Steelers' Roethlisberger: 'I need to play better'

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger experienced a tale of two halves during Sunday's 26-14 setback to the Baltimore Ravens. After throwing for 224 yards in the first half, Roethlisberger saw the Steelers' offense muster just 47 yards in the second. All told, Pittsburgh (1-2-1) rushed for just 19 yards and converted just 2 of 12 third-down opportunities in the game. "I didn't make enough throws and we didn't convert first downs," the 36-year-old Roethlisberger said. "We were terrible on third downs. That's on me. We didn't make enough plays in the second half." When asked if he's on the same page with outspoken wide receiver Antonio Brown, Roethlisberger was quick to respond. "I'm not on the same page with anybody right now," Roethlisberger said. "I'm not playing well enough. I need to play better. (It) was just a bad day at the office. I promise I'll be back to play better." Roethlisberger connected with Brown on a 26-yard touchdown toss, but the latter didn't catch a pass on four targets in the second half. Roethlisberger attempted to force the ball into double coverage late in the fourth quarter, with the end result being an interception after linebacker Anthony Levine undercut the route. Justin Tucker's fourth field goal of the second half capped the scoring for the Ravens (3-1). With game flow in his favor, Roethlisberger threw for 1,140 yards against the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had just 50 yards passing in the second half versus Baltimore. "We went a lot of no huddle and got into a rhythm and when you're converting and getting first downs you can get new sets of downs and more things happen," Roethlisberger said. "We did not make enough plays in the second half to do that." --RB Le'Veon Bell is expected to report during Week 7, the Steelers' bye week, according to an ESPN report on Monday. Bell, who has not yet signed or reported to the team after it franchise-tagged him for the second-straight season this offseason, would miss two more games but return for the Oct. 28 game in Pittsburgh against Cleveland if the report is accurate. The Steelers, who had 19 rushing yards on Sunday in a loss to Baltimore, are also reportedly exploring trade options. --WR Antonio Brown caught five passes for 62 yards and scored his second touchdown in as many weeks. --LB Vince Williams suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday. Williams exited the game during the second half of Pittsburgh's 26-14 loss and did not return. --WR Darrius Heyward-Bey sustained an ankle injury during Sunday night's game. --DB Mike Hilton missed Sunday night's game with an elbow injury. --S Terrell Edmunds recorded his first career fumble recovery near Pittsburgh's end zone of the second quarter of Sunday's game.