STEELERS GAMEDAY INFO
Week 4, Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) at Houston Texans (1-2)
Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, 1 p.m. (noon Central)
NRG Stadium, Houston (72,220, turf)
Broadcast
TV: CBS, KDKA locally, (Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta, Amanda Renner).TV Map.
Radio: Steelers Radio Network, 102.5 WDVE-FM (Bill Hillgrove, Craig Wolfley, Max Starks), Westwood One Radio (Ryan Radtke, Mike Golic), Sirius XM Radio 119 or 387.
SN Coverage: Alan Saunders
Forecast: 90 degrees, mostly sunny (indoors)
Lines: Steelers -3, Steelers -155, over/under 41.5 BetMGM promo.
| [bet-promo id=”22863″ ] |
AT STAKE
The Pittsburgh Steelers enter Week 4 in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC North. The Steelers currently have the tiebreakers over the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, while the Cincinnati Bengals are one game behind. The Steelers will stay in first place with a win, but a loss could drop them into a tie for last place.
In the bigger picture, the Steelers have a gift-wrapped opportunity to continue their momentum from last week’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders against an out-gunned Texans squad that is missing most of what little star power it has.
INJURY REPORT
| Player | Injury | Date | Prognosis | Roster Status |
| TE Darnell Washington | Knee | Sept. 27 | Unknown | Active, FP on Fri. |
| WR Allen Robinson II | Ankle | Sept. 24 | Day to day | Active, FP on Fri. |
| S Miles Killebrew | Knee | Sept. 24 | Unknown | Active, FP on Fri. |
| RG James Daniels | Groin | Sept. 24 | Day to day | OUT, DNP on Fri. |
| RT Chuks Okorafor | Elbow | Sept. 24 | Unknown | Active, FP on Fri. |
| P Pressley Harvin III | Right Hamstring | Sept. 24 | Day to Day | OUT, DNP on Fri. |
| TE Connor Heyward | Ankle | Sept. 24 | Unknown | Active, FP on Fri. |
| WR Gunner Olszewski | Concussion | Sept. 18 | Unknown | Active, FP on Fri. |
| DT Larry Ogunjobi | Right Foot | Aug. 9 | Day to day | Active, FP on Fri. |
| RB Anthony McFarland | Knee | Sept. 13 | Week to week | Injured reserve – (Wk. 6) |
| WR Diontae Johnson | Left hamstring | Sept. 10 | Week to week | Injured reserve – (Wk. 6) |
| DT Cam Heyward | Core muscle surgery | Sept. 10 | Multiple weeks | Injured reserve – (Wk. 6) |
| DB Josiah Scott | Undisclosed | Sept. 13 | Undisclosed | Practice squad IR |
| LB Chapelle Russell II | Knee | Aug. 11 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| CB Cory Trice | Right ACL tear | Aug. 1 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| RB Alfonzo Graham | Torn right labrum | July 29 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| DT Renell Wren | Torn right Achilles tendon | May 17 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
TRANSACTIONS
The Steelers have elevated punter Brad Wing from the practice squad.
FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Tackle Laremy Tunsil, tackle Josh Jones, cornerback Tavierre Thomas and linebacker Deznel Perryman have all ben ruled out. Center Michael Deiter is questionable.
THE LAST TIME
All three Watt brothers played at Heinz Field as the Steelers got touchdowns from Eric Ebron, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner to beat the Texans, 28-21 on Sept. 27, 2020.
The Texans led 14-3 early in the second quarter, but Ben Reothlisberger led back-to-back scoring drives to put Pittsburgh ahead before the half.
SERIES
The Steelers are 5-2 against the Texans since the expansion franchise joined the league in 2002. Houston won in its first season, a 24-6 game in Pittsburgh, and then also got a win in Houston in 2011. The Steelers won in 2005, 2006, 2014, 2017 and 2020.
PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS
Texans guard Kendrick Green was the Steelers’ third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and played two seasons in Pittsburgh.
Houston cornerback Steven Nelson also spent two years in Pittsburgh, playing the 2019 and 2020 seasons in black and gold before leaving in a contract dispute.
Defensive tackle Khalil Davis, who was with the Steelers in 2021 and 2022, has been elevated from the practice squad for this game.
Pitt alums Brandon Hll (safety), Jimmy Morrissey (center) and Jared Wayne (wide receiver) are on the Houston practice squad, but will not play in this game.
Former Penn State center Juice Scruggs is on injured reserve.
TOMLIN OWNS ROOKIES
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is 23-4 all-time against rookie quarterbacks and has won nine in a row, beating the likes of Joe Burrow, Justin Fields, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray in that stretch.
WATT AN HONOR
The Texans will honor J.J. Watt, the oldest brother of Steelers outside linebacker J.J. Watt, before the game and induct him into the team’s Ring of Honor, joining founder Bob McNair and wide receiver Andre Johnson.