While it would not be accurate to say that the Pittsburgh Steelers had big plans for their big nose tackle, the fact is that second-year defensive lineman Daniel McCullers suffered a notable knee injury in the second game of the season has complicated their defense to a degree.
Shuffling depth has gotten more complicated, but McCullers finally returned to significant play Sunday against the Bengals, playing a couple dozen snaps, mostly as the nose tackle in the rare instances that the Steelers actually played in their base package.
Pittsburgh put the big man in early in the second quarter, bowling through the center on first and 15 after a false start.