The Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans are a lot alike. Both teams are flawed and coming off disappointing losses to division rivals, yet are still in the mix for the playoffs. It's been an up-and-down six weeks for both clubs leading to a showdown of 3-3 teams in Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football. The Steelers are more balanced on both sides of the ball and playing at home. They are also the favorite in the eyes of NFL experts with the majority predicting a Pittsburgh victory.
Texans vs. Steelers 2014 picks and predictions: Experts favor Pittsburgh
The Steelers and Texans will meet on Monday night in a game that could have major postseason implications down the road. Pittsburgh is at home and most experts predict the Steelers will come away with the win.
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The Steelers have alternated wins and losses this season, never winning or losing two straight games. That streak continued last week with a 31-10 drubbing at the hands of the Cleveland Browns. While the Texans have some obvious weaknesses, the Steelers are more balanced. Behind a strong running game led by Le'Veon Bell, the Steelers are fifth in rushing yards per game and sixth in total yards per game on offense. While it may not be a dominant defensive team, Pittsburgh is No. 12 in yards per game allowed.
Houston is also powered by its rushing attack with Arian Foster leading the way. The Texans lack the balance of Pittsburgh, however, ranking 28th in passing yards per game. Houston averages 7.9 yards per pass attempt -- seventh-best in the league -- but doesn't throw the ball often. Defensively, the Texans are a bend, but don't break unit, ranking No. 27 in yards allowed, but No. 4 in scoring defense. Houston is coming off a pair of close defeats, losing to Dallas in overtime before dropping a Thursday night game 33-28 to Indianapolis last week.
While J.J. Watt will pose a problem for the Steelers, the majority of NFL experts are still expecting the Steelers to win. SB Nation's experts were split on the game with a slight advantage to the Steelers. Four of the seven picked Pittsburgh to improve to 4-3 while the other three have Houston coming away with the road victory. The experts at CBS Sports lean more toward Pittsburgh with six of the nine picking the Steelers. ESPN's group of NFL experts are the closest to unanimous with 11 of 13 siding with Pittsburgh.
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