Steelers 0-2 against NFC East

Pittsburgh’s next game is with the Redskins and the Cowboys will follow.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — So far, as Steelers safety Ryan Clark pointed out Wednesday, the road to the Super Bowl hasn’t run through the NFC East for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers (5-2) are 2-0 in their own division and 5-0 against the AFC but are 0-2 against the NFC East, losing to the Eagles (4-3) and Giants (6-1) with the Redskins (6-2) up next Monday night in Washington. The Cowboys (5-3) visit Pittsburgh on Dec. 7.

“So far they’ve been beating the best team in the AFC North, huh?” Clark said.

The NFC East is doing a good job of beating everyone except themselves — the four teams are a combined 6-1 against the AFC, with the only loss by New York in Cleveland.

Just as worrisome for the Steelers is that playing every team in the NFL’s best division is taking a physical toll, too.

Running back Willie Parker, one of the NFL’s top rushers last season, sprained a knee against the Eagles on Sept. 21 and still hasn’t returned, although he is expected to play Monday night.

“We’re going to take it day by day but I’m really feeling a lot better,” Parker said. “I feel better out there running the plays. Hopefully I’ll be ready by Monday.”

Pro Bowl nose tackle Casey Hampton injured his groin against the Eagles and didn’t play again until the Steelers gave away a fourth-quarter lead in losing to New York 21-14 on Sunday. Now he’s dealing with a turf toe from that game.

Clark probably won’t play against Washington, his former team, because of a dislocated shoulder that occurred against the Giants.

The Steelers are now left wondering if the NFC East is the new Black-and-Blue division, the nickname once given to the NFC Central.

Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked 23 times in seven games, with more than half — 13 — against the Eagles (8) and Giants (5).

“They rush five guys and make you beat them. And they’re pretty good at that,” tight end Heath Miller said.

With an extra day off before the Monday night game, Roethlisberger didn’t practice Wednesday because of his sore right shoulder, a problem that could linger all season now that the Steelers have had their bye week.

“The whole NFC East is [similar to the Eagles and Giants],” Roethlisberger said. “They’re throwing a lot of blitzes at you. They’re all big guys who can move around and throw different looks at you and try to confuse you. We’ve seen it twice so far and we’ll see it again this week.”

Traditionally, the Steelers’ most physical games — and they’re considered one of the NFL’s most consistently physical teams — are against the division-rival Ravens. This season, Clark said, the NFC East teams provide a similarly difficult matchup.

“I came from there and I think it’s very similar to our division as far as the physicality teams play with,” Clark said. “We played Philly and New York and we haven’t won a game but we seem to be doing pretty well against the AFC. So we need to go down there and show we can win against those teams.”

Especially given the Steelers don’t get many breaks in their schedule.

After playing the Redskins, they meet the Colts (3-4), Chargers (3-5) and Patriots (5-2) — all playoff teams last season — before taking on the Cowboys. They also play the Bengals (0-8), but in a Thursday night game that will be played only four days after they meet the Chargers.

Beginning with the Colts’ game Nov. 9, the Steelers will play a demanding three games in 12 days, a potential problem given their relatively large number of injuries. Among those also injured are cornerback Bryant McFadden, guard Kendall Simmons, long snapper Greg Warren and running back Rashard Mendenhall.