Titans at Steelers
THE STORY: Battered and bruised on both sides of the ball, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be hard-pressed to snap out of their early-season funk when they host the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Aside from a dominating home win over Seattle in Week 2, the banged-up Steelers have been unimpressive and will face the Titans without standout linebacker James Harrison. RB Rashard Mendenhall also could miss the game due to injury while QB Ben Roethlisberger is expected to wear a metal shoe to protect his sprained foot. The Titans have won three straight and are among the league’s biggest surprises.
TV: CBS, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Steelers -3, O/U 39.5
ABOUT THE TITANS (1-3): QB Matt Hasselbeck threw three touchdown passes last week and already has eight on the season – only four fewer than his total with Seattle in 2010 – despite losing stud WR Kenny Britt for the season in Week 3. RB Chris Johnson finally got untracked in last week’s 31-13 rout at Cleveland by rushing for 101 yards, more than he had in his first three games combined. While Tennessee’s schedule has been far from rugged, the Titans’ defense ranks No. 1 in the league with 14.0 points per game.
ABOUT THE STEELERS (2-2): Roethlisberger has already thrown five interceptions, lost four fumbles and been sacked 14 times, a big reason why Pittsburgh is a minus-10 in turnover differential. Mendenhall is averaging only 3.0 yards per carry behind a shaky offensive line and may not be able to play due to a hamstring injury. Isaac Redman will get the start if Mendenhall cannot go. WR Mike Wallace had a string of six 100-yard games snapped last week, but is third in the league in receiving yards (454) on 25 catches.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Pittsburgh’s defense is in the bottom third of league with 7.0 sacks and 119.5 yards rushing allowed. Last season, the Steelers topped the NFL in both categories (48 sacks, 62.8 yards rushing).
2. Titans RB Johnson, in his fourth year in the league, needs 93 yards from scrimmage to reach 6,000 for his career.
3. Both teams welcome back familiar faces. The Steelers re-signed OL Max Starks while FB Ahmard Hall returns from a four-game suspension for Tennessee.