Cardinals vs. Steelers: Full Pittsburgh Game Preview

It doesn’t get any easier for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6 as they return home to Heinz Field at 3-2 to host the 4-1 Arizona Cardinals, who are coming off a thoroughly dominating performance at Ford Field in a 42-17 win over the winless Detroit Lions.

However, the Steelers seem to have found something offensively based off their final two offensive drives against San Diego in a thrilling win on Monday Night Football.

With star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger likely out again this week, Mike Vick will have to take on one of the NFL's most opportunistic defenses through six weeks.

As a unit, the Cardinals have forced 13 turnovers (11 interceptions, two fumbles) and have returned three of those turnovers for scores. However, with Tyrann Mathieu, Justin Bethel and a host of other defensive stalwarts dealing with nagging injuries, the Steelers have an opportunity to stay in this game with one of the best NFL teams near the midway point of the 2015 season.

Mike Vick looked like a different quarterback in the final 7:50 of the fourth quarter, which is a promising sign moving forward. Le’Veon Bell continues to look like the NFL's best running back with his patience, vision and footwork on display nearly every carry he receives.

The concerning development with the offense under Vick is the utilization of Antonio Brown or lack thereof. Brown has made it a point to have Vick look for him more often and allow the All-Pro wideout to make plays when the ball is in the air.

While a majority of the talk surrounding the Steelers is the play of the offense without Roethlisberger, one would be remiss to not talk about the outstanding play of the young Steelers defense through five games.

Currently the league's No. 7-ranked defense at 19.0 points per game, the Steelers defense has stepped up in a big way during the early part of the season.

The front seven has been the defense' strength, applying heavy pressure and recording 16.0 sacks.

However, Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is on some kind of run under Bruce Arians this year. Therefore, this could be the toughest test yet for the Steelers defense, outside of Tom Brady in Week 1.

This is a Steelers statement game to show where the defense is in terms of development at this point in the season. A win at home over Arizona could really jump-start the Steelers moving forward.

Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Time: 1 p.m. ET 

TV: Fox

Week 5 Recap for Pittsburgh

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A thrilling comeback late in the fourth quarter over the San Diego Chargers turned what could have been a disastrous loss into a win that has everyone talking about the Steelers response in the fourth quarter.

For three-and-a-half quarters, Mike Vick was terrible under center for the Steelers, but somehow he was able to flip the switch late to throw a 72-yard touchdown to Markus Wheaton before leading the Steelers down the field on the final drive before Le’Veon Bell plunged in from one-yard out to seal the win.

Defensively, the Steelers applied tons of pressure to Philip Rivers all night long, sacking him twice. Pittsburgh was able to hold San Diego to just 2.7 yards per carry on 19 rushing attempts, forcing the Chargers to turn into a one-dimensional offense for much of the night.

Antwon Blake returned a Rivers interception 70 yards for a score to keep Pittsburgh in the game, and new Steelers kicker Chris Boswell connected on a 47-yard field goal to ease some concerns about the kicking game after Josh Scobee was released a week prior to the game.

But it was Bell who stole the show for the Steelers late, somehow getting the ball across the goal line to give the Steelers an improbable win over San Diego.

Bell rushed for 111 yards on 21 carries against a Chargers defense that gave up a ton of rushing yards coming in. Week after week Bell continues to show why he’s arguably the NFL's best running back in the NFL.

News and Notes

Associated Press

Steelers add Bryant to 53-man roster and cut Ventrone

A week after he was eligible to return from his four-game suspension for multiple failed drug tests, second-year wide receiver Martavis Bryant is officially back on the Steelers’ 53-man roster following the release of injured safety Ross Ventrone, who is dealing with a sore hamstring, Tuesday, according to the Steelers team website.

With the release of Ventrone, the Steelers are now down to just three healthy safeties—Mike Mitchell, Robert Golden and Shamarko Thomas.

Veteran Will Allen left with an ankle injury in the first quarter of the game against San Diego and is expected to miss extended time.

However, Bryant's return is the big storyline here, as the physically imposing receiver should provide a much-needed boost on the outside for an offense that has struggled to move the ball through the air without Roethlisberger.

Heyward fined for honoring late father

The NFL is starting to get ridiculous with uniform policies.

Cam Heyward, whose father Craig “Iron Head” Heyward died after a long bout with cancer, was notified Wednesday that he has been fined for eye black he wore against San Diego with the words “Iron” and “Head” written on the eye black, according to the Pittburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski.

Heyward had this to say to Adamski following Wednesday’s practice:

“I understand it's a uniform policy, (but) it's something dear to my heart. I don't do it to condone any sort of wrongdoing. But I honor my dad in that. It's unfortunate, the situation.”

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, Heyward was fined $5,787 for the uniform violation.

