DETROIT -- Eli Rogers. Remember him? How about Justin Hunter?
With Martavis Bryant having been benched by Mike Tomlin for the Steelers' game Sunday against the Detroit Lions (3-3) at Ford Field, Rogers and Hunter will get an opportunity to see increased playing time.
For two players who have spent time on the team's gameday inactive list, it's a welcome chance at redemption.
"Absolutely. I believe that the next time I catch the ball in a game, it's going to be something great," Rogers told me. "I feel like I've broken past a certain plane as far as the understanding of my abilities and I'm just excited."
Rogers burst onto the scene in 2016 after missing his entire rookie season with a foot injury. With Bryant suspended for violation of the league's substance abuse policy, Rogers became a factor for the Steelers (5-2) in the slot, catching 48 passes for 594 yards and three touchdowns.
But with the return of Bryant and the addition of rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster, he's seen his playing time diminish considerably. Rogers began the season as the team's punt returner, but lost that job when he mishandled a punt in a loss at Chicago. He spent the next couple of weeks inactive and clearly in Tomlin's doghouse.
"I feel like I've gotten better since before I got sat out," Rogers told me.
How so, I asked?
"Things can change in the blink of an eye," said Rogers, who has seven catches for 64 yards. "I took it, accepted it, understood where I went wrong within myself. I only worry about focusing on myself daily, where I can get better. Outside of me, everything is going to fall into place. I'm just worried about doing what I have to do to become what I have to become."
The Steelers signed Hunter in the offseason as insurance in case things with Bryant didn't work out. And, well, here we are today.
The speedy former second-round draft pick of the Titans has been active for just two games this season -- both at the expense of Rogers -- and completely understands Bryant's frustration.
"Yeah, I can," he told me. "As a receiver, everyone wants the ball. But there's only one ball. It's tough to want to play and not get your time. I feel his pain. He'll get his time. He'll be back running."
But not this week.
And with the Lions sure to place plenty of attention on Antonio Brown, the Steelers will need contributions from players such as Rogers and Hunter to win.
Detroit will have No. 1 cornerback Darius Slay follow Brown, the NFL leader in both receptions and yardage, all over the field, and will likely double him with a safety as well.
Not that it's anything new for Brown.
"Some of these matchups, they're all the same, really," Brown said.
But it will afford the other receivers plenty of one-on-one matchups.
"I'm looking forward to it," Rogers said.
And offensive coordinator Todd Haley is looking forward to seeing what they can bring to the table, even if it's not quite what Bryant, one of the top deep threats in the league, can do.
"Depending on how the game goes, it’ll obviously give opportunities to somebody, and we’ll see who takes advantage of it," Haley said.
THE ESSENTIALS
• When: 8:30 p.m.
• Where: Ford Field
• TV: NBC (national)
• Radio: 102.5 WDVE, ESPN Pittsburgh
• Satellite: SiriusXM Channel 82 (Internet 826)
• Forecast: Indoors
• Lots open: 7:30 a.m.
• Will call open: 5:30 p.m.
• Gates open: 6:30 p.m.
• Boxscore: NFL Game Center
• Odds: MyBookie.AG
THE INJURY REPORT
Steelers: DE Stephon Tuitt (back, out), RT Marcus Gilbert (hamstring, out), TE Vance McDonald (knee, out)
Lions: OT Emmett Cleary (ankle, out), WR Kenny Golladay (hamstring, out); OT Greg Robinson (ankle, out), DE Ezekiel Ansah (knee, questionable), WR Golden Tate (shoulder, questionable), LB Paul Worrilow (knee, questionable)
THE TOP THREAT
Detroit rookie return man Jamal Agnew averages 23.7 yards and has two touchdowns on 11 punt returns. Yes, punt returns.
The Steelers are very wary of Agnew, whom they compared favorably to Kansas City's Tyreek Hill.
"Yeah, he's very dangerous," said punter Jordan Berry. "We're going to have to do a good job of containing him. I mean, 23.7 yards per punt return. That's unheard of."
The Steelers have asked Berry to do more directional punting this season, and while his average is just 41.7 yards per kick, he has placed 10 of 30 inside the opposing 20 with only two touchbacks.
Opponents are averaging 10.4 yards per punt return against the Steelers, a number bolstered by a 32-yard return by Hill late in a win over the Chiefs three weeks ago. Take that out of the equation and the Steelers are giving up 8.0 yards per punt return.
"Overall, we've done a pretty good job," said Darrius Heyward-Bey. "You'd like to not give up that big return to Hill, but it happened. (Agnew) is right up there with Hill. He's dangerous."
THE KEY VARIABLE
With 24 sacks in their first seven games, the Steelers are on pace for 55 this season. The team record is 55, accomplished in both 1994 and 2001.
"We've got to be leading the league, right?" linebacker Bud Dupree asked.
When informed they were second because Jacksonville had 10 last week against Indianapolis, Dupree's face lit up.
"We get to play them," Dupree said. "We’re just doing our thing as a group right now. Everybody is being unselfish. People will start to separate themselves."
Detroit has allowed quarterback Matthew Stafford, the NFL's highest-paid player, to be sacked 23 times in its first six games and comes into the game with a banged up offensive line.
The Steelers have gotten their sacks from 10 different players, and Stafford has taken notice of that and the team's top-ranked pass defense (147 yards per game).
"I think those guys up front are doing a heck of a job getting to the quarterback," Stafford said. "The guys in the back end are doing a nice job of making some plays and keeping everything in front of them. They are a talented group and they are playing well in that system.”
