Column: Immaculate Projection? Sure, why not?

Steelers rose from the dead after that horrible first quarter. I still have my concerns about their rushing defense, but loved how they used Bell in the passing game. Feed Bell and Brown all game long and we will win games. You can see the green mile in Cortez. Looks scared.

Wins are wins. Take one every week. However, needing trick plays & screens to score inside the 5 isn't good, imo. If this win gathers ol' Mo for next week & beyond, GREAT. The line of scrimmage still feels like an issue to me. Liked Bryant & McCain. Spence had a nice game.

Exciting game. Lots of good happened. Hopefully they can keep it going and stack some wins like they say. Good stuff DK!

My turning point. 13-3, about 1:30 left in first half. Bell catches screen, turns up the left sideline with Pouncey leading him downfield. Instead of running out of bounds, Bell turns back inside and lays the wood on 54. Great catch and run.

Worth the wait! Great job capturing the spirit in the locker room. Now to bed. :)

We were lucky tonight, earned luck, but that is the NFL.

A spark, hope, hope is a good thing

Glad I waited up! You were on a roll tonight on Twitter and it continued into your column. Highly enjoyable column. Some great comments by the players. Great job, Dejan.

The liquid Timmons spewed was fluorescent green when live TV showed it. So rather than too much lunch, I think he simply had just guzzled too much Gatorade, too fast. I'm sure the smart folks at Gatorade can think of a way to capitalize on this. #Tea-time with LT

"Todd Haley unchained his east-west offense and...almost instantaneously, began torching the Texans."
Still trying to force that storyline, I see. Besides strike to Bryant, just about everything else was classic Haley. And it WORKED. Most of the "vertical" shots fell incomplete

"Hurl Heard Around the World".
LOL !!
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Steelers swung the momentum when they scored the TD by Bryant, the the muffed kickoff, leading to a forced fumble, then the razzle-dazzle TD, then Keisel's INT. Great to see that series of events!!
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That was missing so far this year.

Luck and Colts will abuse this defense. Hilton has been amazinf this season and expect him to torch Steelers secondary. Wayne miasing the game is big though.

The most amazing rapid turnaround of a game and a season I can remember. Too bad it's a good opponent on a short week.

Win, lose, win, lose, win, lose, win. Are the Steelers ready to break the 2014 pattern? As Luck would have it, maybe not yet.

The key was when Dick Lebeau finally started blitzing the QB, lots of good things happened after that.

Down the stretch, I had the willies because all the Texans had to do to get McCain off coverage on Johnson was to use a slot receiver, and presto - Cortez on their best wide out. Ecch.

I am glad to see that some people haven't quit on team.Our CB's might be the worse tandem in the NFL.They get torched against inexperienced or bad QB's.Big Ben has been sacked most in NFL,so our OL has to be ranked at bottom.TH didn't try 2 run out clock, bad time Mgt.

Still disappointed with the way they had to hang on. However, AB's catch should have been ruled a TD.

As always, it's a football column, so please respect football fans' space to discuss. Thanks to all.

O'Brien rubs me wrong way. In the Belichick mold of not suffering the media because he knows it all already.
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Annoying.

Here are my winners/losers from yesterday:
Winners: Antonio Brown, Jason Worilds, Le’Veon Bell, Martavis Bryant, Maurkice Pouncey.
Losers: Markus Wheaton, Cortez Allen, David DeCastro

The schedule is now in play. As the NFL is week to week, The next two games will determine if this team is really getting better or more in the up and won mode. Losing two home games the next two weeks will mean making any run is unlikely. Still see 7-9 8-8 record.

I had Foster and Houston's D on my fantasy team. Needless to say, I -thought- I was going to crush it. Nope.

This team is still average at best. I fear wins like this only put makeup on a pig. The defense is still bad. Hopefully Shazier and Jones get healthy and help, but Allen remains a big concern.

JAL’s Dreams Morning Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK_5cJpM06k

This team still kicks to many field goals in the red zone. Texans were still only one drive down to end the game, and honestly if not for those 73 seconds in the 2nd half, the Steelers lose this game. I didn't see anything different to think we aren't going to get crushed next.

sorry should have said up and down. OB1 was mislead by the nits and left as soon as he could. He does have a little bit my sh** don't stink about him. But he overcame many obstacles to keep the nits from really going south. Yes and Ben doesn't have trade value, really?

Wow, barely (luckily) beat a mediocre team with a lame-ass qb. Woo freakin' hoo. Defense needs the youngsters turned loose! Here's hoping Shazier is almost back, and WHERE WAS Tuitt?! (Looking like a 3rd 8-8; no way around that...)

I noticed there were a lot of empty seats yesterday. Anyone have any idea why so many people didn’t show up?

