Houston Texans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Live Score and Analysis for Houston

Redemption.

That's what is at stake for the Houston Texans tonight as they look to bounce back from two straight defeats including one that came in prime time against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans trailed by a shocking total of 24 points after just the first quarter last week, so getting off to a better start will be paramount.

While the Steelers' offense as a whole hasn't been firing on all cylinders—they rank 24th in points scored—the parts certainly indicate that the whole is capable of doing more.

Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck—who the Texans faced last week—are similar in many ways including their size and how difficult it is to bring them down for a sack. Also like Luck, Roethlisberger has several dangerous weapons surrounding him in the offense.

Le'Veon Bell currently ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards—behind DeMarco Murray obviously—and is also second in yards per attempt among running backs with at least 50 carries. Receiver Antonio Brown is averaging 104.8 yards per game which ranks second in the NFL behind only Demaryius Thomas.

The Steelers' offense has been inconsistent, but the deep threat of Brown and rushing attack from Bell do pose major risks in two areas where the Texans have struggled.

Overall this year the Texans' defense ranks 30th in passing plays of over 40 yards allowed and 23rd in rushing yards allowed per game. The Steelers' offense isn't great and was downright awful last week, but they are capable of exploiting the Texans' weak spots.

Of course it should be pointed out that the Steelers' defense has dealt with many of those same issues.

Ben Tate and Isiah Crowell of the Cleveland Browns rushed for a combined 155 yards and three touchdowns last week; there will be room for Arian Foster to make plays.

If I were tasked with coming up with the gameplan for this matchup against the Steelers, I would run Foster early to set up the play-action passing game to hopefully take advantage of Pittsburgh's aggressive linebackers and safeties. Mixing in a couple screen passes early on wouldn't be a bad idea either.

An obvious strategy, but it should be successful.

Big game for the Texans whose playoff chances will be on life support if their record slips under the .500 mark with a loss to Pittsburgh.