THE MAIN MATCHUP
Overall, Detroit's run defense has been solid, allowing just 94.3 yards per game. But the Lions placed former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata on injured reserve Oct. 11 and gave up 193 yards rushing on 37 attempts two weeks ago in a 52-38 loss at New Orleans.
The Lions are coming off a bye week, so they have had some time to fix some of their issues from that game. But without Ngata, that might be difficult.
Le'Veon Bell has carried the ball 67 times for 313 yards in the past two games and enters the weekend second in the league with 684 rushing yards.
The Steelers have attempted 80 running plays and 49 passes in the past two games, both victories. It's a number with which Haley is quite happy even if he's not sure that's an automatic formula for wins.
"I can’t say that, but I can say that I’m not displeased with how we’ve played," Haley said. "You hand the ball off 40 times a game, you know, we obviously want to be better in some areas and be more efficient. But like I said, we’re winning games. Our defense is playing well on the other side of the ball, and that affects some of the decisions we make."
THE QUOTES
"He’s got to be. He’s the highest paid. So we’ve got to make sure we try to contain him." - Dupree, when asked if Stafford is the best quarterback the team has faced this season
"We know Martavis inside the locker room. Inside the locker room, he is not the guy that he is portraying himself to be on social media. That’s the one thing about social media, it can be the downfall to a lot of things if you don’t watch what you’re putting out there, or if you have the wrong person putting stuff out there for you. It can really jeopardize you." - Tuitt
"He's a very, very physical player. Coach (Tomlin) compared him to Hines Ward. That's a guy who goes very, very hard. He might not be the fastest, but he gets open. He runs good routes and plays very physical and with a lot of energy. He likes to get after it in the run game, also. So you've got to keep your head on a swivel. I got to play against Hines Ward my rookie year in 2010. He was very, very physical." - Joe Haden on Detroit WR Golden Tate
THE TEN DATA POINTS
• Detroit entered the week tied for third in the NFL with nine interceptions. Six of those interceptions have come off tipped passes.
• The Lions have faced an NFL-worst 9.1 yards to go on second downs this season. They are averaging just 3.56 yards per play on first down. The Steelers have given up an NFL-best 3.77 yards per first-down play.
• Detroit's 14 takeaways -- nine interceptions, five fumbles -- lead the NFC and are third in the NFL.
• The Steelers' red zone offense ranks 30th in touchdowns scored with 11 TDs in 26 trips. Only the Rams (31) and Patriots (30) have made more trips inside the opposition 20.
• The Lions have not had a 100-yard rusher in a game or 1,000-yard rusher in a season since 2013 when Reggie Bush accomplished both.
• Bell accounts for 57 percent of the touches in the Steelers offense (169 carries, 33 receptions). No other running back in the league is above 50 percent.
• The Steelers have won six consecutive Sunday night games. The Steelers are 30-16 in prime time games under Mike Tomlin, including 14-8 on Sunday night.
• Ben Roethlisberger's next touchdown pass will move him past Aaron Rodgers into sole possession of ninth place in NFL history with 311.
• Antonio Brown needs eight receiving yards to move past Marvin Harrison (6,322) for the most by a receiver in a four-year span.
• With his next sack, linebacker T.J. Watt will move past Bud Dupree and LaMarr Woodley into sole possession of second place for the most sacks by a Steelers rookie. Watt currently has 4.0, and Kendrell Bell (9.0) holds the record.
THE SNEAKY FANTASY PLAY
Last week's call on Bryant didn't work out all that well. But we'll give it another shot and this week will go with Detroit running back Theo Riddick. Riddick has just 18 carries for 39 yards on the ground, but is second on the team with 23 receptions for 180 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers have allowed 40 receptions for 301 yards to opposing running backs this season.
THE STAFF PICKS
Our football coverage team offers predictions:
Dale Lolley: This game has all of the feel of a trap. The Steelers are coming off two highly-charged, emotional games. And they have their bye week coming up. And there's nobody other than Agnew as a punt returner who really strikes fear into anyone. But it's a Sunday night game and, therefore, the Steelers will be up for it. Detroit's finesse, pass-first offense is going to have a tough time moving the ball. Le'Veon Bell should have some success working against Detroit's linebackers in the passing game, in addition to being able to run the ball in the absence of Haloti Ngata. Steelers 24, Lions 13
Matt Sunday: It still feels like the Steelers offense is due to wake up at any moment, but it will get a bit tougher without the presence, even if that's all it was, of Martavis Bryant. After a big week on and off the field for the rookie receiver, though, I like JuJu Smith-Schuster to help get the wheels rolling and for Bell to once again get his share of touches and then some. Steelers 31, Lions 17
Christopher Carter: The Steelers' defense has been elite against the pass and not so good against the run when they aren't protecting the lead. Thanks to the Lions' offense averaging only 84 rushing yards per game, which ranks them at No. 26 in the NFL, that might not ever become an issue. The Steelers just need to protect the football and finish three drives for touchdowns by either the first half or mid-third quarter and they should have what they need to win this game. Put Stafford into chase mode with predictable passing situations and let the Steelers' No. 2 ranked pass rush eat. Steelers 27, Lions 7
Dejan Kovacevic: A lot of things could go wrong for the Steelers today. Really wrong. And none of them will matter much if they can torment Stafford, who's already been sacked 23 times in six games. That's a rather fortunate match up for a Pittsburgh defense that ranks second in the NFL with 24 sacks even though ... well, you know, that pass rush hasn't always been there. If that push comes, and the usual coverage is behind them, the rest will sort itself out. Steelers 26, Lions 16