PITTSBURGH (AP) -The Pittsburgh Steelers' season didn't get started until they were nearly finished.

The Steelers plodded through an unimaginably poor first half of the season, turning the ball over a club-record rate and making numerous special teams mistakes. Only the No. 7 on the back of Ben Roethlisberger's jersey suggested he was the same quarterback who won the Super Bowl at age 23 in February.

Only when it seemed the rest of the NFL stopped paying attention, the Steelers (7-7) began making something of a going-nowhere season. Arguably the NFL's most disappointing team while going 2-6 in their first half of the season, they've crept back into playoff contention by winning three in a row and five of six.

Roethlisberger, who threw seven interceptions and no touchdown passes in his first three games, has been intercepted only once in his last three games. The special teams contributed a Santonio Holmes 65-yard punt return touchdown in a 37-3 rout of Carolina on Sunday.

``We're just playing together,'' running back Willie Parker said.

The schedule lightened after their first nine games, when they played five teams that currently have eight or more victories. They've also gone against a series of backup or rookie quarterbacks (Derek Anderson, Bruce Gradkowski, Chris Weinke), and teams with losing records (Browns, Bucs, Panthers).

Maybe they waited much too long to prove they can still play at a championship-caliber level. But, if nothing else, they've begun to silence the talk that winning the Super Bowl drained the competitiveness - and, maybe, their nastiness - from them.

``You really couldn't pinpoint why we weren't getting the thing done early in the year, but now we're gelling,'' wide receiver Hines Ward said. ``We don't care about stats. When the opportunity comes and somebody can make a play, they make it. We're not really worried about who's the guy, we're just going out and playing.''

Or, much like they were playing at this time last season. Then, they knew their next loss - be it in the regular season or playoffs - would end any chance they had of winning the Super Bowl.

That knowledge may have prevented them from getting distracted or looking too far ahead, and they are taking a similar approach now with two games remaining. Both are against division teams that defeated them earlier, the Baltimore Ravens (11-3) at home on Sunday and the Cincinnati Bengals (8-6) on the road Dec. 31.

Their 27-0 loss at Baltimore on Nov. 26 was their only bad performance since midseason, but it couldn't have been much worse. Roethlisberger was sacked nine times and their running game produced only 21 yards, the fewest they've gained since 1970.

``We can't turn back the clock. We have to continue playing, and what better way to redeem yourself than playing Baltimore?'' Ward said. ``It was one of those games you want to forget, and one of those games you want to make certain doesn't happen again this time.''

To Ward, that loss to the Ravens might have been the Steelers' worst-played game since he joined them in 1998.

``Once we adjusted, the game was out of reach,'' Ward said.

The playoffs aren't yet out of reach, though the Steelers need two victories and a string of upsets by other teams over the next two weekends to find their way back to the playoffs. For now, their motivation comes from the opportunity to prove that earlier loss to Baltimore was an anomaly.

``I think certainly we were, to a degree, embarrassed by what took place,'' coach Bill Cowher said. ``But it happened and the thing we've got to do now is to try to prepare ourselves and seize the opportunity we have this weekend.''

Cowher also said rookie Willie Colon, a fourth-round draft pick from Hofstra, will replace injured right tackle Max Starks (knee) against the Ravens. Colon hasn't played since the preseason, but was chosen over Trai Essex, a third round pick in 2005.

Also, Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu (knee) was upgraded from questionable to probable and is expected to play for the first time in four games.

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