Let’s not put too much lipstick on the pig here because if you take away the three minute barrage by the Steelers to end the first half, they didn’t play all that well. The end didn’t come until the Michael Palmer fell on the Texans’ on-sides kick but finally the Steelers had their win.
-Credit Dick LeBeau who made his best in-game adjustments of the season after getting gashed in the first half. He brought some more heat and the team responded with some turnovers.
-The win is beyond crucial with an extremely hot Indianapolis team coming to town and then Baltimore the following week.
-The fumbles by Ben Roethlisberger have to stop. I appreciate his willingness to keep plays alive but sometimes you just have to take care of the ball and take the loss.
-When you’re struggling in the Red Zone, you do whatever it takes. The Steelers did that by getting Antonio Brown on an end around-reverse pass to Lance Moore. I really wasn’t crazy about the play-call but it worked.
-The Steelers then used an excellent piece of play-design to find Le’Veon Bell in the end zone where Ben Roethlisberger hit him with a strike.
-I still have concerns as to whether Roethlisberger will survive this season. The offensive line just isn’t getting it down consistently in pass protection.
-The late surge in the second quarter did not mask a pretty brutal first half by the Steelers.
-Welcome to the NFL Martavis Bryant. Not bad for your first catch rook!
-Le’Veon Bell is something special people. His patience in the running game is one thing but his ability to catch and run with the football is amazing as well and Bell isn’t a small guy either.
-How about that interception by Brett Keisel?
-All things considered, the Steelers did pretty well against J.J. Watt who did have a sack and a fumble recovery but by and large he was fairly limited.
-With a fourth and inches in Houston territory in the third quarter, the Steelers could have gone for the throat by going for it. The momentum of the huge second quarter was still fresh and playing field-position there was a mistake in my opinion.
-Antonio Brown had some great catches in the second half and nearly had a TD on one but just couldn’t get the second foot down.
-OK, I haven’t watched the film yet but Mike Adams acquitted himself pretty well last night after he came in for Marcus Gilbert. I know there were some negatives but overall not too shabby.
-Finally! An impact play from Mike Mitchell who stripped DeAndre Hopkins of the ball late in the fourth quarter.
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteelDad and the website @SCBlitz. Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/steelcityblitz and on Fancred.com. You can hear him weekly during the season on game day on the Trib-Live Radio Steelers Pre-Game
