The Steelers were fortunate to not have to worry about the Chiefs' premier pass rusher when they played in Week 4 this season, that being Justin Houston.
Houston has been a major contributor to the Chiefs' defense for years now, totaling 22 sacks in 2014 and four sacks in only five starts this season. He's a player who is not only explosive off the ball, but also very technically sound in his fundamentals to win hand battles at the line of scrimmage and he diagnoses what offenses are doing as well as anybody.
We take this Wednesday's film room to study Houston and what he's brought to the Chiefs' defense since his return from injury:
BIG HELP IN THE RUN
One thing Houston has shown is that he's not exclusively a pass rusher, because he knows how to be a major contributor to stopping the run. His ability to both maintain the edge and cover two gaps could be a problem for Le'Veon Bell's style of running:
Watch on the play above how Houston (50) engages the tight end on the right side of the formation. He gets his hands inside while keeping his head up and keeps his outside shoulder free to maintain the edge and force Latavius Murray to the inside. But he also finds a way to finish the play and tackle Murray as he tries to jump to the inside.
The Steelers will want to make sure that if Jesse James, Xavier Grimble or, even if, LaDarius Green can return and if they have to match up with Houston that they get some help. Preferably it would come from Marcus Gilbert chipping Houston or Ramon Foster pulling to the edge to help seal Houston.
But what might neutralize that is Gilbert himself being primarily responsible for Houston on most plays. That might end up being the biggest matchup of the game in both the run and the pass.
AGGRESSIVE AND FAST
Houston's blitzes are difficult to stop because he's a master at figuring out difficult attack angles for linemen to stop. Watch how he lines up so far to the outside here, just inside of Austin Hooper (81), that when he attacks the right tackle, Ryan Schraeder (73), Schraeder is unable to stop Houston's momentum:
Though Houston is forced around Matt Ryan by Schraeder, his path forced Ryan to change his launch spot and began the chase for the Chiefs' defensive front. Houston ends up getting the sack when he sticks with the play to finish Ryan off.
This is where Gilbert is going to become a major factor in the Steelers' offense. When he last faced Houston, he was able to shut him out from any sacks despite the Steelers having Landry Jones at quarterback. Gilbert also shut out Von Miller twice that season, so Ben Roethlisberger should be comfortable to rely on Gilbert to maintain that side of the line.
Still, it might not always be Gilbert who has to stop Houston.
CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE
Andy Reid's defense features many pass rushers that they are not afraid to weave into various blitzes and looks that move each of their pass rushers to various places on the line. Watch how Houston lines up to the inside of Tamba Hali (91) and the two twist off each other to create pressure in B-gap:
Houston isn't just an edge rusher, he's a player that can and will find ways to beat you if you're not paying attention. What makes the above play work is that the Broncos' left tackle can't quickly identify that Hali is twisting to the inside and fails to pick up Houston when the left guard is only able to put an arm on Houston and puts most of his focus on Hali.
This is going to take a consistent effort of solid identification and communication between the Steelers' offensive line. Hali and Houston lining up on the same side can become a problem by itself, but having to account for Houston as being the responsibility of multiple linemen could change how the game flows if the Steelers' offensive line isn't prepared to account for him at all times.
Thursday: We look at what the Steelers' defense is going to have to do to limit the strengths of the Chief's offense.
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