Sep 26, 2015 5 min read

ST. LOUIS – It will be a celebration of sorts for both the Steelers and St. Louis Rams today.

Both teams will see their star running backs – or at least a player they hope will be a star – on the field for the first time this season.

Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell and rookie Todd Gurley of St. Louis (1-1) could take center stage at the Edward Jones Dome as both will make their 2015 debuts.

Bell will be back in the lineup for the Steelers (1-1) after serving a two-game suspension to for a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

“I’m glad I overcame it and can put all of it behind me so I can move forward,” said Bell, the co-AFC Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 with teammate Antonio Brown. “I’m excited to get back on the field and start making plays.”

While Bell missed just two games, the wait has been longer for Gurley.

The 10th pick in this year’s draft, Gurley hasn’t played since suffering a torn ACL last November while playing for the University of Georgia. He has practiced extensively the past two weeks and is listed as questionable, though he said he expects to play.

“Todd’s going to play when he’s ready to play,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said. “I’ve been saying this since he got here – when he’s ready, he’s going to play regardless of what’s happening around him. But he’s getting closer.”

The Steelers’ offense didn’t miss a beat without Bell, who set a team-record with more than 2,200 yards from scrimmage last season. Veteran backup running back DeAngelo Williams rushed for an AFC-high 204 yards and three touchdowns.

But with Bell back, the 32-year-old Williams heads into a lesser role, if he has one at all.

“I don’t have a plan per se, but he is going to be a part of this offense,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “He’s a very good player. Where we go from there, we will see. But the great thing is, we have two really competent backs who can do a lot of things for us. That’s always a good thing.”

The Steelers will face a deep St. Louis defensive line that features five former No. 1 draft picks, led by 2014 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald, a former Pitt star.

“This guy is extremely talented, but he’s also a very hard worker,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “I spent a couple of months here this year, February and March of 2015, getting out of my car every morning and running into him in that parking lot outside as he came in to work at Pitt. I think that guy left the Pro Bowl and went straight back to work.”

In 18 career games, Donald has 11 1/2 sacks, including 2 1/2 this year. St. Louis leads the NFC with eight sacks, though the Steelers have allowed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to be sacked just twice.

“We like it when Ben takes off his uniform and it doesn’t have any dirt or grass stains on it,” said Steelers guard David DeCastro.

The Steelers won’t have to worry about that inside the dome, though neither will the Rams, who also have done a good job protecting their quarterback, Nick Foles,who has been sacked only three times.

The Steelers’ defense had five sacks last week against San Francisco and have seven in the first two weeks.

Defensive coordinator Keith Butler simplified things for his unit after a tough game in the opener at New England.

“We want to play fast and we want to know what we are doing,” Butler said. “We want to be confident in what we are doing. As we go along and as we play this year, we will get better and better. Our goal is to get better every week and I think we are capable of doing that.”

Pittsburgh will be without linebacker Ryan Shazier, who had 15 tackles and a sack against San Francisco. Shazier will not play because of a shoulder injury. Veteran Vince Williams will start in his place.

If the Steelers’ offense, which leads the NFL in total yardage, is as effective as it was against San Francisco, then it might not matter who plays inside linebacker.

Having Bell back can only help that.

“I feel like we have playmakers everywhere,” Bell said. “I don’t think a defense can just key in on one area. I don’t think they can just try to take away the run or the pass because we are so good at both. We just have to keep being consistent and get better. Teams will try different things against us, but we have to be ready to answer. … We have playmakers all over the field – the best wideout, quarterback and offensive line in the league.”

Fisher, a longtime head coach with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, has a 12-11 record against the Steelers but is 0-2 against Tomlin. … Roethlisberger has 107 career wins and is tied with Terry Bradshaw for the most in team history. … The last time the Steelers played in St. Louis, Roethlisberger had a perfect 158.3 passer rating, one of three times he accomplished that in his career. He also did it in 2005 against the Titans with Fisher as their head coach. … In his past 13 games, Brown is averaging 8.7 receptions, 116.5 yards with 10 touchdowns. … Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree leads all NFL rookies with two sacks.