Roethlisberger returns to practice

In Wednesday’s practice, Ben Roethlisberger made his anticipated return to Steelers practice, albeit in a reduced role.

While he’s still considered a long shot to play Sunday against Bruce Arians and the Cardinals, Roethlisberger did partake in seven-on-seveb drills in practice, which is great news for the 12th-year quarterback trying to return from a significant knee injury.

According to Adamski, Roethlisberger said prior to practice he would throw just 12 to 15 passes during seven-on-seven drills before retiring from practice for the day.

Following practice, Roethlisberger told Adamski that he’s being smart about his health despite a burning desire to play this week.

"

I'm just being smart, knowing that once I'm able to protect myself, I'll be able to get back out there. I'm able to walk around just fine and step and throw. It's being able to avoid a pass rush, being able to make subtle movements in the pocket and out of the pocket.

"

Latest Injury News

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Wednesday’s practice was a positive one for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who saw star QB Ben Roethlisberger return to practice in a limited role.

Pittsburgh Steelers

While still banged-up at this point in the season, seeing No. 7 back on the practice field has to be a major morale boost for the 3-2 Steelers.

Along with Roethlisberger (knee) returning to practice in a limited role, linebacker Ryan Shazier (knee) and cornerback Cortez Allen (knee) were limited as well, according to the Steelers' injury report.

Linebacker Jarvis Jones (hip), offensive lineman Dough Legursky (back) and safety Will Allen (ankle) all missed practice for the Steelers. Only Allen’s injury is considered long term.

Cardinals

As for the Cardinals, despite being 4-1 and rolling through the easy part of their schedule, they’re just as banged-up as the Steelers—if not more—at this point.

Wide receiver John Brown (hamstring), safety Tyrann Mathieu (heel) and linebacker LaMarr Woodley (chest) all missed practice Wednesday, per the Cardinals' injury report, and their statuses for Sunday’s game remain in the air.

Cornerback Justin Bethel (foot), tight end Darren Fells (hip), safety Tony Jefferson (neck) and safety Rashad Johnson (hip) were limited participants for Arizona.

Making full returns to practice for the Cardinals were wide receiver J.J. Nelson (shoulder) and offensive tackle Jared Veldheer (ribs), so each looks to be full-go for Sunday.

Key Matchups

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Antonio Brown vs. Cardinals secondary:

This is a straight strength vs. strength matchup here.

Brown is arguably the best receiver in football outside of his poor showings the last two weeks with Mike Vick under center. Regardless of who is under center for Pittsburgh, Brown is still a serious game-breaking threat.

He’ll draw the tough assignment of going up against guys such as Patrick Peterson, Deone Buchanon and Jerraud Powers, as well as Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Bethel if both are healthy for the Week 6 showdown at Heinz Field.

Steelers secondary vs. Carson Palmer:

Palmer has been terrific through five games in 2015. In fact, he’s been nearly perfect on throws between the numbers at the intermediate range of 10-19 yards this season (28-of-30, 467 yards and five touchdowns), per Pro Football Focus.

With the way the Steelers secondary has had issues with coverage and the inability to tackle after the catch, Palmer could have a field day against Pittsburgh’s zone defense.

However, the Steelers secondary has been opportunistic as of late and has gotten big stops when it's needed to. This should be a fun battle to watch play out on Sunday.

Matchup X-Factor

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Martavis Bryant

Should Bryant return this week against Arizona, expect Vick and the Steelers to make multiple deep shots to him to try and loosen up the Cardinals secondary.

The second-year receiver is a dynamic weapon Pittsburgh likes to deploy all over the field, so one can only imagine how excited Todd Haley and the Steelers offense are to get Bryant back into the mix.

His return to the starting lineup will also greatly help Antonio Brown. Brown has had a tough time getting on the same page as Vick through two weeks, but he’s also had some extra attention put on him, especially against San Diego.

Adding another big-time weapon like Bryant into the mix will make it harder for teams to focus solely on Brown moving forward.

Prediction: Cardinals 31, Steelers 23

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The Steelers should be able to put pressure on Carson Palmer, resulting in some bad throws and maybe an interception or two, but the key in this one is to not turn the ball over to the Cardinals, who hold a plus-six margin in the turnover department.

Arizona’s defense is extremely talented and has a nose for the football, but not shooting yourself in the foot against the Cardinals can go a long way toward beating them.

If Pittsburgh can come out with a balanced attack like they showed late in the fourth quarter against San Diego, the Steelers chances are good, but in the end it all comes down to winning the turnover battle against Arizona.

The one time this season that the Cardinals lost the turnover battle, they lost to the St. Louis Rams, 24-22.

Mike Vick and the Steelers offense must protect the ball against the this ball-hawking defense.

With the way the Cardinals defense has performed all year, that's a tall task.

Cardinals in a close one.