BALTIMORE -- Now that the boulder-sized chip has been knocked from its shoulder for a fifth time this year, and only middle linebacker Ray Lewis has demonstrated something approximating invincibility, the Baltimore Ravens defense must find a way to turn back the clock.

	Rod Woodson (26) and Duane Starks were left chasing Bobby Shaw on Sunday.

And, of course, start turning back opponents as well.

"There's no room for error now," said free safety Rod Woodson, one of the primary targets of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense in Sunday night's 26-21 defeat that dropped the Ravens to 8-5. "If it's not a time for panic, then it's the time for action, and (the defensive players) are usually the ones who set the tone around here. We have to get back to the attitude we had last year. For whatever reasons, we're not playing with the same recklessness, and we need to get it back."

For sure, a defense that swaggered in 2000, more often staggered in its latest defeat. Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey appeared to have a remedy for every situation, kept the Ravens back on their heels with his brilliant play calling, and wasn't timid about attacking the Baltimore secondary.

The result of his handiwork was more than just a loss that snapped the Ravens' winning streak of two games, but one that immediately forced some introspection in the Baltimore locker room, and left a few defenders shaken by the unit's inability to dominate in a game regarded as a barometer of both teams' mettle. But while Pittsburgh played with a steely confidence, the Ravens showed all the resistance of a sheet of aluminum foil.

Baltimore surrendered 476 yards, its most porous performance of the season, and the largesse was particularly galling to players because of the opponent and the circumstances. The loss dropped the defending Super Bowl champions into sixth place among AFC playoff contenders and, while a wild card berth seems likely, nothing can be taken for granted at this point.

Following a weeklong war of words, the Ravens failed to back up their diatribe with deeds, and it was obvious at several junctures of the game that they were the hittees instead of the hitters. Their secondary, especially in the interior, was soft. Tony Siragusa was dominated by Pittsburgh left guard Alan Faneca, who was able to seal or turn the gargantuan tackle seemingly at will. Corner Chris McAlister was overmatched by wide receiver Plaxico Burress and lacked ball awareness. The pass rush was negated by 10 Kordell Stewart scrambles for 55 yards.

If this was supposed to be a game that determined the identity of the league's best defense, then the vote is a landslide, as the Ravens unit continues to slide.

There are some mitigating circumstances. Two of the four starting linemen, tackle Sam Adams and end Michael McCrary, are out of the lineup with injuries and the latter is lost for the rest of the year. Linebacker Peter Boulware is being forced to play end, and the number of snaps there is eroding his physical strength. Cornerback Duane Starks, heading into unrestricted free agency in the spring, is having a terrible year. Woodson is a step slower and "nickel" safety Carnell Lake should have simply retired when the Jacksonville Jaguars cut him this summer.

Despite all the problems, the Ravens defense is still a formidable group that no one wants to see in the playoffs, but it simply isn't as suffocating as a year ago. Mention that reality and it earns a bristle from some members of the proud unit. But the truth is, the bully-boys of the league have been put in their place to an extent, and must regain the collective red-ass with which all its stars operated in 2000.

	Defensive decline?
	Here's how the Baltimore Ravens defense compares at the 13-game mark of the 2001 season to the per-game averages it posted during its record-breaking 2000 campaign:
	Category	2000	2001
	First downs	13.5	16.8
	Total yds.	247.9	290.2
	Rushing yds.	60.6	80.9
	Passing yds.	187.3	209.3
	3rd-down conversion	34.1%	33.3%
	Possesion time	26:41	30:46
	Touchdowns	1.0	1.8
	Sacks	2.2	2.8
	Takeaways	3.1	1.5

The Ravens still talk the talk, all right, but they need to walk the walk again. If not, and especially with the offense sputtering and quarterback Elvis Grbac prone to streak of erratic accuracy, this is a team that won't walk to the podium to collect another Vince Lombardi Trophy in seven weeks.

"If someone would have told me a team could control the ball on us for over 70 plays and more than 40 minutes of possession time, I would have thought they were crazy," said weak linebacker Jamie Sharper. "But they did it. We just couldn't knock them off the field."

Pittsburgh had just two "three-and-out" series on 10 possessions. Three times they had drives of more than 10 snaps. Six of their series lasted three minutes or longer. The monster possession, at the outset of the second half, consumed 11:15 and the Steelers reeled off 16 offensive snaps. And while the series failed to produce any points, as troubled Steelers kicker Kris Brown hammered a 32-yard field goal attempt off the right upright, it clearly send a message.

In this game, at least, the Steelers were the toughest dudes on the AFC Central block.

None of this is to suggest that the Ravens, who feel they must win two of their final three games to secure a wild card spot, are as toothless as a backwoods farmer or as phony as an Oprah show. The champion's crown still belongs to them until somebody yanks it off their heads. And this is still a proud unit capable of punishing most teams who challenge it. That said, it is not the same unit as a year ago, and the numbers bear that out.

In 13 outings, Baltimore has already surrendered more first downs, more rushing yards and more touchdowns than it did a year ago. Any team that watched Sunday night's game should know the beast isn't as ruthless as it once was, that there are some holes in coordinator Marvin Lewis' unit, some areas that can be exploited.

Of course, drawing up a blueprint for attacking the Ravens, and then succeeding in implementing it, are two different things entirely. Right now, the Ravens are a team that is experiencing more blunders than bluster. What they need to do, some veterans acknowledged, it quit fretting about taking a good game and go out and play a good game.

This remains an elite defense, one plenty good enough to serve as catalyst for a postseason run, but one that needs to haul that boulder back up on its shoulder. The attitude of the defense could well determine the altitude this Baltimore team reaches.

"We need to get the fire back," Lewis said. "And now."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.