Steelers “need to be cleaner” in the red zone

The Steelers beat the Ravens 18-16 last Sunday and they pulled out the win despite failing to score a touchdown over the course of the game.

It’s the second time that the Steelers have done that this season, which illustrates the strength of their defense and kicking game this season. Strong as those units might be, it’s hard to win NFL games without touchdowns and it’s not something that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith would like to try again.

Smith said Tuesday that the team has to be sharper in the red zone if they want to continue winning games.

“I got a lot of faith,” Smith said, via Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “And there’s some other things we could do. We need to be cleaner. The biggest thing that concerns me overall is we haven’t turned the ball over a lot, but that’s two weeks in a row and in close games we turned the ball over in the red zone and come away with no points. That’s a stuff you’ve got to fix because that can cost you.”

Thursday’s trip to Cleveland offers a chance for Smith and quarterback Russell Wilson to show they can run a more efficient operation.