Did anybody see Timmons puking all over the field? That was gross!

It's great that they took advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves, but I'm not convinced that this W means much of anything. Offense had two good plays in a row and at least converted their chances, but looked awful the first 27 minutes and didn't getmuch better

Even if the Steelers didn't connect on all the long passes, it was still important to start to incorporate them into the offense. The bubble screens are largely ineffective because they are so predictable. I thought Haley kept the Houston defense honest last night for a change.

I was at the game last night, and I profess to be one of those guys that would actually rather stay home, however, I'm glad I missed the vomit comet... hahahaha

I liked Bell at MSU, and thought he would be a pretty good pro. But, I had no idea he could be this good. For all the draft criticism the Steelers get (deservedly so), they knocked the Bell pick out of the park. Where would we be w/o him?

If someone hasn`t already mentioned it, how about the technicolor towel? Yeah, they actually looked like a football team, taking advantage of mistakes, forcing turnovers. It`s a step in the right direction, but the secondary faces a large task next week against Luck and the Colt.

Of course, it is a win, thank goodness. However, if anyone believes this rights the ship, I believe that would be an inaccurate view. And someone please tell me, why pass the ball when you need to run out the clock inside 3 minutes of the game. Still, much help needed.

Heading back to Orlando from the Burgh today but this City never ceases to amaze me. Those of you who remain in the Burgh, you're fortunate to live here. Thank you for making my family's stay most memorable and thank you too, DK, for the time and conversation. WE LOVE THE BURGH

I`m sure that freakish int by Da Beard made it all worthwhile for him to come back. As far as I`ve seen, he`s been playing very inspiring football this season. The young d line needs leadership, which we know he provides, and the fans love him,which doesn`t hurt at any home game.

Out of Troy, Worilds, & Cortez who do you all feel will be back next year?

I don’t believe Troy has a pass deflection, let alone an interception, yet this year and the season is almost half over. We could really use the salary cap space if he is released.

O-line played well against JJ. You are not going to beat him every play. Defense looked much more aggressive after 1st quarter.

Steelers are still in limbo with contracts that have big cap implications. Woodley counts 6.5 mill on next years cap. Troy is 3.5 if cut before next June. Lot of dead money. LT and corner are big needs. Bad cap management, with average drafts has to end now.

The words "Brett Keisel" and "races" not only used in the same sentence, but juxtaposed? Who woulda thunk it?

Never thought I would say it but Mike Adams played a solid game; try him on the left side if Gilbert can come back this week.

Turned out to be a beautiful night on the N. Shore...new definition of the fastest 3 minutes in Football. +++ Haley offense found endzone. - D 2ndry still shaky, but 25 gave stability. - 91 & 74 need to play. + 50 plays this week. + 26 = STUD. - 84 had TD taken away

They "quoted" your tweet at the
Fansided.com website which is discussing Timmons video. It's your - Immaculate Projection tweet. I was correct - Hoke/Wolfe said Timmins has done this 3-4 times this season - projected. I think it was Balt, Clev or Car, Hou

For the Steelers to start stacking wins they are going to need a LOT more. Cortez Allen is a disaster and DeCastro had a terrible night...need EVERYONE to bring their A game!!

As one who criticized the Bryant pick, he's already done more than Limas Sweed. :-)

Does anybody remember hines ward taking an end around down at the 3 at the height of bruce arians angst? The AB pass immediately reminded me of that. I couldn't find the highlight of hines online.

I know we have been down on Haley, but the O between the 20's hasn't been the problem. We were 0-4 in the RZ against the Browns. Even 50% and its a different game. I am just hoping that the ineptitude has come to an end. Could be the lift they needed.

Woodley has a 6.5 million cap hit in 2015. It was spread over two years by releasing him in June. 2014. Presently the Steelers have little cap room in 2015. Now extending Ben will help but the cap situation is still somewhat tight in 2015.

I'm not going to get too caught up in the euphoria of this win. 3 takeaways was the difference in this game. There's still a lot of holes to fill and a lot to prove. Stacking wins will be a tell-tale sign if this team is turning the corner.

It was a strange game and we staggered to the finish line and almost threw off the jockey. Todd H with the knowledge that Houston had no time outs, decides to throw a pass instead of running play to kill more time off the clock and almost cost us the game.

Heyward Bey on the "hands" team....heh.

Even the atrocious 5-11 Steelers of 1988 beat a 10 win team. I got to see more.

This win was a big confidence builder and it doesn't matter how we won. Sunday we play a much better team and the secondary will have to play its best game of the season. I really hope they don't start Cortez Allen. He's toast. Give someone else a chance. It wouldn't hurt.