PITTSBURGH -- Arthur Moats thought for a second and then basically pulled off the impossible.He managed to sound both angry and optimistic at the same time when asked how a team expected to run away with the AFC North finds itself mired at an uninspired 4-4 at the midway point following a lifeless loss in Baltimore .Frustrated. (Ticked), the almost serially upbeat linebacker said. Because we know the talent we have, how good we can be. But its just not been consistent.Not even close.The offense that wanted to average 30 points a game is averaging a full touchdown less than that. The defense hoping to take another step forward in defensive coordinator Keith Butlers second year instead finds itself still looking for traction.And the special teams? Check Twitter, where GIF-able versions of the blocked punt for a touchdown given up to the Ravens and Chris Boswells comedic attempt at a late onside kick (think hackey-sack trick gone awry) are there for your amusement.Weve got to be better, guard Ramon Foster said. Got to be pros about it, thats the best word I can use for it.And perhaps the most polite. A year ago, the Steelers began the second half at a similar crossroads then went 6-2 down the stretch to make the playoffs and give eventual Super Bowl champion Denver a serious scare in the divisional round.This start, however, feels different. Pittsburgh has dropped three straight, its longest skid since dropping the first four games in 2013. Whats worse, they havent even been competitive on the road.In each of their past three road losses the Steelers have managed all of 40 points and only one touchdown before pre-garbage time stat fillers that made the outcome more respectable.We have to realize we have to be a team that teams want to beat, Foster said. Weve got to treat ourselves like that. We cant drop an egg.Let alone three, all against middling teams that are all 4-4 themselves and none that entered September with the hype or the pedigree in Pittsburgh.Weve got to be the best team in the stadium, at least give the best effort, Foster said. Yesterday we werent that team.At least the Steelers will be home next Sunday, a place where theyre averaging a robust 28.5 points a game.Thats the good news. The bad news? Its against the surging Dallas Cowboys (7-1), who are tied for the best record in the NFL behind rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott.The kids with the blue star on their helmets have played with poise. The Steelers have not, at least not lately. Pittsburghs racked up 29 penalties over its past three games.At one point in the second half in Baltimore, the Steelers had been flagged for more yards than they gained.Were shooting ourselves in the foot, running back LeVeon Bell said. Its definitely not time to panic for us. We know how good we can be. Weve just to go put things together. Its been showing (but) weve lost three straight. Weve got to go and put it together.Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger included. While he managed to suit up just 20 days removed from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Pittsburgh struggled to get into any sort of rhythm until the Ravens were up by three touchdowns.By then it was far too late and the Steelers fell to 12-14 on the road in games Roethlisberger has started since 2013.Roethlisberger, as he typically does, shouldered a large portion of the blame saying I need to be more accurate.Maybe, but the issues currently plaguing his team are more widespread.Still, Roethlisbergers brilliance has often been enough to overcome whatever Pittsburgh lacks in certain areas. That hasnt been the case over the past month.Bell stressed theres no time to panic. And despite the current malaise, the Steelers are still right in the thick of a so-so AFC North.Considering how poorly theyve played of late, theyll take it. Mostly because they have to.We can still control what we want to control, Moats said.Better start soon.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Nike Football Jerseys . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. http://www.cheapjerseysnikenfl.com/ . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Cheap Jerseys China . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Nike NFL Jerseys China . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team.GENEVA -- UEFA disqualified Metalist Kharkiv from the Champions League on Wednesday for links to match-fixing in Ukraine and reinstated its previous opponent, PAOK Thessaloniki. World footballs most prized club competition has further legal issues with another team, Fenerbahce, also fighting expulsion over a years-old domestic match-fixing case as it prepares to play Arsenal in the playoffs next week. Metalist will challenge UEFAs verdict with an urgent appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and can ask for the sanctions to be frozen while the case is processed. "We regret that such a sanction was applied, and we do not agree with it," Metalist first vice-president Konstantin Pivovarov said in a statement. The Ukrainian club had been scheduled to travel to play Schalke next Wednesday in the first leg of the playoff round, after eliminating PAOK 3-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round last week. UEFA President Michel Platini led an emergency meeting Wednesday which decided that the Greek club will now go to Germany instead. The return match is on Aug. 27, with the winner advancing to the groups draw in Monaco two days later. Metalist appears to have ended its debut Champions League campaign unbeaten but in disgrace. It finished as runner-up last season to title winner Shakhtar Donetsk, breaking Dynamo Kyivs lock on the second entry allocated to Ukraine in the elite competition. "Metalist has won the right to participate in the 2013-14 Champions League in a fair fight," Pivovarov said. UEFA charged Metalist last week after CAS upheld sports director Yevhen Krasnikovs five-year ban, imposed by the Ukrainian Football Federation. Krasnikov allegedly helped fix a 2008 Ukrainian league match against Karpaty Lviv. UEFAs Champions League rules require clubs not to have been involved in fixing national or international matches since April 2007, when its legal statutes were updated. Fenerbahce officials were convicted in a Turkish criminal trial of helping fix matches during the teams successful rrun to the national league title in 2011.dddddddddddd They deny wrongdoing and have appealed. UEFA banned Fenerbahce in June from two seasons of European club competitions, but the sanction was frozen pending an appeal at CAS. Fenerbahce eliminated Salzburg in the third qualifying round to earn a playoff against Arsenal. The first leg is in Istanbul next Wednesday. CAS is preparing to set a hearing date for Fenerbahces appeal and aims to give a verdict before the draw in Monaco. Metalist, which was bought last December by new owners reportedly connected to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, also is seeking a legal fixture at Switzerlands highest court. The club has asked the Swiss Federal Tribunal to examine the 250-page CAS ruling which upheld Krasnikovs ban, in a case which saw several former Karpaty players banned from three to five years. Judges can overturn the sports courts ruling if legal process was abused. "I want to assure fans that we will fight for the rights of the club," Pivovarov said. Metalist had hoped UEFA would reach a similar verdict to one it pronounced in June on a third Champions League playoff club whose officials were implicated in corruption. Steaua Bucharest president Gigi Becali had a criminal conviction upheld by a Romanian appeal court in June. Among the charges, he was accused of attempting to pay bribes in 2008 to another club to play well against one of Steauas rivals for the league title. However, UEFAs disciplinary panel deferred Steauas one-year competition ban for a five-year probationary period after "taking into account certain mitigating circumstances." Cleared to enter the Champions League, the 1986 European Cup winner will host Legia Warsaw in the first leg next Wednesday. PAOKs return to the tournament affects the Europa League playoffs, which it had dropped into after losing to Metalist. PAOK wont be replaced in the playoffs and its scheduled opponent, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, will qualify directly for the Europa League group stage, UEFA said. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '