Nov 6, 2015 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – With the calendar having turned to November, the Steelers know it’s time to put the first half of the season behind them.

They don’t have any choice. It’s not like the NFL is suddenly going to end things early because Pittsburgh has a spate of injuries – the latest being a season-ender to All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell.

Besides, at 4-4, the Steelers still find themselves in the thick of the playoff race in the AFC, albeit the chase for a wildcard spot after last week’s 16-10 defeat to AFC North leader Cincinnati (7-0).

A win over Oakland (4-3) Sunday at Heinz Field would be a big one for the Steelers. Not only would beating the Raiders give them a tiebreaker over one of the teams in the mix in the AFC playoff race, it would help erase some of the bad feelings from the Steelers’ first two-game losing streak since 2013 and an otherwise tough first half to 2015.

“We’re closing the chapter on the first half of the season, so that’s a good thing,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who missed four games and nearly half of another with a knee injury before returning last week against the Bengals.

“We can move on and don’t have to talk about it, because there were some negatives in that first half. We can close it and move forward, be our best self going forward.”

Things will change without Bell, who is arguably the best pass-catching running back in the NFL.

Veteran DeAngelo Williams will replace Bell as the starter, but the Steelers also will need to rely on Jordan Todman and newly signed Isaiah Pead if they hope to continue to effectively run the ball. The Steelers are ninth in the league in rushing at just over 125 yards per game.

“Nobody is going to be Le’Veon, because he is unique,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “It was awful to see him get hurt, but in this business we have to move forward. We have DeAngelo, who got to play a couple of games early. He played a bunch of snaps for us. He showed us some of his strengths, the qualities he has a pro and why he is here in the first place.

“He’s been here. He is here for a reason. He gets the chance to go out and help us win.”

Williams was brought in as a free agent to help the Steelers in the first three games of this season while Bell served a suspension for DUI and marijuana possession stemming from a 2014 traffic stop. The suspension was eventually reduced to two games and Williams excelled, rushing for an AFC-best 204 yards and three touchdowns in place of Bell.

It was far different than what happened when the Steelers lost Bell in the regular season finale last year and then rushed for just 68 yards in a playoff loss the next week against Baltimore.

“We brought DeAngelo in knowing Le’Veon was going to be suspended to start the season,” Haley said. “Now, it’s a different reason because of the injury. Having that two-week working knowledge with DeAngelo, and then seeing him go out and perform, having him around for training camp – last year when Le’Veon got hurt it was probably the worst possible timing.”

But the 32-year-old also has carried the ball 20 or more times in a game just 15 times in his 10-year NFL career, sharing carries for most of his career in Carolina.

Todman and Pead have 130 career carries between them, and just one this season, an 11-yard run by Todman against the Bengals last Sunday.

That doesn’t mean they are lacking in confidence.

“We know we’ve got good backs in this room,” said Todman.

Unlike Williams, they haven’t had much of an opportunity to prove it. They will get that chance now, but the Steelers will still depend on Williams.

“He’s not Le’Veon and he’s not going to try to be Le’Veon, but he’s DeAngelo and he’s done it in this league for a while now and he’s done it at a high level,” said Roethlisberger. “We have that confidence that he could do it, and he did it for us. We have to believe and we do believe that he’ll do it again.”

Odds and end zones

The Steelers will get defensive end Stephon Tuitt (knee) and strong safety Will Allen (ankle) back this week. Both are listed as probable on the final injury report. Tuitt has missed the previous two games, while Allen missed three. … Linebacker Terence Garvin (knee) and tight end Matt Spaeth (knee) are out. … Defensive end Cameron Heyward will play despite the possibility that his wife, Allie, is expecting the couple’s first child this weekend.