Sep 14, 2016 4 min read

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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin credited Ryan Shazier with his team’s efforts to shut down Washington tight end Jordan Reed. Reed had three catches for 39 yards on Washington’s opening possession and finished with seven catches for 64 yards on 11 targets.

That’s an impactful game, but not nearly as impactful as it looked like it would be on that opening drive.

• Speaking of Shazier, Tomlin said the third-year linebacker was visiting with a doctor today to assess the knee injury that forced him out of the game in the fourth quarter.

But Shazier said Monday night he was OK and was walking around the team facility today with no issues.

He did miss practice Wednesday and was carrying around a light knee brace. But if I were a betting man, I’d say he’s ready to go Sunday.

It appears that if Shazier does play, he might not have to deal with Cincinnati tight end Tyler Eifert.

Eifert, who sat out last week’s win at New York for the Bengals, did not practice again on Wednesday. He’s dealing with an ankle injury.

• I spotted Bud Dupree walking around the facility both Tuesday and Wednesday and while he’s walking somewhat gingerly, he’s walking, which is a good sign after having groin surgery last week.

• Tomlin said three other players who missed Monday night’s game – receiver Markus Wheaton, center Cody Wallace and fullback Roosevelt Nix – all have a much better chance to play this week, though Nix didn’t practice Wednesday.

Getting those three back would be huge. As good as Pittsburgh’s offense was Monday night, Ben Roethlisberger threw to only five receivers. When he’s at his best, he’s involving seven or more guys.

Wheaton’s contributions to that would be obvious, but I expect the Steelers to employ Nix as a weapon, as well. You would never know he is a former college nose tackle when you watch him run routes.

• Ben Roethlisberger slipped in the rain today and tweaked his knee but said after practice that he’s fine.

• It’s hard to believe, but DeAngelo Williams is closing in on 8,000 yards in his career. He needs 104 against the Bengals Sunday to surpass that mark.

He also needs just 71 yards to slide past Garrison Hearst for 50th place on the all-time league rushing list.

There’s a good chance that by season’s end, Williams can catch Earnest Byner at 8,261 for 41st place all-time.

To get there, he’d also pass the likes of Stephen Davis, Freeman McNeil, Larry Csonka, Maurice Jones-Drew, Priest Holmes, Gerald Riggs, Roger Craig and Herchel Walker along the way. That’s some pretty good company to keep.

Williams, by the way, was named the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week.

• Even though he’s slimmed down from his listed weight of 330 pounds, the sight of 6-6, 315-pound Marcus Gilbert pulling as he did so often Monday night against the Redskins can’t be a comforting thought for opposing defenders.

Gilbert pulled more in that game than he has at any time in his career and he was blowing people up.

• Both the Steelers and Bengals are saying the past is the past when it comes to what happened between these two teams a year ago.

Sunday will mark their fourth meeting in less than a year. That’s bound to cause some bad feelings.

But both sides are saying all the right things – so far. It’s almost like Mike Tomlin and Marvin Lewis sat down together in the offseason and decided on a gameplan to diffuse things – at least in the build up to the game.

I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly what happened.