Previewing Pittsburgh Steelers' Christmas Day Matchup with Texans
The Pittsburgh Steelers play their penultimate game of the regular season on Monday afternoon when they take on the 4-10 Houston Texans.
While Pittsburgh has both the AFC North and a playoff berth locked down, there is still much to fight for, including keeping hold of their No. 2 seeding in the conference that would allow them a first-round bye in the postseason.
With that in mind, here is a look at the Steelers' Christmas Day matchup and what they will need to do to defeat the Texans.
Life Without Antonio Brown
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The Steelers will be without top wideout Antonio Brown on Monday after he suffered a lower-leg injury in last week's loss to the New England Patriots.
Brown is the league's leading receiver in both catches and yards and has accounted for nearly a quarter of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's passing yardage. There's no doubt his absence will be felt this week and that the Texans' defense has caught something of a break.
But Pittsburgh's offense adjusted quickly without Brown a week ago, and Roethlisberger ultimately completed 22 of his 30 pass attempts for 281 yards and had two passing touchdowns along with a game-ending interception.
Though losing Brown for any period of time will in certain ways depress the Steelers' impressive offense, receivers like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Martavis Bryant, as well as running back Le'Veon Bell (who has 80 catches for 627 yards this year), can do much to help pick up the slack.
And Houston's defense won't be much of a threat. It ranks 27th in total yards allowed, 29th in points and 30th in passing yards, and it gave up over 300 passing yards alone over the last two weeks.
As long as Roethlisberger's high level of play doesn't drop off and the Steelers can replicate their relative success on offense sans-Brown from a week ago, Pittsburgh shouldn't feel the effects of Brown's absence so heavily it results in a loss.
Silencing T.J. Yates
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With starting Texans quarterback DeShaun Watson on injured reserve with a torn ACL and his backup, Tom Savage, also on IR with a concussion, the Steelers defense will face Houston third-stringer T.J. Yates on Monday.
This presents a significant opportunity for Pittsburgh's defense to again show off why it has consistently ranked in the top 10 this season in numerous statistical categories.
Particularly, Yates should be vulnerable to Pittsburgh's ability to pressure quarterbacks. Houston's trio of passers have been sacked a total of 57 times, with five of those belonging to Yates; four of those came in last week's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, one of only two teams with more sacks than the Steelers this season.
Yates completed only 12 of his 31 pass attempts in Week 15, for 128 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception.
Pittsburgh's defense is sacking quarterbacks on 8.7 percent of their dropbacks, while Houston's three quarterbacks have an average sack rate of 8.5 percent (and 8.1 percent for Yates).
Should the Steelers establish an early lead, that will force Yates into heavy-passing mode, making him a sitting duck for Pittsburgh pass-rushers such as Vince Williams and Cameron Heyward. With only receiver DeAndre Hopkins as Houston's notable playmaker, keeping Yates in check on Monday should not be a struggle.
Watch Out for Clowney
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Though the Texans defense has just 31 sacks this season—tying them for the 20th-most in the league—nine of those belong to linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.
The Steelers will have to keep an eye on the dangerous pass-rusher on Monday in order to make the day as easy and painless as possible for quarterback Roethlisberger.
So far, the Steelers' offensive line has done a good job of keeping Roethlisberger protected. Roethlisberger has taken only 14 sacks on his league-leading 532 pass attempts, giving him a sack rate of 3.8 percent. But the return of right tackle Marcus Gilbert from a four-game PED suspension could give Clowney just the opening he needs.
Though Gilbert told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bill Brink that he "feel[s] excellent" after his time away, he did add that, "I need to get back in 'football-football' shape with the pads and I'm just excited to get back out there, just to hit."
Granted, that was Wednesday, nearly a week before the game, but it's possible that Gilbert's fresh legs may also harbor some rust. How he handles the attack of Clowney will be important to watch on Monday, as it could be a difference-maker in the contest.
