Changes made to stabilize Steelers
Steelers cornerback Brice McCain scored a touchdown two weeks ago against Jacksonville and will start in place of Cortez Allen tonight against Houston.
Injuries give Stephon Tuitt an opportunity to make his pro start at defensive end for Pittsburgh tonight.
PITTSBURGH – As Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spent the week looking for playmakers following Pittsburgh’s 31-10 loss at Cleveland last week, his team spent that time trying to figure out how to get out of its win-one, lose-one cycle.
The Steelers followed that script throughout this season, alternating wins and losses through their first six games.
If it holds true this week, the Steelers (3-3) are due for a win tonight when they host the Houston Texans (3-3) at Heinz Field.
A win would keep the Steelers a game behind Baltimore (5-2) in the tight AFC North standings and move them out of last place and ahead of Cleveland (3-3) and Cincinnati (3-2-1).
To do so, Pittsburgh will need to find a way to control Houston defensive end J.J. Watt, who leads the Texans with four sacks, but that doesn’t truly show his effectiveness. He’s gotten 20 hits on opposing quarterbacks and scored a touchdown on an interception, fumble return and reception. The reception came as a tight end in a short-yardage play.
“He’s probably the No. 1 candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and probably (in the) top-three for league MVP,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “I think that speaks enough for what he is.”
The Steelers hope people make similar statements in the future about a player making his first career start: defensive end Stephon Tuitt.
With nose tackle Steve McLendon out with a shoulder injury and defensive end Brett Keisel limited by a knee injury, Tuitt, the Steelers’ second-round draft pick, will start at defensive end on the opposite side of Cameron Heyward.
“He has great raw material, tremendous size and tremendous athletic ability,” defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said of Tuitt. “He’s going to be a good player. You can write that down. You have to give all these young players a chance to grow. He’s making progress. He’s going to be seeing more action because of necessity, but he’s going to be a good player.”
Tuitt won’t be the lone change in the Steelers lineup. Wide receiver Martavis Bryant and nose tackle Daniel McCullers are expected to be active for the first time this season, and Brice McCain will start at cornerback over Cortez Allen, though Allen will play in the nickel defense.
“We are going to turn over all the stones to produce more playmaking, particularly situational playmaking, whether it’s third down, red zone, short yardage, on both sides of the ball I think we have to get better in those areas,” said Tomlin.
The Steelers will need to be better, especially on offense, where they have scored just one touchdown in their past seven trips inside the opposing 20, if they hope to win their 16th consecutive Monday night game at home, the longest streak in the NFL.
The issue for the Steelers hasn’t been yards. Pittsburgh is sixth in the NFL in total yards per game. Pittsburgh entered the week averaging 20.7 points per game, which ranks 23rd.
“When you are running the ball efficiently like we are, or throwing it and moving the ball between the 20s, it’s pretty cut and dry for us where we need to get better,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley referring to the team’s red zone woes.
The game will feature the AFC’s leading rushers entering the week in Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell and Houston’s Arian Foster. Bell began the week with a conference-best 542 rushing yards, while Foster had 513.
The Steelers have particular trouble defending one-cut runners such as Foster, who gashed them for 155 yards and a touchdown in a 17-10 win at Houston in the last meeting between the two teams in 2011.
“They have a great back and they got a wonderfully solid blocking front,” said LeBeau. “They run the ball and they run it well, and we’re going to have to stop that to win the game.”
The Steelers split their two previous meetings with Houston at home. … The Steelers are 55-19 against AFC teams with Roethlisberger at quarterback. … Bell needs 48 total yards to pass Louis Lipps (2,081) and Mike Wallace (2,100) for most yardage with the Steelers in his first two seasons.