If there is any bright side to the way the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense has played over the last two games, it was the first-half performance against the Green Bay Packers last Sunday night.

The Steelers held the potent Packers' offense to one touchdown in the first half while building a 16-7 lead. Then, in the second half, the defense was overwhelmed. The Packers scored 28 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter, as they rallied for a 35-25 victory at Acrisure Stadium.

However, Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin stopped far short of calling the first half a moral victory. At the same time, Austin does not want to get too negative with his players and kill morale.

"The bottom line is wins and losses," Austin said. "It's what you do. You have got to win or lose in this league. That's what it boils down to. But it's like anything. A lot of things aren't binary. You could find something to teach off, something to coach off in all these things, because what you don't want to do is go in there and just talk about how bad everything is, because that's not how it is. There were some good things that happened in that game. There were some guys that had a decent performance, and then there were others that didn't. Starting with me."

Austin is embattled even though the Steelers lead the AFC North with a 4-3 record. They have allowed 68 points combined while losing their two games and are last in the NFL in total defense.

The Steelers have allowed at least 31 points in four of their seven games this season. Now, next up are the Indianapolis Colts (7-1), who bring the NFL's best record and the top offense to Acrisure Stadium on Sunday.

The Colts also lead the league in scoring with an average of 33.8 points per game. So how does Austin get the defense fixed – or at least improved – by Sunday?

"I just kind of look at what we're doing, the process, what I'm telling them, how I'm telling them, trying to make sure that they're getting the right points, that I'm getting the right points across to them so we're all on the same page," Austin said. "I just continue to look at my process to make sure it's right, and try to help our guys, because that's my job, to try to help our guys play better."