PITTSBURGH (AP) -Playing the San Diego Chargers on the road figures to be difficult enough for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That's why coach Bill Cowher doesn't want them thinking about the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals, too.

The Steelers (1-2) are down 2 1/2 games to Baltimore (4-0) and 1 1/2 games to Cincinnati (3-1) in the AFC North, but Cowher said Tuesday that it's way too early in the season to be fretting over a poor start.

``I don't think anybody is pushing a panic button,'' he said. ``I think there's some sense or urgency in practice. We've got to take that and transfer that onto the field. We knew this first month we would face some pretty good football teams. We're not where we want to be.''

A season ago, the Steelers were down two games to Cincinnati in December with four to play and still caught them, though the Steelers went into the playoffs as a wild card because Cincinnati held the tiebreaker advantage.

The Steelers got a split decision in the division during their bye week. Baltimore pulled off a late comeback to beat the Chargers 16-13 and remain undefeated, but the Bengals took their first loss - 38-13 at home to the New England Patriots.

With three months of the season, two games against Baltimore and one against Cincinnati remaining, Cowher said he is confident that his team has enough time to rally.

``The biggest thing is for the players not to get caught up in looking to what Baltimore and Cincinnati's doing,'' Cowher said. ``That's the biggest thing, getting better every day in practice, and then consistently taking that out onto the playing field, each unit improving on the previous week. You've got to be narrow-minded and short-term-focused this time of the year.''

Especially when so much needs improvement, including the passing offense and special teams.

The Steelers are fifth from the bottom in the NFL in passing with an average of 172 yards per game. (San Diego is lower still, third from the bottom, as quarterback Philip Rivers has struggled predictably at times in his first season as a starter.)

Cowher said he thinks the passing game will come around now that Ben Roethlisberger is settling in following the disruptive bout with appendicitis that kept him out of practice for 10 days.

Roethlisberger came into the season with a 27-4 record as a starter but has lost both of his starts - not a surprise given that he has thrown five interceptions and no touchdown passes. His passer rating of 34.3 is so low, it doesn't rank among the NFL's top 30.

``Getting Ben back out there and working every day is going to help to create some of the timing and continuity,'' Cowher said. ``I think those things will get better.''

Roethlisberger's missed practice time also might have slowed his adjustment to a reshuffled group of receivers. With Antwaan Randle El gone, Cedrick Wilson is playing more than he did last season and so is second-year pro Nate Washington. First-round pick Santonio Holmes has yet to play his way into the lineup, but Cowher said he is not dissatisfied with his progress.

``We have some young guys that need to play,'' Cowher said.

Also, Hines Ward hasn't produced the way he has in the past. He has been held to 99 yards receiving in three games.

The schedule hasn't helped, either. The Steelers waited 11 days before playing their second game, a 9-0 loss to Jacksonville. Then, after a 28-20 loss to the Bengals in Week 3, must wait 14 days - they were off last week - before facing San Diego (2-1) on Sunday night.

Cowher doesn't like where the Steelers' bye week fell, but won't use it as an excuse.

``It's hard early to get a true assessment of who you are and where you are, Cowher said.

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