The Steelers have brought back 28-year old fullback Carey Davis.  Davis played in 14 games for the Steelers last season and he carried the ball 12 times for 35 yards (2.9 ypc).  He also caught 5 passes for 27 yards (5.4 avg) last year for the Steelers.  The reason the Steelers brought back Davis was because of injuries to David Johnson (high ankle sprain) which will cause him to miss multiple weeks and Frank Summers who has a back injury.  This was a smart move to bring back Davis who already knows the playbook.

UPDATE:  The Steelers have placed rookie fullback Frank Summers on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers choked for the second week in a row against the Bengals yesterday.  They were winning 20-9 heading into the 4th quarter and that’s when the once vaunted defense of the Steelers’ gave it up.  Two TD drives in the 4th quarter that went for a combined 156 total yards gave the Bengals the huge win.  S Ryan Clark (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and CB Ike Taylor (6 tackles, 4 pass defensed) led the Steelers’ number wise on the D.  The Bengals finished up with 273 total yards on offense (100 rushing, 173 passing) in this game.

The Steelers didn’t look too hot on offense in this game either.  Ben Roethlisberger completed 22 of 31 passes for 276 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception ( it was returned 30 yards for a TD by CB Johnathan Joseph).  Willie Parker did get the running game going for the Steelers carrying the ball 25 times for 93 yards (3.7 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 36 yards (18.0 avg) with a TD grab.  Rookie WR Mike Wallace led the way for the Steelers in the passing game with 7 catches for 102 yards (14.6 avg).  Hines Ward pitched in with 4 catches for 82 yards (20.5 avg).  The Steelers finished up with 373 total yards on offense (102 rushing, 271 passing) in this game.  The Steelers are now 1-2 on the season and they are in third place in the AFC North.

The Steelers have owned the Bengals as of late.  They have won 8 in a row in Cincinnati and Ben Roethlisberger is 11-0 in his native state of Ohio since joining the Steelers.  But this isn’t a normal Steelers team as they just can’t run the football.  The Bengals only allow 82.0 yards rushing per game this season but 4.3 yards per carry so maybe this is a chance to get the running game going.  Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore are in a time share situation for the Steelers at RB and they need to have a good game here because Roethlisberger has been under intense heat from opposing pass rushes this season.  The Bengals’ weakness on defense this season has been the secondary so if the Steelers give Big Ben time to throw the ball he should be effective but that means keeping DE Antwan Odom (7 sacks) out of the backfield.

A key to the Bengals offense this season has been balance between the pass and the run.  It’s highly doubtful that Cedric Benson (217 yards rushing) will have much success against a Steelers’ D that is allowing only 64.5 yards rushing per game (3.0 ypc).  If the Steelers stop the running game then they can send everyone after Carson Palmer.  But, the Steelers only have 2 sacks this season and they have given up 233.0 yards passing per game.  They have injuries in the secondary so if the Bengals’ O-Line give him time to throw the ball Palmer should have some success.  This is a game where the Bengals could go to Laveranues Coles and Chris Henry more often then they have so far this season.  That is because the Steelers will no doubt be double covering Chad Ocho Cinco (9 rec, 180 yards, TD).

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 21, BENGALS 20

The Pittsburgh Steelers had won five straight games and 10 of their last 11 heading into today’s match-up with the Chicago Bears.  Jeff Reed and his inconsistent leg, however, cost the Steelers today as they lost to the Bears 17-14 on a late 44-yard field goal by Bears’ kicker Robbie Gould.  Reed missed a 38-yard attempt and a 43 yard attempt, both in the 4th quarter.  Reed’s 43 yard miss gave the ball back to the Bears with a little over three minutes to play on their own 33 yard line.  Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler was able to lead the Bears down the field to the Steelers’ 26 yard-line, leaving the consistent Robbie Gould an easy 44-yard field goal.

The Steelers defense played solid, but star safety Troy Polamalu was missed as Jay Cutler was able to slice through the Steelers defense with a lot of short precise passes.  Polamalu’s replacement, Tyrone Carter, was beaten by Bears’ receiver Johnny Knox for the Bears game tying touchdown late in the 4th quarter.  Cutler improved vastly in this game after throwing a career high four interceptions against the Green Bay Packers last week.  He went for 237 yards and two touchdowns on 27/38 (71 %) pass attempts.

Ben Roethlisberger had an okay game, playing well enough to get the win today if not for Reed’s two 4th quarter field goal misses.  He finished with 221 yards on 23/35 attempts and had one touchdown and one interception.  He also had a rushing touchdown late in the 3rd quarter that put the Steelers up 14-7.  Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward had solid games for the Steelers, as Holmes had five catches for 83 yards and Ward had six catches for 57 yards.  The Steelers will look to rebound next week in Cincinnati, as they take on the Bengals.  The Steelers might need to find themselves a new kicker though, as Reed’s choke job today cost the Steelers this game.

FINAL SCORE:  Bears 17, Steelers 14

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to build on their week one 13-10 overtime victory against the Tennessee Titans as they take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago.  The Steelers will be missing their defensive leader in safety Troy Polamalu but the Bears are also without their star defender Brian Urlacher.  Polamalu is out six weeks with an MCL injury and Urlacher is out for the year with a dislocated wrist.  Outside linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer will be replacing Urlacher at the middle linebacker position and the Steelers will have Tyrone Carter filling in at safety for Polamalu.

The Steelers did a horrible job of establishing the run last week in their win over Tennessee as Rashard Mendenhall and Willie Parker had 17 carries combined.  Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw the ball 43 times for 363 yards, but it was only because the running game could not get going at all for the Steelers.  They are not going to win very many games with Roethlisberger throwing the ball 43 times, so look for the Steelers to try and attack the depleted linebackers of the Chicago Bears.  Hillenmeyer is a very effective outside linebacker and is a good tackler, but he is not a middle linebacker and doesn’t have the strength and speed that Urlacher brings to the position.  The Steelers should attack the heart of the Bears defense with the run and try to get Mendenhall and Parker way more than 17 carries combined.

Do not expect the Jay Cutler you saw in week one, as he threw three of his career high four interceptions in the first half.  The Bears offense settled down and was effective in the second half against the Packers and I’m expecting the Bears to attack the Steelers secondary, especially without the blitz of Polamalu as well as his strong coverage skills.  Tyrone Carter will be making only the 11th start of his ten year career, so there will be a huge drop-off for the Steelers at the safety position.  Hopefully for the Steelers Carter can handle some of the speedy Chicago receivers, particularly Devin Hester.  He and Cutler hooked up on a 36-yard touchdown against the Packers with Hester burning past the Packers’ secondary.

I think due to the lack of a running game the Steelers showed in week one, combined with the loss of Polamalu, the Steelers are going to have their hands full.  You will not see the Chicago Bears offense you saw in week one and I think the Bears will be able to edge out a victory on a late field goal.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Bears 27, Steelers 24