Steelers vs Texans: Come from behind victory to stay undefeated

The Steelers running game proved to be the difference against the Texans

Another statement I have repeatedly made is this: when the Steelers can run the ball effectively, we generally win. It does not always play out that way, but it usually does.  I think it’s fair to say that the running game was more than effective against the Texans.

James Conner, our fourth-year RB out of Pitt and our starting RB I might add, had 109 yards rushing on 18 carries and had one TD to boot, according to the official website of the NFL. What I liked was that we were able to get other players involved in the running game, so much so that we amassed 169 rushing yards as a team.

The running game is only one component of the offense.  If the passing game did not compliment the running game, we probably would have lost.  Ben Roethlisberger, our franchise QB, was efficient against the Texans.  ‘Big Ben’ finished the day with 237 yards and 2 TDs.  He was sacked twice, which, in my opinion, is two times too many, but, fortunately, ‘Big Ben’ emerged unscathed.

Look, I realize there are going to be times where the running game is not working and ‘Big Ben’ will have to throw the ball 50 times in order for us to win and that’s fine.  What I think the Steelers need to avoid is putting ‘Big Ben’ in harm’s way unnecessarily.  An effective running game is the key to keeping our franchise QB upright and healthy.

Let’s see how we fared on the defensive side of the ball.