchdowns on half of those possessions.
"We've got to get out of the gate quicker than we have to this point," Tomlin said. "We can't spot people points. We've got to do a better job of starting games on both sides of the ball."
The Steelers, like everyone else in the NFL, work off a script of 10 plays to start each game. Those scripted plays are things offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and Ben Roethlisberger have come up with that are either plays Roethlisberger really likes in a given week or are ones they feel will work well against that particular opponent.
But they haven't worked. The Steelers have yet to record a first down on their four opening possessions, going three-and-out on each occasion.
The defense has actually been a little better in those situations, forcing punts against Cleveland and Tampa Bay on their first possessions. It has, however, given up touchdowns to Kansas City and Baltimore, though the scoring drive against the Chiefs covered just 10 yards because of a punt return.
"We've got to start faster," Cameron Heyward told me. "We can't take time to warm up to a game. We've shown the ability to get stops. It's there. As an offense and defense, we've got to do a better job of helping each other out."
To Heyward's point, as badly as the Steelers have been opening and closing games, they've been outstanding in the second quarter, where they have outscored opponents 66-3. It's the only quarter in which they have outscored their opponents this season.
"It's there," Heyward said. "We have the ability to play good defense. We show that. But we have to do it more consistently."
The same goes for the offense. While overall, it ranks sixth in total offense and 10th in scoring -- despite being held in check in the 26-14 loss to the Ravens last Sunday -- it has performed in fits and spurts.
And it's been more fits early in games. Even if it doesn't score, the offense has to at least flip the field and not allow opponents a short field with which to work. Three of the six touchdowns the defense has given up in the first quarter have come on drives of 53 yards or less.
"We’ve got to come out and get first downs and not just go three-and-out and punt the football," Maurkice Pouncey told me. "We’re trying to work on that, to get into the flow of the game a lot more quickly rather than waiting for them to go do something, and then us go do something."
The key is looking at what is happening, why it is happening and changing that approach. Whether that is taking a more aggressive approach at the start of games or using different personnel remains to be seen.
One thing is certain, things can't continue like this if the Steelers hope to change the results.
"If we don’t change up what we’re doing and we don’t execute better, then to ask for a different outcome is insane," Heyward told me. "It makes no sense. We’ve got to get off the field. We’ve got to stop the run better. We’ve got to do things to be better on defense and get the ball back to our offense more."
The Steelers need to do that.
"We’re looking at what we’re doing schematically, what we’re doing in terms of preparation logistically leading up to the game," Tomlin said. "We’re looking at things that are within our control."