Steelers RB Chris Rainey runs past Cincinnati Bengals safety Nate Clements to score a touchdown on Oct. 21. Rainey has also been dynamic on kickoff returns. (AP)

When the Pittsburgh Steelers were foundering at 2-3 after a third road loss Oct. 11 against Tennessee, coach Mike Tomlin and his coaching staff decided to narrow the team's focus.

The Steelers came up with three "big-theme things'' where significant improvement was necessary to turn the season around before it spiraled out of control, and Tomlin reiterated those things Tuesday afternoon during his weekly press conference.

On offense, the Steelers were among the NFL's worst at slightly less than 3.0 yards per carry. The Steelers have won three straight since that time to forge a 5-3 record, and it's no coincidence that the running game has been a boost with 5.1 yards per carry.

"On defense, I think opponents were converting about 49 percent of their third-down opportunities against us,'' Tomlin said. "We've challenged ourselves in that way, and we've grown to where [the New York Giants] were 2-10 [Sunday]. The cumulative number is down to about 41 percent, which is close to what we're comfortable with (and 28.57 percent the last three weeks).

"There's still room for growth in that area, but it's been better. ... I just think we're growing and doing it better. We're not doing anything differently. We've had some young guys playing situational football, like Cortez Allen, and he's starting to play a lot better now. So, there's nothing different schematically, but the packages are bigger now than they were earlier in the year.''

The third area where they intensified their focus was special teams, but the Steelers were their own worst enemy in this area. A number of long returns, including several would-be touchdowns, were nullified due to penalties. Rookie Chris Rainey, who has been dynamic on kickoff returns, and Antonio Brown, who has been dazzling on punt returns, were both affected by senseless blocking infractions and holding calls.

Tomlin threatened to take helmets away and have players watch from the sideline if the penalties continued, and repeat-offender DeMarcus Van Dyke was benched Oct. 28 against the Washington Redskins. That move apparently was a deterrent, because the club improved in that area in ensuing games.

In the most recent contest against the Giants, Emmanuel Sanders returned a punt 63 yards to significantly alter the Steelers' field position as well as their fortunes. Sanders also had a touchdown catch in the comeback victory. His profile increased as the game wore on, because fellow wideout Antonio Brown injured an ankle, while rookie running back Chris Rainey bruised his ribs.

Their status is up in the air for Pittsburgh's game against the Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) on Monday night at Heinz Field. If neither can play, Sanders will be the club's top punt- and kickoff-returner. Tomlin said that Rainey "has an opportunity to play,'' but Brown's participation "is in doubt.''

Offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (ankle) and safety Troy Polamalu (calf) are likely to miss another game, but they could practice on a limited basis this week. Gilbert has missed the last three games, while Polamalu has missed four straight and six of the club's eight.

Running back Rashard Mendenhall, who sat out the opening three games this season while rehabbing a knee injury that required surgery after last season, has sat out the last three victories with an Achilles problem. Tomlin said he is questionable this week, although his practice time should increase.

Linebacker Stevenson Sylvester is also questionable with a hamstring injury, but running back Jonathan Dwyer should practice this week with an eye on returning to the lineup after missing last week due to a quad injury. Dwyer started and ran for more than 100 yards in the previous two games, while Mendenhall and Isaac Redman (ankles) were sidelined.

Redman returned against the Giants and ran for 147 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries. Tomlin said that he and outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley (hamstring), who played despite being slightly injured the last two weeks, did not worsen their conditions in the game and should be even better this week.

Notes: With Brown's status in question, Tomlin said the Steelers could add a wideout to the roster this week. They have two on their practice squad: Toney Clemons and David Gilreath.

Follow Dale Grdnic on Twitter for real-time updates from Steelers training camp @CBSSteelers.