If you are a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, now would be a good time to worry.

The Steelers have struggled so far this season, both in the running game as well as the entire defensive side of the ball.

The Steelers (2-3) have lost to the Oakland Raiders (1-4), the Tennessee Titans (2-4) and the Denver Broncos (3-3).

Granted, all three losses have been on the road — the last two on field goals on the final play of the games — but the losses have been critical because they were AFC defeats, games the Steelers will desperately need while they jockey for a playoff spot, as a tiebreaker advantage may be needed.

That may be a foregone conclusion as the Baltimore Ravens have won four consecutive games to improve to 5-1, while the Cincinnati Bengals have dropped two straight to fall to 3-3.

The Ravens defense has been suspect all season — and may continue with the loss of linebacker Ray Lewis and cornerback Ladarius Webb for the season after last week’s game — but they have continually found a way to win.

After opening the season with a 44-13 blowout win over the Bengals; the Ravens lost a 24-23 decision to the Philadelphia Eagles; then a 31-30 win over the New England Patriots; 23-16 over the Cleveland Browns; 9-6 over the Kansas City Chiefs and 31-29 over the Dallas Cowboys.

If you’re keeping track, that’s 2-0 in the AFC North and 4-0 in AFC games.

The Bengals, after the loss to the Ravens, won their next three games — against Cleveland (34-27), Washington (38-31) and Jacksonville (27-10) — before tripping up against Miami (17-13) and Cleveland (34-24).

The only saving grace for the Steelers is they have yet to play a divisional opponent, although they will face the Bengals on Sunday night. They will most likely have to sweep Cleveland and pick up three out of four wins against the Bengals and Ravens to have a fighting chance.

The Ravens are looking to pull away early and a Steelers loss to the Bengals will do that and will make the Steelers watch the playoffs from home.

With the injuries that have befell Pittsburgh — Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, Isaac Redman, Rashard Mendenhall, Maurkice Pouncey, Marcus Gilbert, etc., who have missed some time — the Steelers will struggle and have a lack of continuity.

Also, blowing fourth-quarter leads against the Raiders and Titans, as well as a second-half lead against the Broncos shows the defense will struggle holding teams off late.

A stronger running game would help, but another patchwork offensive line can only do so much.

Temper your expectations for this year’s team and look for a draft pick in the middle of the first round that could help the team immediately next season.

The Steelers have proven they are never down for long. It’s just looking like this will be one of those seasons.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.