Steelers Win! Steelers Win! Steelers Win!

What can I say, I guess my concerns about the first team offense were answered pretty quickly yesterday (during the Steelers first drive, to be exact) and they continued to improve throughout the course of the game. The Black-n-Gold scored on their first six possessions and the defense held the Titans to just 97 yards on the ground, while forcing four turnovers. Unlike most Steelers games, the passing game actually opened things up for the running game. This was also supposed to signal the start of Big Ben's "Sophomore Jinx" season, but nothing could have been further from the truth, as he completed 9 of 11 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns, throwing scoring strikes to rookie TE Heath Miller and WR Antwaan Randle El, and achieving a perfect QB rating of 158.3 (the first QB to do so since Trent Green did it on opening day two years ago). Former fourth-string running back Willie Parker, who got the start due to injuries to both Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley, had a career day as he racked up 209 total yards, including 161 on the ground and a touchdown, and may get the nod again as the Steelers travel to Houston to face the Texans this coming weekend.


Obviously, the Steelers passing game was solid yesterday and the running game, which was slow to get going, eventually took off. The offensive line did a commendable job of run and pass blocking and did not give up any sacks, even with injuries to Max Starks (who returned) and Marvel Smith (who did not). The defense, with the exception of the opening drive, was solid as well. The run defense (again, with the exception of the opening drive) was extremely punishing as they forced two fumbles and held Chris Brown and Travis Henry under 100 rushing yards. The amount of big plays let up in the pass defense was held to a minimum, but this area is still one of concern as the secondary has been something of an Achilles heel for the Steelers over the course of the last couple of seasons and something that the Steelers will need to address throughout the season. Bettis should be available this coming weekend and would most likely be used to spell Willie Parker.

All in all, I was very pleased by the Steelers performance and think they'll be able to build on it. I look forward to this coming weekend to see how they fare in Houston.