Jordan DeFigio, @fidgenewton
After a rather terrifying borderline fourth quarter collapse, the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to clinch their second victory of the season over the Denver Broncos in their home opener at Heinz Field last Sunday. There were several close plays, a handful of questionable calls, and a bizarre string of drives from the Steelers offense. But a win is a win. And even though the first two games were against struggling teams, we'll certainly take that 2-0 start.
The Houston Texans will travel to Pittsburgh for yet another 1:00 PM EST game, and they prove to be the Steelers' toughest opposition of the season.
MATCHUPS AT A GLANCE
Yes, the Steelers beat the Giants. Yes, the Steelers beat the Broncos. But it's no secret that Pittsburgh's secondary struggled against quarterbacks Daniel Jones and back-up Jeff Driskel respectively. So what are they to do against a quarterback who many consider elite in Deshaun Watson? Granted, the Texans lost wideout superstar DeAndre Hopkins via trade (for pennies at that), but they did gain a ground threat in David Johnson. The Steelers have effectively shut down the run in both of their first two games (holding Saquon Barkley to a measly 6 yards and Melvin Gordon III to 70 with a long of just 17). Their receiving core is touchy to say the least, with Will Fuller being rather hot and cold and Brandin Cooks' inability to catch anything playing a huge part in their lack of success. But a number of costly penalties were accrued by the Steelers’ secondary last week, with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden being two of the biggest offenders. Add in a quarterback like Watson in the backfield with the ability to scramble, evade, buy time, and even run himself, the defense will have to elevate their C+ level of play to their A- at least if they want any hope of shutting Watson down.
JJ Watt isn't the youthful defensive end he once was, but he has yet to lose his edge as a game-changing playmaker. However, there's only so much one man can do. And in their week two matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, they were demolished on the ground. The Texans gave up 230 rushing yards for an average of 6.2 yards per carry. If offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner is actually willing to open up the playbook and let James Conner and Benny Snell, Jr. loose, that will open up the field and allow Ben Roethlisberger to not only have his way with the Texans' secondary, but get some rest in between throws. And their secondary is underwhelming to say the least. Made up of Bradley Roby, Eric Murray, Justin Reid, and Vernon Hargreaves III, there should be a lot of uneven matchups with the Steelers' receiving core of JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and tight-end Eric Ebron.
JORDAN'S PREDICTIONS
The Texans are the Steelers' most challenging matchup yet. And because they tend to rise to the occasion, I think the team will rack up their third victory in convincing fashion. I'm feeling something in the realm of 35-21, and a big game for Roethlisberger. I think he'll finally start to settle into a groove with his receivers and let loose for over 400 yards, splitting up targets pretty evenly between Smith-Schuster, Washington, Johnson, Claypool, and his tight-end set of Ebron and Vance McDonald.
FINAL MUSINGS
The Texans have had a less than impressive start, going 0-2. They're going to look to prevent an 0-3 start to the season, which would already total half of their losses from the 2019 season. I expect them to bring the fire early on, so it will be on the Steelers to squelch that fire as soon as possible to really prove to the rest of the league and themselves that they belong in the talk for serious Super Bowl contenders.
What are your predictions for the game tomorrow? Let us know in the comments below.
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