PITTSBURGH — After muddling along against teams with lowly records, the Pittsburgh Steelers may welcome Sunday’s showdown in Cincinnati, where they get a chance not only to play a Bengals team with a good record but also make their move in the AFC North.

At 8-3-1, the Bengals lead the division over the other three teams tied at 7-5. The Steelers have an advantage in that they play the Bengals twice, winding up the regular season against them at home. It is an open path to the AFC North title for Pittsburgh, but the Steelers have shown little inclination to take advantage of much this season.

Recently, they have lost two of their past three and in their only win at Tennessee they needed a fourth-quarter comeback from 11 points down to pull out a 27-24 victory against a Titans team that stands 2-10 after getting ripped 45-21 in Houston on Sunday.

“We’re shooting ourselves in the foot,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “We got too many good guys, too many good coaches to not win these games.”

Pittsburgh jumped in front of the New Orleans Saints 6-0 in the second quarter, but it was an ominous lead as their offense failed when it counted. Of their six drives in the first half, two ended on field goals, one an interception in the end zone, and another a missed 54-yard field-goal attempt because of a low center snap.

“In the early stages of the game, we were getting off (the field) defensively and we have to capitalize on that offensively and we didn’t,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We kicked the field goal and those types of things.”

The Saints responded with touchdowns, five of them by Drew Brees against a secondary that “welcomed” the return of injured veterans Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu. They were more a part of the problem than the solution.

“No room for error this week. December football,” said Taylor, per the team’s website. “It’s December football and winning teams separate themselves. We still have an opportunity, we just have to take care of what is in front of us. We are still in the hunt right now.

“Everyone just has to man up, handle their business and get ready for the Bengals.”

Now that same defense must move forward without 36-year-old defensive end Brett Keisel, a fiery veteran who was placed on season-ending injured reserve Monday with a torn triceps suffered against the Saints.

His roster spot was taken by Clifton Geathers, a sixth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2010 who has played in 37 career games with six difference teams.

Keisel was brought back to play a rotational role and while he started only one game, he was second among the team’s defensive linemen with 19 tackles and 12 quarterback pressures, and added six passes defensed to go along with his relentless motor and leadership ability.

Rookies Stephon Tuitt and Daniel McCullers are among those whose snaps will increase to fill the significant void left by Keisel.

NOTES: CB Brice McCain left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury and his status for this week is uncertain. … LB Ryan Shazier, listed as questionable on Friday, was inactive and missed the seventh game of the past nine in his rookie season. … NT Steve McLendon missed his second straight game and fourth in the past six with a shoulder injury. … CB Cortez Allen, who lost his starting job in the eighth game of the season, missed his first game with a broken thumb.

REPORT CARD VS. SAINTS

PASSING OFFENSE: D – Ben Roethlisberger threw for 435 yards, fourth-most in team history, but it was an ugly performance. With the chance to run up a good lead in the first half, Roethlisberger missed open receivers and threw a bad interception into double coverage in the end zone. He was intercepted twice – and New Orleans converted both for touchdowns eventually. He was 8 of 22 for 115 yards in the first half and finished by going 32 of 58 with 166 yards in the final two meaningless touchdown drives.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B – Le’Veon Bell ran 21 times for 95 yards (and set a team record with 159 yards receiving for a back on eight catches) and his third rushing touchdown of the season. However, the Steelers had to virtually abandon the ground game in the second half (when Bell ran six times for 13 yards) and the only other ones with carries were rookie Dri Archer, one for no yards, and a Roethlisberger scramble for eight yards.

PASS DEFENSE: F – Drew Brees had an economical day, completing 19 of 27 for 257 yards, five touchdowns and a 140.0 passer rating. He was sacked once and had no interceptions. His 69-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills came when cornerback Ike Taylor bit on a double move, leaving him five yards behind in single coverage. Defensive backs bounced off receivers trying to make tackles as well.

RUSH DEFENSE: D – Mark Ingram ran 23 times for 122 yards and the Saints’ ground game is what got their offense uncorked in the second quarter when, on third-and-2 at the New Orleans 40, Pierre Thomas took a pitch around left end for 13 yards. On the next two plays, Ingram ran for 32 yards to the 15. Brees then threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ben Watson for a 7-6 New Orleans lead the Saints never relinquished.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C – Shaun Suisham kicked three field goals but missed a 54-yarder just before halftime when Greg Warren’s snap was low and holder Brad Wing had trouble putting the ball in place. Markus Wheaton – their third kickoff return man this season – ran back their longest of 2014, a 41-yarder.

COACHING: F – The Steelers have now lost to two AFC South teams at home, Tampa Bay (2-10) and New Orleans (5-7), they have lost two of their past three games, including one to the New York Jets. Something is clearly amiss when they play teams with losing records because they have now lost to seven of them over the past two seasons.

When New Orleans had a second down at the Steelers’ 12 with 1:20 to go in the first half, coach Mike Tomlin declined to call either of his two timeouts. The clock ran down to 41 seconds after Ingram ran eight yards up the middle. They scored on the next play with 36 seconds left. The Steelers rushed back after the kickoff from their 20 to the New Orleans 36, where that 54-yard field goal was botched on the last play of the half. The Steelers took both timeouts into the locker room with them.