The month of November has so far produced plenty of surprising results across the NFL, including with the Pittsburgh Steelers' lowly 16-16 tie against the Detroit Lions in Week 10.

Even though quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of the game, the Steelers were still being tabbed as the heavy favorites to pick up a home win over the Lions and extend their winning streak to five games.

Instead, the Steelers posted one of their more underwhelming performances of the season. For one, quarterback Mason Rudolph simply failed to get in a rhythm over the course of the game, as he notched a 4.84 yards per pass attempt average and a 70.6 passer rating. Even with the multitude of opportunities to score over the late stages of the contest, he led the team to a mere one combined scoring drive in the fourth quarter and overtime.

While the Steelers sure aim to turn the page following this sluggish showing, they may also take note of these three takeaways from the game.

Steelers Week 10 takeaways

3. Steelers' third down defense is the real deal

If there is one notable positive to take away from this home performance by the Steelers, it is that their third down defense sure can be relied on in crucial situations over games.

The Steelers came into this game with a 36.6 percent third down conversion percentage allowed on the season, which ranked at eighth in the league. They once again shined in this area of play against the Lions, as they held them to 4-18 (22 percent) on third downs.

Multiple defensive players stepped up for the Steelers in these such downs, including veteran defensive end Cameron Heyward. He picked up a combined two sacks on third downs in the fourth quarter and overtime. Overall, Heyward now sits at 4.5 sacks on the season, which is already more than he had all of last season (four) in 15 games played.

At the least, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin must be pleased with how Heyward and company stepped up time and time again in third down situations.

2. Missed opportunities in the red zone

The Lions came into Week 10 with arguably the worst red zone defense in the league. They allowed 20 touchdowns on 24 red zone drives over their opening eight games of the season, as this 83.3 red zone touchdown percentage allowed ranked at 32nd.

One would presume that as rookies Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth have been potent in this area of the field as of late, the Steelers would have their way in scoring red zone touchdowns with ease against the Lions. However, this was far from the case.

The Steelers finished the contest with a mere one touchdown from three red zone drives. From poor execution to questionable play-calling, the Steelers failed to exert a keen presence in this area of the field.

For one, the Steelers had four offensive plays in their second red zone drive of the game during the late stages of the second quarter and opted to call on a mere one rush attempt play for Harris. For a Lions defense that allowed 236 rushing yards in Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles, this sure was quite a puzzling move, especially as Harris has scored a notable four rushing touchdowns in the red zone this season.

Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada sure must address the team's apparent red zone struggles ahead of Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

1. Golden chance wasted to move to first place in AFC North

With the Baltimore Ravens' Thursday Night Football loss to the Miami Dolphins, it opened the door for the Steelers to move to the top of the AFC North standings with a home win over the Lions. But instead of taking advantage of such a golden opportunity at this point in the season, Pittsburgh came away with a tie result with Detroit to still sit in second place in the AFC North.

The Steelers will now have a monumental Sunday Night Football road matchup upcoming against second-year quarterback Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. On the other hand, the Ravens (Bears) and the Bengals (Raiders) each will also have a key road game next week.

In the big picture, there is still plenty of football to be played, but Pittsburgh sure can not afford a second consecutive winless result, especially as divisional matchups against the Bengals and the Ravens will follow in the team's schedule. As was the case over their 2018 and 2019 campaigns, a second half winless streak could result in them missing out on playing playoff football in January.