Steelers’ D ailing without Polamalu

Photo by: Keith Srakocic

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo

New York Jets' Brad Smith (16) returns the opening kickoff Pittsburgh Steelers safety Will Allen (26) for a touchdown) in the first quarter of the NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010 in Pittsburgh.

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

There’s no denying the Pittsburgh Steelers are a different team without safety Troy Polamalu.

Their record over the last two seasons says so, and so does the way they played in a 22-17 loss to the Jets on Sunday that at least temporarily delayed them from winning the AFC North.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, so skittish while throwing four interceptions and fumbling five times in two games, didn’t commit a turnover against Pittsburgh. He also was sacked only once by a defense that typically torments young quarterbacks who haven’t previously seen their myriad of blitzes and coverages.

No doubt the Steelers are asking themselves whether Polamalu’s presence would have made Sanchez reluctant to be as patient in the pocket as he was, or to throw some of the floater-type passes that fell incomplete but weren’t intercepted.

Polamalu, kept out of the Jets’ game by a strained right Achilles’ tendon, probably won’t be ready for Thursday night’s game against Carolina (2-12) since the Steelers (10-4) will have had only three full days off before playing. His status for the Steelers’ regular season-ending game at Cleveland (5-9) on Jan. 2 also is in doubt because of a painful injury he aggravated Dec. 5 against Cincinnati.

While the Steelers already are in the playoffs, they’d certainly like Polamalu to be there once the postseason begins — one reason why they likely won’t rush him back.

“Whether or not he plays or anyone else plays will be based solely on health,” coach Mike Tomlin said Monday. “Troy’s experiencing some discomfort in his lower leg but, as soon as the discomfort subsides, he’ll be back in action. I think we’re moving closer to that. We’ll see where this week takes us.”

During the last two seasons, the Steelers are 14-4 when Polamalu plays but 5-7 when he doesn’t. He missed 11 games last season with a pair of left knee injuries.

The Steelers players wouldn’t blame their third home-field loss this season on Polamalu’s absence, but it came immediately after he played several of his best games all season. Polamalu was the AFC defensive player of the week the previous two weeks, and had made four interceptions in four games.

“Is he is the best defensive player in the league, according to me? Without a doubt,” safety Ryan Clark said. “Have I ever played with anyone like him? Not even close. But you can’t put all that on him. Guys that are on the field have to be accountable for what we put out there. All we needed was one play in the second half — we just needed somebody just to make one play.”