PITTSBURGH — Like many of his brethren, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Todd Haley comes up with a series of scripted play calls to start each game.

Might be time for a re-write.

The Steelers have been anemic in the first quarter during their 2-5 start, totaling all of 19 points in the opening 15 minutes. Only three teams have scored fewer points in over the same span.

“We’ve kind of put ourselves in a hole,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “It’s hard to get out of it.”

And the numbers are hard to look at.

Pittsburgh has more turnovers (three) than touchdowns (two) in the first quarter, and 10 of its 19 drives have ended without generating a single first down. And while a rash of injuries along the offensive line and instability at running haven’t helped the Steelers find any cohesion, figuring out why they’ve been so lifeless in the early going is difficult to pin down.

“It’s not the same reason every time,” Haley said.

In the opener against Tennessee, the Steelers were six yards away from going up 9-0 when Roethlisberger and Isaac Redman muffed a handoff. The ball rolled into the end zone and the Titans recovered.