Nov 16, 2014 5 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A loss against the Jets still fresh in their minds, the Steelers are back on the road again with plenty on the line tonight.

After watching Houston defeat the Cleveland Browns Sunday to fall to 7-3, the Steelers (6-4) need a victory to jump ahead of them in the AFC North.

To do so, the Steelers will have to perform better against the Titans than they did last week against the Jets, when they turned the ball over four times and allowed New York to jump out to a 17-0 lead in a 20-13 loss.

“You aren’t going to be minus-4 in turnover ratio and win many football games, regardless of circumstance,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

Unfortunately for the Steelers, they’ve had their issues over the years facing the Titans on the road. Pittsburgh is just 2-6 at LP Field, including a 34-31 overtime playoff loss in 2003.

For a team that also has struggled against teams with bad records the past few seasons, losing eight of their past nine games against teams with winning percentages of .200 or less, that’s not a good combination.

At least the Titans (2-7) don’t fall in that category, though a loss to the Steelers would drop them to that seemingly magical .200 win percentage.

Also a concern is Pittsburgh’s offense, which has averaged more than 35 points per game at home but averages just 17 points per game on the road, where the Steelers are just 2-3.

“We’ve got to find a way to start fast,” said Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. “We can’t afford to fall behind, especially on the road.”

To do that, the Steelers will need more out of Bell, who leads the AFC in total yards with 1,213, but has produced just 56 rushing yards in the past two games.

“We’ve run the ball so well early that teams really focus on taking it away,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “When teams are loading up the box with eight and nine guys, there’s only so much you can do. You can’t force a run into something that’s a bad look. But that being said, of course we want to run the ball. We want to get it going and get Le’Veon back going on track and really kind of spark him and this team going again.”

Tennessee could provide the opportunity. The Titans rank 29th in the NFL run defense, allowing nearly 137 yards per game.

Rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger will make his third career start for the Titans. Since Dick LeBeau returned as defensive coordinator in 2004, the Steelers are 18-2 when the opponent starts a rookie quarterback.

They are unbeaten in those matchups when Roethlisberger starts.

“I’ve said many times that people talk about that and I’ve had really good players when we’ve played those rookie quarterbacks,” said LeBeau. “So we won more than we lost. That’s the reason my record is good, I had good players.”

The Steelers’ defense hasn’t been as good this season as it was when they made three Super Bowl appearances from 2005 through 2010, but it’s starting to show signs. In the loss against the Jets, Pittsburgh had a season-high four sacks and allowed just three points in the final three quarters.

Unfortunately for the Steelers, their offense, which has carried the team this season, didn’t score a touchdown until the game’s closing minutes.

“As a team we need to do a better job of starting fast,” said offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “When we have, we have had pretty good success. It’s a progression as the season goes on. It is about who is the best team in the end. We still have a lot of things to get better at and work on, and we have to play well this week.”

Pittsburgh is just 2-8 in games played in Tennessee. … The Steelers have not scored a rushing touchdown since a 37-19 victory at Carolina Sept. 21. … With nose tackle Steve McLendon (shoulder) out, rookie Daniel McCullers is expected to make his first career start for the Steelers. … Antonio Brown needs 98 receiving yards to match Buddy Dial (4,723) for the most in his first five seasons as a member of the Steelers. … Bell needs 114 rushing yards to surpass the 860 he had as a rookie last year.