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Steelers own the league's best Monday Night Football record

When Houston comes to town in Week 7, they'll face the franchise with the best record on the biggest regular season stage.

By Neal Coolong
Thomas B. Shea

A good way for the Steelers to break a rough drought of poor play is to host a Monday Night game. The franchise is 24-5 all time on Monday Night Football, the best winning percentage in the league, and have only lost once at home.

The Houston Texans arrive in Week 7 to challenge that record, and they'll do it with the return of the 2014 NFL Draft's top pick, defensive end Jadaveon Clowney. All the hype in the world surrounding the phenomenal potential of Clowney can't overshadow the Texans' other defensive end, J.J. Watt - quite possibly the best player in the NFL. Watt really has no rival, and there's essentially no way to shut him out; he's going to make plays, and with the green-but-explosive Clowney back from a knee injury early this season, the Texans' pass rush appears ready to cause significant problems.

While the Steelers have history on their side, that really won't matter a whole lot if offensive tackles Marcus Gilbert and Kelvin Beachum are not on top of their games, physically and mentally. The Steelers' offensive line has been solid in pass protection, but what appears to be a deeper route scheme contrived by offensive coordinator Todd Haley, as well as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, has led to more sacks. Roethlisberger has been taken down 17 times this year, something the Texans will no doubt be remembering as they put together their defensive game plan.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:25 p.m. ET Oct. 20 in Pittsburgh.

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