The Pittsburgh Steelers, coming off their win in Vegas, traveled down to Houston to take on the Texans at 1pm on Sunday, October 1st. Pittsburgh was able to squeeze by in their last two games, but this week felt like a game that we were going to get a better feeling of what this team truly was, as Houston seemed like a team with nothing to lose. A rookie starting quarterback, a diminished offensive line, and a young and unproven defense, Houston was not on anyone’s radar prior to the season.
The Texans lost their first two games of the season, but bounced back with a convincing win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, the team who most predicted to win their division. CJ Stroud, Houston’s rookie quarterback, has proven many people wrong early on this season, and that continued in this game.
Houston started the game with a 12-play, 70 yard drive that ended in a touchdown pass from Stroud to wide receiver Nico Collins. The defense of the Steelers seemed to show signs of weakness as their offense seemed to move down the field with no problem.
Now, the question everyone was waiting for, how will Kenny Pickett and the offense look today? That was answered quite early, as Pickett threw an interception on the first drive of the game on a deep ball intended for Calvin Austin. The play seemed very similar to the shot taken early in last week’s game that resulted in a 72-yard touchdown, but had a much different result this week.
The Steelers continued to struggle, as they punted the rest of their first half drives, never running more than five plays on any drive. Pickett could not seem to get comfortable as the line was not holding up, receivers were not getting open, and even when they were, Kenny was not very accurate on his attempts. Houston, on the other hand, was able to kick three field goals on top of their touchdown, and take a 16-0 lead into halftime. Not a good look for the Steelers.
There was not much excitement throughout the second half, at least for the Steelers. They were able to move onto the opponent’s side of the field on all three of their drives coming out of halftime. Two drives resulted in field goals and one was a turnover on downs, after a 4th and 1 passing call where Pickett was sacked before being able to find an open receiver. Going into the 4th quarter, the score was 16-6.
The following Texans drive was a real slap in the face for Steelers fans, as they drove down the field and capped it off with running back, Devin Singletary, throwing a touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz from six yards out, extending their lead 23-6.
After yet another three and out by the Steelers following the Texans’ touchdown, we just could not seem to stop the bleeding. Houston began their drive at their own 14-yard line and were able to drive all the way down the field, capping off the 11-play drive with a 52-yard bomb by Stroud to wide receiver Nico Collins for yet another touchdown. That would end up being the last score of the game by either team, resulting in a 30-6 blowout win for the Texans.
Kenny Pickett left the game late in the third quarter after hurting his knee getting sacked, and his status for next weekend against Baltimore is up in the air. He finished the game against the Texans going 15/23, 114 yards, and an interception. He was also sacked 3 times and averaged just 7.6 yards per completion. The only highlight for the Steelers was Najee Harris, who had 14 carries for 71 yards, and one catch for an additional 32 yards.
C.J. Stroud finished the game 16/30, 306 yards, two touchdowns, and avoided being sacked despite the banged-up offensive line. Nico Collins led the way in receiving, as he hauled in seven receptions for 168 yards, and two touchdowns. The Steelers have allowed a 100-yard receiver in three of four games this season, as they have allowed 1,085 yards through the air, averaging 271 yards per game.
The call for Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada to be fired may be louder than ever after this game, as the Steelers only managed to pick up 12 first downs and accumulate 225 yards of total offense on Sunday. Since Canada joined Pittsburgh’s coaching staff, they are 1-22 when the other team scored more than 20 points, proving we cannot keep up with high-scoring teams. If a stat like that does not warrant change, I am not sure what will.
Both teams sit at 2-2 on the season after Sunday’s matchup. Pittsburgh will be back at home next week, as they host the Baltimore Ravens before their bye week. Houston, coming off back-to-back wins, will travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons.
