PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't about to kick Kris Brown while he's down.

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Brown, who had one of the worst days ever by a Steelers kicker in missing four of five field goal attempts in a 13-10 loss Sunday to Baltimore, got a vote of confidence Tuesday from his coach -- and some advice.

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Bill Cowher suggested that, after practice ends Wednesday, Brown should go back to Heinz Field and kick at the windy end of the stadium where he missed two critical kicks in the fourth quarter Sunday.

"He should go over there in an empty stadium, about the same time (that he kicked Sunday), and get back on the bike, so to speak," Cowher said Tuesday. "He should go back over there, at same spot on the field, and go kick."

Unlike Three Rivers Stadium, where the Steelers were based from 1970-99 and also practiced, they now have a practice facility and offices on the opposite side of town and don't work out in Heinz Field.

As a result, Brown had only two games' worth of Heinz Field experience, plus a couple of exhibition games when the weather was much different, before going wide right on three of his four misses.

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Still, Cowher doesn't think an unfamiliarity with the wind currents that blow off the city's three rivers through Heinz Field's open end had any effect on Brown's misses.

Three Rivers Stadium was enclosed on all sides and, while it could be windy, the grandstands cut down some of the wind. At Heinz, the wind blows directly into the stadium through the open end where the scoreboard sits.

"You've got to kick on the road, and you don't kick there," Cowher said. "I don't think that's much of an issue. The wind is going to be different every week. Our practice facility is very open and windy, and those same conditions exist there with a left-to-right wind.

"He had no problem kicking a 50-yarder against Cincinnati (on Oct. 7) and it was pretty windy that day."

Brown, who kicked a career-long 55-yarder earlier this season and was 11-of-13 until Sunday, was told by Cowher that his role has not changed despite the misses.

"If we get the ball to their 30 (yard line), that's a minimum of three points in my mind," Cowher said. "Outside that, you have to take into consideration the conditions, the scenario of the game and the wind. But, to me, from 48 yards and in, that's three points with our guy."

Cowher, a former special teams coach, joked that, "I coached those guys for two years, and that's why I moved on."

"It's a lonely position, and it really requires a mentally tough, focused individual," Cowher said. "You can simulate everything you want, but there's nothing like being out there by yourself. You can simulate it all you want, but you still have to do it."

Despite losing the way they did, Cowher doesn't doubt the Steelers (5-2) will bounce back to play well Sunday at Cleveland (4-3), which is coming off an even more troubling loss than Pittsburgh. The Browns led the Bears 21-7 with a half minute to play, only to give up three quick touchdowns and lose 27-21 in overtime.

"I think from our perspective, we're not going to unravel with a game like this," Cowher said. "Games like this can make you a little bit tighter as a team, or so fragile that you start to fray a little bit. But I don't sense any fraying with this team."

Wide receiver Hines Ward said Brown was distraught when he reported Monday, but numerous teammates pulled him aside and told him they weren't blaming him for their first loss in six weeks.

"His head was down a little bit, but you can't fault Kris," Ward said. "He's going to make some big kicks for us, so let's get ready for Cleveland. He's feeling pretty bad now, but what's the sense of harping on it?"