The Pittsburgh Steelers face another tough road test in Week 4 when they travel to Houston to take on the 2-1 Texans. The two AFC squads have limited history playing against one another, having met just three times previously, the last time being in Week 1 of the 2008 season. The Texans present some tough matchups for this particular Steelers squad - namely, their dangerous passing attack, and their new, attacking 3-4 defense coordinated by first-year coach Wade Phillips. The Texans are averaging 262.7 yards per game through the air (12th); defensively, their seven sacks put them just in the middle of the pack league-wide, but don't let that fool you into thinking that Phillips won't be dialing up a number of blitz packages to try to confuse the young and makeshift Steelers offensive line.
We'll have more analysis about the matchup shortly, but let's take a quick look at the two teams' series history, as well as the broadcast information and up-to-date stats for both squads.
SERIES
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STEELERS |
TEXANS |
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SERIES LEADER |
2-1 |
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STREAKS |
Past 2 |
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COACHES VS. OPP. |
Tomlin: 1-0 |
Kubiak: 0-1 |
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LAST WEEK |
W 23-20 at Colts |
L 40-33 at Saints |
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LAST GAME |
9/7/08: Texans 17 at Steelers 38. Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger completes 13 of 14 passes (92.9 pct.) for 137 yards & 2 TDs. Steelers RB Willie Parker adds 138 rush yards & 3 TDs. |
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LAST GAME AT SITE |
9/18/05: Steelers 27, Texans 7. Roethlisberger throws for 254 yards with 2 TDs. Pittsburgh defense registers 8 sacks, including 3 by S Troy Polamalu. |
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BROADCAST |
CBS (12:00 PM CT): Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf. SIRIUS: 86 (Pit.), 128 (Hou.). XM: 228 (Hou.). |
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STATS
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PASSING |
Roethlisberger: 69-108-942 (3C)-3-4-85.5 |
Schaub: 60-92-823-6-3-101.9 |
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RUSHING |
Mendenhall: 49-148-3.0-1 |
Tate: 66-301-4.6-1 |
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RECEIVING |
Wallace: 21 (T3L)-377 (2L)-18.0-2 |
A. Johnson: 21 (T3L)-316 (3C)-15.0-2 |
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OFFENSE |
380.3 |
400.7 |
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TAKE/GIVE |
-9 |
+2 |
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DEFENSE |
263.3 (2L) |
332.0 |
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SACKS |
Harrison: 2 |
A. Smith: 3 (T2C) |
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INTs |
--- |
Joseph: 2 (T3L) |
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PUNTING |
Sepulveda: 49.8 |
Hartmann (R): 45.0 |
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KICKING |
Suisham: 18 (6/6 PAT; 4/6 FG) |
Rackers: 36 (1L) (9/9 PAT; 9/9 FG) |