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          NFL Nation

          Pittsburgh Steelers fall to No. 18 in ESPN rankings

          • Scott Brown, ESPN Pittsburgh Steelers reporterSep 30, 2014, 06:00 PM ET
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            • Covered Steelers for six years for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
            • Author of five books, including "Heaven Sent: The Heather Miller Story," which highlights the friendship a young girl with cancer developed with several Steelers players
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          The Pittsburgh Steelers tumbled seven spots in the ESPN NFL Power Rankings, dropping from No. 11 to No. 18 after a 27-24 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

          The two teams the Steelers trail in the AFC North are also far ahead of Pittsburgh in the power rankings.

          The Cincinnati Bengals remained at No. 2 after their bye week and the Baltimore Ravens jumped from No. 13 to No. 7 after drilling the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday.

          The Jacksonville Jaguars, the Steelers’ opponent this Sunday, are No. 31, ahead of only the Oakland Raiders in the rankings.

          Steelers coach Mike Tomlin assessed his team at the quarter point of the season on Tuesday and said the Steelers have played every bit like a 2-2 squad.

          “You're minus in turnover ratio and one of the most penalized teams in football, we probably should be thankful that we’re 2-2,” Tomlin said.

          A few notes:

          • The Steelers terminated the contract the contract of punter Adam Podlesh on Tuesday, shortly after Tomlin gave Brad Wing a vote of confidence. Podlesh did not report to training camp because of a family issue, and he hadn’t been with the Steelers since offseason practices. Tomlin said he is confident Wing will bounce back after a 29-yard punt late in the fourth quarter against the Buccaneers proved costly. “We can’t wait for him to have an opportunity to go back out and show what he is made of and rebound from that,” Tomlin said. “One thing he has done since we have had him, he has always had the opportunity and shown the capability of rebounding from negative punts.”

          • Two plays after Wing’s punt set up the Buccaneers’ at the Steelers’ 46-yard line, Mike Glennon and Louis Murphy connected on a 41-yard catch and run that led to Tampa Bay’s game-winning touchdown. Tomlin said the Steelers were in a zone and that everything from not enough of a pass rush to poor angles taken after the catch contributed to the longest play of the game by either team. “Usually when you fail in that manner it’s a combination of failure at all three levels, and really it was,” Tomlin said.