Did anyone else get an uneasy feeling Sunday when the Steelers settled for a 13-0 lead after three trips deep into Cincinnati Bengals territory?

I'm sure it did wonders for kicker Jeff Reed's confidence — after missing two field goals in the fourth quarter the week before against Chicago — but when you have a chance to go for the jugular in the NFL, you had better take it.

The Steelers didn't, and giving a quarterback like Carson Palmer a chance to keep it withing striking distance is dangerous, as Pittsburgh found out.

The Bengals are one fluke play away from 3-0 and tied with Baltimore atop the AFC North division. Pittsburgh is two games back after three weeks and hasn't even played the Ravens yet.

With its new, high-powered offense to go along with the usual strong defense, Baltimore appears to be the favorite in the AFC, even ahead of New England and Indianapolis.

The Ravens' defense looked weak in wins over Kansas City and San Diego, but their 34-3 shellacking of the lowly Cleveland Browns might be what they needed to spark themselves.

But back to the Steelers.

This is not what the defending Super Bowl champions envisioned at this point.

The defense has been great at times. But allowing touchdowns at the close of the first and second halves in the 17-14 loss to Chicago, and surrendering a field goal and touchdown in the first and second halves against the Bengals is a cause for concern.

More telling is that the defense allowed 24 fourth-quarter points in those two games, although the Steelers' offense has come up with zero points in that same span.

With the consecutive losses, the Steelers are, record-wise, in a five-way tie for eighth place overall in the AFC.

Of course, six teams make the conference playoffs, which, granted, are a long way off. Still, the team must play a balanced game, more than one half per contest, and be effective on both offense and defense.

The fact the offense was held mostly in check for the second half in both losses also is a danger sign.

It is imperative the Steelers win this Sunday's game against San Diego (2-1), which seems to be a heavy Super Bowl pick this year.

Pull out a win, take a breath and regroup. Another loss at this point would crush the team's psyche.

If not for Tennessee's 0-3 start, the same Titans that went 13-3 last year and were the No. 1 seed, the New York Jets moving to 3-0 under rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez and the Detroit Lions winning their first game in its last 20 tries, the Steelers' loss would have been the top story. Instead, it was pushed back in the national headlines.

Two painful road losses aren't the end of the world, but the Steelers can ill afford to fall back any further in the division.

If they can't stop the bleeding soon, any hope of a playoff spot, let alone defending their Super Bowl title, will vanish — no matter how many Terrible Towels fans twirl.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.