Fellow lineman Ramon Foster—Pittsburgh's starting right guard—is also listed as questionable on Saturday's injury report as he is working his way back from a concussion. If he misses Monday's game, then there will be pass-rushing opportunities available to Clowney. The Steelers must find a way to contain him.
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Defensive Discipline
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The Steelers reversed course on their longstanding issue with missed tackles in Week 15 against the Patriots, with Steelers Depot's Josh Carney counting only eight in the contest.
While the improvement was both necessary and impressive, it may have been their formidable opponent that forced the defense to be more disciplined. This week against Houston's offense, Pittsburgh's defenders may revert back to their old ways.
Pittsburgh has averaged 12.14 missed tackles per game this year, for a total of 170 on the season—only eight of which have come on special teams. And now that they are without their defensive leader, inside linebacker Ryan Shazier, Pittsburgh's troubles tackling could return against Houston.
The Texans don't have an explosive offense. Top receiver Hopkins has 1,313 yards and seven scores, but their No. 2 receiver Will Fuller has only 396 yards. He does have seven touchdowns, though, which serves as a warning to the Steelers—failing to wrap him up could lead to a big play or a touchdown that swings momentum in the Texans' favor.
Houston's run game is also not a strength, with rushing leader Lamar Miller averaging only 56.9 rushing yards per game. However, just like with Hopkins and Fuller in the passing game, one wrong angle taken by a Steelers would-be tackler can be a game-breaker.
While the Steelers have allowed a mere eight runs of 20 or more yards and two of 40-plus, they have also allowed 42 passing plays that have earned their opponents 20 or more yards, including 11 that went for 40 or more.
Pittsburgh cannot just assume that Houston's having Yates under center means that there will be no plays available for him to make. The Steelers defense needs to reprise its disciplined play from a week ago rather than perform as it has for the majority of the season that preceded it.
Leave Unscathed
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The Steelers are one of the healthier teams in the league this late in the season. Only three players are on injured reserve—linebacker Shazier, running back James Conner and linebacker Keion Adams. Only receiver Brown is listed as officially out for Monday's game, and just two others—guard Foster and cornerback Coty Sensabaugh—are being called questionable.
The Steelers will need things to stay that way through Weeks 16 and 17 if they are to make a deep playoff run. Though they have been fortunate enough to not suffer the losses of numerous starters like many other teams this season, injuries are unpredictable. There is not much the Steelers can do to prevent them.
However, there are certain precautions available to them. One is to pull starters if their lead against Houston grows large enough. Another is to do the same should the situation be reversed and the Texans build an insurmountable lead. The rest, however, is mostly up to luck.
The Steelers have, for the most part, had it on their side this season, and that needs to continue on Monday and beyond.
A Win Is Important
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On paper, there are few reasons why the 11-win Steelers should fall to the four-win Texans in Week 16, having them beat in every meaningful statistical category. But the "Any Given Sunday" (or in this case, Monday) is an NFL cliche for a reason.
The Steelers cannot overlook the Texans this week, especially with so much still on the line for Pittsburgh.
While the Steelers are the AFC's second seed, the Jacksonville Jaguars are hot on their heels with a 10-4 record. Pittsburgh needs not only to win against Houston, but also needs the Jaguars to fall to the San Francisco 49ers to guarantee that No. 2 spot is theirs, which gives them an all-important first-round bye.
With the Jaguars playing just as well as the Steelers this year, a loss in Week 16 seems just as unlikely for them as for Pittsburgh. Thus, the Steelers must take the Texans seriously as opponents or else could see that bye and its much-needed chance for rest slip away.
Last week's meeting with the Patriots was easily the Steelers' most-marquee matchup of the regular season, but they have to make sure that they didn't expend too much physical or emotional energy preparing for that game that they arrive in Houston flat and distracted.
The Steelers' postseason hopes no longer hang in the balance, but that first-round bye needs to be a motivator over these final two weeks.
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