The Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) overcame the suspension of starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in a season-opening 15-9 overtime win against Atlanta last Sunday and will now look to earn a tough road victory when they visit the Tennessee Titans (1-0).  Pittsburgh is a 5.5 point underdog on the current NFL lines.  The Steelers used strong defense to hold the Falcons without a touchdown and must face a Titans team that crushed Oakland 38-13 in their season opener.

Tennessee was led by reigning NFL rushing champion Chris Johnson, who totaled 142 yards on the ground and scored on a 76-yard touchdown run.  Johnson has broken the century mark in rushing yards 12 straight times but could find the going a little tougher against a staunch Pittsburgh defense that held Falcons running back Michael Turner to 42 yards on 19 carries.

The Steelers have allowed just three 100-yard rushers since 2006 and held Johnson under 70 yards both times they faced him, including a 13-10 victory last season.  That loss occurred in the season opener for the both teams a year ago and was the start of a six-game losing streak for the Titans before the bye week.  Tennessee went on to win eight of 10 to finish the season at 8-8.

Pittsburgh endured a similar losing streak after the bye week last year including a setback in the first career start for second-year quarterback Dennis Dixon, who has taken Roethlisberger’s place in the lineup for the first four games.  Dixon did a decent job in his second career start last week against Atlanta, completing 18 of 26 passes for 236 yards with one interception.

However, Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall was the star of the game with a 50-yard touchdown run in overtime and finished with 120 yards on 22 carries.  Mendenhall could also struggle against the Titans defense, which has limited Pittsburgh to 109 on 48 carries in the last two meetings.

Last year’s matchup between the teams snapped a string of six OVERs in the previous seven meetings, and there is the potential for another high-scoring game here if both quarterbacks have to throw the ball to put points on the scoreboard due to each team’s ability to stop the run.

Tennessee quarterback Vince Young has never played against  the Steelers during his career and is coming off an efficient game against the Falcons.  Young completed 13 of 17 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns while also running seven times for 30 yards.  Kerry Collins was under center in the last two meetings with Pittsburgh before losing his job to Young after last year’s skid.

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