PITTSBURGH — — Their once-promising season on the brink of a full-out collapse, the Pittsburgh Steelers headed to the locker room for halftime at Heinz Field on Sunday still searching for the team that began the season with 11 straight victories.

Ben Roethlisberger believed it was still in there somewhere. Even as the losses in December piled up. Even as the offense spent weeks stuck in neutral. Even as attrition pecked away at one of the NFL’s best defenses.