Chiefs, Houston prepare to make Big Ben feel heat
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs cautiously have been nursing the surgically repaired left knee of standout pass rusher Justin Houston back to health. He should be ready just in time to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
To which Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger replied: “Justin should take his time, think about his health and his family, and take one more week off.”
“Well,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid countered, “Ben's a smart guy.”
That little tit-for-tat drives home the notion that the ability of the Chiefs (12-4) to put pressure on Roethlisberger could become a crucial story line of their divisional matchup at 1:05 p.m. Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. NBC (WESH-Ch. 2) will broadcast the game.
Kansas City didn't have Houston, a four-time Pro Bowl linebacker, when the Steelers (12-5) romped to a 43-14 victory in October. Nor have the Chiefs had a whole lot of success from anybody else — ever — when it comes to bringing down the veteran quarterback known as “Big Ben.”
Roethlisberger has been sacked eight times in six games against Kansas City, two of those when their matchup this season was well in hand. It's a big reason he is 5-1 against the Chiefs.
Roethlisberger said on a conference call Wednesday that his right foot, which got pinned beneath the Dolphins' Cameron Wake late in last week's 30-12 wild-card victory, was going to be fine for Sunday.
Good thing, too, because it appears Houston will be fine as well.
The Chiefs' top pass rusher had surgery in February to repair a balky ACL and did not play until late November. He proceeded to pile up three sacks against the Denver Broncos and another the next week in Atlanta, but he was quiet the following two weeks. Houston did not play in the final two regular-season games.
Houston did not practice during an abbreviated workout Monday, but he was on the field for the 20-minute portion of practice that reporters were allowed to observe Wednesday.
“I'll probably know more as I watch him practice, but he’ll be fine,” Reid said. “I'm anticipating that. That's where I think we'll be.”
Roethlisberger is expecting No. 50 to be on the field. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is, too.
“We have a lot of respect for Justin Houston,” he said, “but we also have a lot for Dee Ford and Tamba Hali. Those edge players for them, regardless of who's in the game, are a challenge for us.
“We have our work cut out for us with the talent coming off the edge.”
While Houston missed a substantial portion of the season, the Chiefs managed 28 sacks.
That placed them 28th among the 32 teams in the NFL.
“But the ability to make that quarterback move in the pocket has been huge for us,” Reid argued.
“They feel that heat and they're either moving backwards or sideways and they can't get their feet set, so that can be as an important as a sack, which you'd always like to have more sacks. But the important thing is, you're getting more pressure, and you don't let them throw from a set platform.”
That's exactly what the Chiefs gave Roethlisberger in October. He responded by going 22-of-27 passing for 300 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions, a stat line that might have been even more impressive if the game hadn't gotten out of hand so early.
“Listen, Pittsburgh did a great job against us. They got after us. We respect the heck out of them,” Reid said. “Going back to the drawing board and see if we can compete against him.”