PITTSBURGH — The Steelers defense continues to be historic, but not in the manner Mike Tomlin intended.

Their second-half implosion in Sunday night's 35-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers was just another indication of the problems they are having with their schemes or talent — or both.

"It's coaches, it's players, it's all of us," Tomlin said.

After giving up 28 points and 289 of the Packers' 454 total yards in the second half, the defense continues to wallow in numbers that highlight their inefficiencies.

For example:

— They have allowed 922 yards in the past two games, the most since they allowed 929 in the first two games of the 1988 season.

— They have allowed 30 or more points four times in the first seven games for the first time since the 2003 season.

— Their recently purchased secondary has allowed back-to-back 300-yard passing games for the first time in seven years.

And they have gone three games without a takeaway for the first time since the 2022 season.

That's not to mention allowing Packers quarterback Jordan Love to tie a franchise record by completing 20 consecutive passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. The NFL record for consecutive completions in a game is 25, set by Philip Rivers and Nick Foles, both in 2018.

"We have to handle adversity a lot better," defensive end Cam Heyward said. "This game kind of eroded in the second half. Big plays were the death of us. You're not going to be perfect out there, but you have to keep fighting. I just think there's a lot of ball, and not enough fight on our side."

It looked as though the Steelers defense would rebound from their embarrassing performance in Cincinnati when they held the Packers to 19 yards rushing on seven attempts and didn't allow a third-down conversion (0 for 4) in the first half. The Steelers were leading 16-7 at halftime.

But that all changed in the second half. The Packers ran for 75 yards, passed for 224 yards and converted 5 of 8 third-down chances. Two of their biggest plays — a 57-yard catch-and-run by tight end Tucker Kraft and a 33-yard completion to receiver Christian Watson — came on third down and led to touchdowns.

"I don't think we handle adversity," Heyward said. "That second half just kind of split open. If you get hit hard enough you have to have answers for it. Part of being a professional is fixing your mistakes fast and answering those problems. This is a lesson we all can learn from. Hopefully, it hits home fast."

The Steelers will get another chance to handle adversity — and in a big way — when they play host to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

The Colts (7-1) have scored at least 31 points in six of their eight games and lead the NFL in scoring (270 points) by a wide margin. Running back Jonathan Taylor leads the league with 850 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns.

"You know, we all have to own it," Tomlin said. "Certainly you start with the schematics because that's the leadership component of it. And certainly we'll be looking at everything that we're doing because some of these problems are somewhat repetitive. We're not getting better fast enough."

But maybe it's more than the schematics, and that's the worrisome part.

Despite all the offseason additions in the secondary (and the money spent to do so), the Steelers have given up back-to-back 300-yard passing games — a total of 688 yards — for the first time since the 2018 season. The loss of safety DeShon Elliott, who has what Tomlin called a "significant" knee injury, will not help.

"We've just got to be better in all areas, and it starts first with the positions that we put players in," Tomlin said. "We own it. We'll be better. We have to be."

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