By Alan Robinson

Published: Monday, October 15, 2012, 6:32 p.m.
Updated: Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Must-win? To linebacker Larry Foote, every remaining game is a must-win for the Steelers (2-3).

“I'm quite sure the coach (Mike Tomlin) isn't using ‘panic' but I'm using ‘panic,' “ Foote said. “I'm going panic in my play. … We can't lose any more. Five, six losses, you might not be in the playoffs. The panic button, we're tapping on it. We don't have two hands on it, but we're kind of nibbling on it.”

The AFC's top-to-bottom parity is working to the Steelers' advantage, because only the Texans (5-1) and Ravens (5-1) own vastly superior records. The other 14 teams all have at least two losses.

“There's definitely a lot of football left,” defensive end Brett Keisel said. “We dropped three games early, but there is time to climb out of the rut. And I look for this team to do that.”

Where's the run?

Exactly 100 Steelers players since 1960 — an average of nearly two per season — rushed for more yards in the first five games of a season than team leader Isaac Redman (127 yards) has. Even quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw and Kordell Stewart surpassed that figure twice. Since 1940, only the 1945 Steelers (370 yards) had fewer yards than this team's 374 yards.

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