Week 16...@ Texans

[ATL96Steeler]

The win streak was stopped at 8 games last week with the loss at home to the dreaded Patriots...AGAIN! The loss dropped PIT to 11-3.

But...this is not time for gloom and doom. PIT played a good enough game to win and by many accounts they had it taken away by the officials. That said, the bumbling effort to close out the game really left a sour taste in my mouth for Haley and Ben for the sloppy, haphazard effort on the INT....How could they look so unorganized after such a long decision on the catch...I still don't get that.

Time to move on...the boys travel to HOU to face the 4-10 Texans. Bill O'Brien's squad was one of the favorites to win the AFCS DIV, major injuries derailed their season. They have been up and down at the QB position. When the 1st round rookie DeShaun Watson took the reins...he was on fire, but he went down with a season ending knee injury and coupled with their main man on DEF, JJ Watt also being lost for the season the Texan's season went down with those guys.

Ranked 14th on OFC and 32nd on DEF...I guess you can have some faith in O'Brien under the circumstances. If the reports are true Savage is out with a concussion. If so, PIT will be facing a QB3.

Injuries...Brown (leg/calf) out at least the next 2 weeks. Connor (knee) IR, Foster (concussion) is questionable. McDonald (shoulder) questionable. Haden (leg) probable.

Obviously it's tough to lose AB, and the depth behind Bell for the duration, but I feel pretty comfortable going into this game. Bryant's game is growing and JJ has stepped up his game, coupled with Bell they should have enough firepower to beat a QB3 with an avg running game.

Outlook...in spite of some player mistakes and imo some coaching lapses in the NE game they still should have won...I'm still bullish on the Steelers right now. I think they go down there and get the win.

PIT...28-17

What say you?

 

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

Totally agree.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Offense... They've shown to the league they can compete with anyone WITHOUT AB, but now its time to prove it. Hunter will get a game helmet this week, but JuJu & Bryant will get the bulk of the work. Also need to see JJ, Grimble & Rogers give the offense some juice. It will all hinge on Ben though since he hasn't been exactly great on the road this season. O-line gets a huge boost in the form of Gilbert coming back. Praying that his hammy issues are behind him now after serving his 4 game suspension. Need a better showing from AVill since he's going to have a huge test this week with Clowney. He typically does better against the bigger guys so I'm hoping that holds true. Also really hoping to see Haley continue his better gameplanning/playcalling.

Defense... Need to get some sort of confidence back on this side of the ball. Really want to see them use these last 2 games to get some momentum to carry them into the playoffs. We know the D-line can handle the job, but will the rest of the unit step up? We need to see that if they want to be taken seriously in the postseason. Burns & Davis haven't looked very good. And when you combine that with the severe limitations of Mitchell, you have yourself a bottom 3 secondary. Burns & Davis need to step up!

Injuries... Nothing really to add other than I hope they don't play Haden for the entire game. He admitted this week that he's about 85% healthy. The only reason to play him in this game is to get him into "game shape" again. Going against a QB2 or 3 they obviously don't need him to win. Give him 1 half of work and put him back on the shelf. Then let him take as much as he wants in week 17 against his former team. They need him in the worst way for the postseason if they want to reach SB52. And let's see how long McDonald stays healthy this time. Over/under will be set at 5mins of play.

Would like to see the Steelers finally handle their business on the road against a bottom feeder, but I'm sure they will figure out a way to give us heartburn on Christmas.

Don't know if my juju has run its course, but I'm going to keep riding it...

Mind the juju...
Texans 28 - Steelers 24

 

[Ojb81]

Get your blood pressure meds at the ready, it's gonna be another one of "those" games

Steelers 21
Texans 20

 

[SJ20]

Deebo just got released. Not happy about it right now.


Steelers 24
Texans 15

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Deebo just got released. Not happy about it right now.


Steelers 24
Texans 15

Supposedly he has no hard feelings. Knew the roster dynamics and his reduced role, but still wanted to be more involved in the D. This may be the team granting him his wish. If a contender doesn't come knocking on his door, then the Steelers can resign him after this Monday's game.

 

[SteelersPride]

Think marty b steps up big

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Okay...we got a fairly early Xmas present. The Steelers did get into the RZ and kicked a FG so it had the makings of another tight game vs an inferior opponent, but on HOU's 1st possession, the DEF set the tone early. Hilton getting a sack...first of a trifecta, and the OFC was back on the field and this time they punch it in getting a reward for hanging onto Justin Hunter.

After that, I never felt threatened. HOU's best drive Burns killed it with the INT in the endzone. If not for just sick catch by Hopkins over Haden, the DEF probably gets a shut out.

I graded it out like this.

OFC...4 of 5...they did have a few lulls, 3 & outs, but it was another good game plan. Lot of guys got touches, and they hit on some deep balls. Ben took one hit I saw from Clowney, I missed half the 1st Q at Xmas party before the game got turned on but I don't recall any sacks. OL played well. Ridley looks active, relatively light work load for Bell. Penalties were at an acceptable level.

DEF...4 of 5...Blue got a 100 yds on them and a long run but didn't score. The Hopkins TD as mentioned earlier was just an incredible effort by a helluva talent. Glad to see Joe Haden back on the field. I'm sure others noticed, but interesting Butler had Haden shadowing Hopkins all over the field...wrinkle, or something we might see more of in Jan? Generally speaking the pressure was constant...love that junkyard dog Hilton. He and Haden have transformed the backend into a legit championship caliber DEF.

ST...4 of 5...one nice return by Rogers, solid day by Bos, and Berry. A score might be the only difference in a 5 of 5 grade.

Outlook...the #2 seed is locked up now. The Steelers have not had a 1 or 2 seed since 2010...Much like I felt PIT was not losing to Yates, there's no way NE loses to Petty. So, you're tempted to rest guys, but gotta remember, they won't play another game until the 13th at the earliest. I would play the starters at least 3Q vs CLE...hopefully you have a lead and you can start pulling guys.

Looking ahead...as of now PIT will get the highest remaining seed after WC weekend. The WC seeding is going down to week 17. TN is currently in the 6th spot, byway of a conf rec tie breaker over the Chargers but they have lost 3 straight. BAL...I don't know what would happen if they lost and TN and LAC won and all 3 finished with 9-7. But I don't see the Bengals winning in BAL on Lewis last game so I'm giving the Ravens the 5 seed.

If JAX beats TN, that will move LAC into the 6th slot. If I had to guess...KC will beat BAL in the 4 vs 5 game, I'm not sold on JAX beating the Chargers, but if they did PIT would have a rematch with JAX or a rematch with KC...either way, they will be playing a team they have faced at least once this season.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Finally a game where the antacids stayed in the medicine cabinet. I hope the Cleveland game is the same way!

 

[SJ20]

The Clowns will probably try to avoid going 0-16 so the Steelers had better show up.