Sep 21, 2017 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Cam Heyward yelled out to his teammates, “Hey, 29 is in the game,” on one play during practice. The next, he would holler, “It’s 24, 24 is in the game.”

With many teams, the need to identify when the backup running back is in the game wouldn’t be something worked on in practice.

But the Steelers (2-0) face the Bears (0-2) Sunday at Soldier Field and though Chicago has run the ball an NFL-low 29 percent thanks to being behind early in its first two games, the difference in style of running backs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen is enough that it required extra preparation in practice this week.

“We’re just trying to get a sense of who’s in the game,” said Heyward, the Steelers defensive captain. “Obviously, they are two different style of running backs. Both bring really good strengths. (Howard) does a nice job of being a one-cut back. He’s north and south. (Cohen) does a nice job of being a scat back.

“They do a little more passing with him and he has great explosion out of the backfield. We get those different looks and in practice, we want to identify it.”

The Bears might want to identify who is lining up at defensive end for the Steelers.

It appears the Steelers will get defensive end Stephon Tuitt back for Sunday’s game, helping a defense that has limited its first two opponents to just 237 yards per game.

And that was with Tuitt appearing in just two plays against Cleveland before leaving with an upper left arm injury.

“Yeah, but they were two legendary plays,” Tuitt joked.

The Steelers originally feared Tuitt had suffered a biceps tear and would be out for an extended period of time. That turned out not to be the case and he said his strength had begun to return earlier in the week.

Tyson Alualu has played in his place but the Steelers would love to get Tuitt, who signed a five-year $61-million contract extension the day before the regular season began, on the field with Heyward.

Other than the two plays against Cleveland, the Steelers have not had their two star defensive linemen together on the field since Heyward suffered a torn pectoral muscle last November in a loss to Dallas.

The Steelers will need them both to help slow down Howard and Cohen.

Because they have run the ball so little, the Bears are averaging just 72.5 yards per game. But they are picking up 4.1 yards per carry, a solid total.

The Steelers have done a good job defensively, limiting their first two opponents to 3.3 yards per rushing attempt and 74 rushing yards per game.

And that was without Tuitt.

Howard, a second-year running back, finished second in the NFL last season as a rookie with 1,313 rushing yards. Cohen, a rookie, leads the Bears in rushing and receiving this season, despite having just 28 total touches – 12 rushes and a team-high 16 receptions.

The 6-0, 224-pound Howard is a one-cut runner who isn’t looking to make people miss. He runs with bad intentions. Cohen, on the other hand, is a 5-6, 179-pound jitterbug who the Bears use to create mismatches.

“It’s just understanding what kind of back it is and the blocks you get,” said Heyward. “You know (Howard) is a guy who’s more north and south. He’s not trying to cut it back. (Cohen), he’ll cut it back and go for the home run play. You’ve got to make sure you honor your gaps and play sound because they’re trying to exploit it on different levels.”

The Steelers have followed Heyward’s lead on that. He spent much of last Sunday’s win over Minnesota in the Vikings’ backfield disrupting plays.

Now that the Steelers look to have both of their bookend defensive ends back, that should make the defense even better.

“I thought we did a good job of responding or playing without Stephon Tuitt. I thought Cam Heyward was a significant element of that,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin of the win over the Vikings. “I think the stats might not bear it out but I thought he was very disruptive, both versus the run and the pass. I thought he provided a wave that kind of the others followed.”

Odds and end zones

In addition to Tuitt, outside linebacker Bud Dupree (shoulder) returned to practice Thursday on a full-time basis. Both were limited Wednesday. … Outside linebacker T.J. Watt (groin) and offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (hamstring) did not practice. … Tight end Jesse James (ankle) was limited, while receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (illness) and center Maurkice Pouncey (illness) both returned after sitting out Wednesday.