HOUSTON — When the Pittsburgh Steelers watch tape of the Houston Texans’ past two games — close losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts — they will see a pass defense that surrendered seven completions of at least 30 yards.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and receiver Antonio Brown would like to do to a Texans defense that has forced 14 turnovers.

Roethlisberger will try to do what Tony Romo and Andrew Luck did in the Cowboys’ 20-17 overtime victory and the Colts’ 33-28 win — go deep.

The 10 completions of at least 30 yards allowed by the Texans are tied for the most in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Pittsburgh.

The six completions of at least 40 yards the Texans allowed are second to the Falcons.

In their first four games, the Texans surrendered only three completions of 30 or more yards.

The problem starts up front, where defensive end J.J. Watt is providing the only consistent pass rush. He leads the team with four sacks. No other Texan has two. Watt also has 20 hits on the quarterback.

The Texans are on a pace for 27 sacks, down from 32 last season and a decrease from 40 in each of the previous two seasons.

“It’s a collective effort,” inside linebacker Brian Cushing said. “We could do a lot of things better.

“Our objective every time we go out there is to get to the quarterback and try to make him as uncomfortable as we can. Everybody’s got to step up a little more.”

Without persistent pressure from the front seven, even the best defensive backs get beat. However, that is no excuse for allowing Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton to toast them for receptions of 40, 49, 37 and 33 yards.

“We’ve got to take coaching and do what we’re supposed to do, play the call and do it right and not try to help other (team) out,” cornerback A.J. Bouye said. “Sometimes it’s just we’re leaving our assignment trying to make a play and help somebody else, and we’ve just got to stay disciplined.”

The defensive backs are going for the strip before they make the tackle. Making sure they make the stop first is a point of emphasis going into the Pittsburgh game.

“Tackling’s very important,” Bouye said. “We’re still going to tackle, still going to try to get the ball and do what we’ve always been doing. We’re just doing what we love to do.”

NOTES: RB Arian Foster is trying to rush for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games for the second time in his career. … WR Andre Johnson needs 10 receiving yards to move past Steve Largent (13,089) into 14th place on the all-time list. He needs 119 to move past Andre Reed (13,198) into 13th place. … P Shane Lechler is about to appear in his 197th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the NFL. … If OLB Brooks Reed (groin) cannot play, he would be replaced by John Simon, who was signed off the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad last week and recorded a sack against the Colts.