The Sports Xchange

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Talk about tests. It’s a big one the St. Louis Rams will face Sunday when they return home from a spanking from the Washington Redskins to play a Pittsburgh Steelers team that gets running back Le’Veon Bell back from a two-game suspension.

Without Bell, the Steelers have averaged 109.0 yards per game rushing and 458.5 per game in total yardage. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has completed 72.3 percent of his passes, which could present a problem to a Rams pass defense that has allowed an 80.9-percent completion rate from the first two quarterbacks they’ve faced: Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins.

In those two games, it could at least be argued that Wilson and Cousins were getting the ball out quickly and throwing numerous short passes, considering the average per completion of 8.3 yards.

Not so with the Steelers. Roethlisberger’s 47 completions have totaled 720 yards, which is 15.3 yards per catch, and he has a passer rating of 122.6.

He’s doing it without the suspended wide receiver Martavis Bryant, who will miss another two games before returning. That has merely created opportunities for Markus Wheaton (5-for-122, 24.4-yard average) and Darrius Heyward-Bey (8-for-135, 16.9), who have supplemented the exploits of Antonio Brown (18-for-328, 18.2).

Roethlisberger has been sacked three times and has one interception, the only turnover by the Steelers in the first two games.

Somehow, the Rams will have to mount an offensive attack that can stay on the field and keep the ball out of Roethlisberger’s hands. In the first two games, the Rams have by far the fewest offensive plays in the league with just 101, and the second-lowest average time of possession at 24:11. Only Philadelphia is lower at 22:02.

That has put the defense on the field for a 35:49 average and they have had to defend 145 plays. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s opponents have completed 74.4 percent of their pass attempts for an average of 289.5 yards per game. In addition, the Steelers have just one takeaway in the first two games.

Third down has been a problem area so far for the Rams. Against Seattle, they were 6-for-11, but five of the conversions came in the fourth quarter including four on the late, game-tying touchdown drive. However, against Washington, they were 2-for-12, including failures on the first six possessions of the game.

Of the 12 third-down plays, six were 10 yards or more. As head coach Jeff Fisher said, “The run game offensively needs to get better. We had three three-and-outs and four four-and-outs in the game, and that doesn’t give your defense a chance to even rest, let alone give your offense a chance to make plays.”

Quarterback Nick Foles said of the game against the Redskins, “I think we just didn’t get into a rhythm. That’s on me. I’ve got to make sure to get some easy completions here and there. Football is such a rhythm game that if you can’t get into a rhythm, it’s very difficult to sustain a drive, convert on third down, keep your defense off of the field and we didn’t do a good job of converting on third down. That’s a big thing. That’s a big emphasis this week. It’s really just gaining that rhythm throughout the game and holding onto the ball to help our defense out.”

While the Steelers have been good on third down (13-for-25, 52.0 percent), they haven’t been particularly good defensively allowing conversions 50 percent (14-for-28) of the time. Only five teams are worse, and the Steelers also rank last in the league in first downs allowed with 53.

As good as the Rams’ defense can be, they will be challenged to stop the big plays from the Pittsburgh offense. It seems clear that to have any chance of getting back on the winning side of the scoreboard, the offense will have to match the Pittsburgh offense score for score.

That could mean the first playing time of the season for wide receiver Brian Quick, who has been inactive for the first two games of the season. Quick suffered a serious shoulder injury last season, and while he hasn’t appeared on the injury report, coaches have been reluctant to put him on the field for an extensive role. This could be the week where the training wheels come off for him and running back Todd Gurley, who has also been inactive for the first two games.

SERIES HISTORY: 25th regular-season meeting. Rams lead series, 15-7-2. However, since 1990, the Steelers are 4-2, and they have won two straight and three of the last four, including a 41-24 win in St. Louis in 2007. In those four wins, the Rams have been outscored 151-40. The two teams met for the first time in 1938, and through 1978, the Rams were 12-1-2 against the Steelers.

–Quarterback Nick Foles can’t wait to have wide receiver Brian Quick on the field.

“The sky is the limit for that guy,” Foles said. “So talented, such a big receiver. His ball skills are among the best I’ve seen, just how he goes up and gets it. When he’s healthy and when he’s back out there, it’s going to be exciting. We have a great group of guys who go out there and catch balls every day. My job is just to make sure I’m putting them in a position to give them an accurate pass and give them an opportunity to be successful and show their talents. When he gets out there, it’ll be exciting.”

Asked what Quick has to do to get on the field, head coach Jeff Fisher said, “He just needs to keep practicing. Just be patient. He understands that we have to go to 46 (players) and it’s a numbers game. He’s in much better shape right now than he was a few weeks ago, so it’s nothing structurally or physically to do with his shoulder at this point.

“(But) it’s like anybody that’s missed a significant part of the offseason program and was limited in training camp, you’re going to be a little bit behind. That’s his only issue. So I’d like to think he’s caught up by this point.”

–Wide receiver Brian Quick hopes the small steps he has been taking result in being active soon for games. During training camp, the step was having the yellow beanie removed from his helmet, which was a message to the defense that he wasn’t to be hit.

Having overcome serious shoulder surgery last season, he’s anxious to get on the field. But unlike most everyone else, he wasn’t surprised to be inactive for the first two games.

“We talked about it previously, before the season; I knew what was happening,” he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after Week 1. “It’s not my call. I want to be out there, but I also want to do what’s best for the team. All I can do is continue to work and make sure that I’m ready when they decide to call my number.”