The Pittsburgh Steelers have had to make a lot of adjustments to the team in preparation for their Monday night game after their opening week 16-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans that saw the team lose LB Larry Foote, RB LaRod Stephens-Howling and All-Pro C Maurkice Pouncey for the year.
Pittsburgh's offense struggled without Pouncey (torn ACL and MCL in his right knee) and Stephens-Howling (torn ACL), managing only 32 yards rushing against Tennessee and leaving Ben Roethlisberger to carry the load, completing 21-of-33 passes for 191 yards, one touchdown and an interception in their defeat to the Titans.
"Nobody cares about our problems," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. "They're glad we've got them. We need to understand that. We need to stick together and persevere."
One person certainly not feeling sorry for the Steelers is Cincinnati Bengals LB James Harrison, the five-time Pro Bowl linebacker and 2008 Defensive Player of the Year who played for the Steelers for nine seasons before being released in March when the linebacker and the Steelers couldn't agree on a restructured deal.
"I don't have a chip on my shoulder against the Steelers," Harrison said about his feelings toward playing against his old team. "I don't hate the Steelers. Am I disappointed? Yeah, I'm disappointed."
The Bengals also had a disappointing Week 1, wasting an 11-point lead in the second half of their game against the Chicago Bears, committing eight penalties - including a crucial LB Rey Maualuga's personal foul that allowed the Bears to run out the clock, and turning the ball over three times. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton completed 26-of-33 passes for 282 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in Cincinnati's 24-21 defeat at the hands of the Bears.
"We didn't deserve to win because we had too many penalties and mistakes," said Cincinnati nose tackle Domata Peko. "But I also think we got a feel for what kind of team we have here, or at least what kind of team we can be. Really, we dominated them for three quarters, in my opinion. We've just got to finish."
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