The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers walked off the field, they were embarrassed by their division rival Cleveland Browns, 31-10. The fallout of the game caused plenty of heads to roll. Head coach Mike Tomlin called out several players, including linebacker Jason Worilds and cornerback Cortez Allen, after the collapse in Cleveland.

“He’s had some good games and performances in pockets of games, and he’s had some games where he’s been less impactful,” Tomlin said of Worilds after the loss. “We’re compensating him to be consistently impactful, and that’s what we’re searching for.”

The Steelers placed the transition tag on Worilds, paying him $9.754 million this season. He led the Steelers with eight sacks last season, prompting the team to make sure not to let one of the game’s elite pass rushers leave via free agency.

Fortunately for Pittsburgh, Worilds had an excellent bounce-back game against the Houston Texans on Monday night.

The linebacker was much more effective, making the first two tackles of the game and finishing with five total tackles. He also made one of the biggest plays of the game, forcing Arian Foster to fumble with 1:14 left before halftime. This led to 14 straight points for Pittsburgh and a huge shift in momentum.

“He tried to cutback,” Worilds explained. “At some point the ball came out.”

Tomlin was much more impressed with Worilds after this latest contest.

“That was a great effort,” Tomlin said, referring to the play of Worilds. “But we had a lot of great efforts by a lot of people. There was just a good energy and effort tonight.”

“Felt like I was in a rhythm,” Worilds said. “(It) felt good to kind of break the ice, so to speak.”

Just four seconds after the fumble, Pittsburgh showed some trickery with receiver Antonio Brown taking the snap and throwing his first ever NFL touchdown pass to Lance Moore. Heinz Field erupted with cheers while only minutes before you could hear a pin drop.

Only 11 seconds later, Brett Keisel intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick and returned the ball 16 yards down to the Texans 4-yard line. The Steelers’ offense had taken two snaps before Ben Roethlisberger found Le’Veon Bell for another touchdown. In a span of three minutes in the second quarter, the Steelers scored 24 points.

Just minutes before, the team looked down and out down trailing 13-0 at home. The fans were booing and the sinking ship feeling was setting in at Heinz Field.

“It’s not anything mystical,” Tomlin replied to the team scoring 24 points in less than four minutes. “You stand on the sidelines long enough, you will see explosions such as that. It’s good to be on the good side of it.”

It could be an interesting offseason if Worilds continues to establish himself. For what it’s worth, the linebacker has avoided talk about contracts and free agency.

“I just go out there one day at a time,” Worilds said.

Bigger and better things are likely in store for the fifth-year linebacker and he’ll be a hot commodity if he maintains this level of play.