Steelers’ curtain has some rips

Pittsburgh’s defense needs a patch, Green Bay is pulling for a Carolina rookie and Norv Turner’s team is starting to come together.

A look at 10 things to watch heading into Week 16 of the NFL season:

Dented steel

1 Quick fixes aren’t easy to come by, but the Pittsburgh Steelers had better find one. Their defense, though still ranked No. 1, is really struggling against the run -- it yielded 224 yards to Jacksonville on Sunday, the most against the Steelers in seven years -- and has only four days to prepare for St. Louis, whose Steven Jackson is coming off a 143-yard rushing performance against Green Bay. In the last two weeks, the Steelers have surrendered 63 points and 842 yards in losses to New England and the Jaguars.

Northern exposure

2 Don’t look now, Steelers, but the Cleveland Browns are closing in on you in the AFC North. The teams are tied atop the division at 9-5, although Pittsburgh wins the tiebreaker because it swept the season series. The rumbling Browns close out the schedule at Cincinnati (5-9) and at home against San Francisco (4-10). In terms of records, the Steelers have an even softer landing: at St. Louis (3-11) and at Baltimore (4-10).

Cha-Ching Crosby

3 Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby has scored an NFL-high 130 points and is poised to become the first rookie to lead the league in scoring since Chicago’s Kevin Butler did so in 1985. The Packers play at Chicago on Sunday -- with a chance to avenge one of their two losses -- and finish at home against Detroit. It might interest Crosby to know the Lions have given up a league-high 390 points.

New England Greatriots

4 Fourteen down, two to go. The Patriots are on the verge of joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams in the modern era to win every regular-season game. In fact, they’re already the only teams to win their first 14 games. With the Dolphins and New York Giants remaining on the docket, the Patriots have made it clear they aren’t backing off one bit. Sorry, Matt Cassel, Tom Brady says he’s pushing to play every snap.

Brady’s bunch

5 Brett Favre isn’t the only quarterback in the midst of a record-breaking season. New England’s Brady is on pace for a big one of his own. He needs only five touchdown passes to surpass Peyton Manning’s single-season mark of 49. It’s no coincidence that Brady’s favorite target, Randy Moss, is within striking range of Jerry Rice’s single-season mark of 22 receptions for touchdowns. Moss has 19 with two games to play.

Shoulda been a Cowboy

6 Rookie Matt Moore, the fourth quarterback to start for Carolina this season, is coming off an impressive debut in an upset victory over Seattle. Now comes another big test: a Saturday game against Dallas, the team that cut him at the end of training camp. The Panthers (6-8) are still clinging to a shred of hope they can reach the postseason, but that’s a real longshot. Their final two opponents, Dallas and Tampa Bay, are a combined 21-7.

Green means go

7 Unlike the AFC, in which the Patriots have clinched home-field advantage, the NFC is still up for grabs. Green Bay and Dallas are tied at 12-2, although the Cowboys have the tiebreaker by virtue of their Nov. 29 victory over the Packers. Still, anything can happen, especially in this exciting and unpredictable season for Green Bay. If the Packers get to play all their postseason games at Lambeau Field, they might just glide all the way to Super Bowl XLII.

Mr. No. 1-derful

8 For a while, the Houston Texans looked brainless for passing on Reggie Bush in the 2006 draft and instead selecting defensive end Mario Williams with the top pick. The Texans don’t look so foolish anymore. Bush, who’s now out because of an injury, has been good but not great as a pro. Williams, meanwhile, leads the AFC with 13 sacks and has been a backfield menace in recent weeks. That Houston is out of the playoff picture won’t stop him from trying to chase down another No. 1 selection, Peyton Manning, on Sunday.

Moving on up

9 The San Diego Chargers are dangerous. After futzing around this season, losing games they simply shouldn’t have lost, they have quietly found their groove and Sunday clinched the AFC West. They play host to Denver on Christmas Eve with something valuable at stake. San Diego is trying to edge Pittsburgh for the No. 3 seeding, ensuring they wouldn’t have to play at New England until the AFC championship game.

Weather or not

10 Hard to believe, but winter is still four days away. The elements were in full swing last weekend, though, with snowy games in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and freezing rain in Foxborough, Mass. The coldest spots Sunday could be Chicago, Cincinnati, Buffalo and New England, where faithful fans will be glued to their sets -- or frozen to their seats.

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sam.farmer@latimes.com