Now comes an even better pass rush when the New York Giants invade Heinz Field Sunday. The Steelers offense somehow must find a way to protect Big Ben or it could be another rough day against another NFC team.

They are fast up front and in the secondary," said Roethlisberger, who was not sacked at all by the Bengals last Sunday. "They will bring a lot of blitzes at you. They do a lot of Philadelphia stuff so we have to go back and watch that tape and communicate and be prepared."

That tape comes with a warning: Not Suitable for General Audiences. It was a gruesome display of offense by the Steelers against a blitzing defense that harassed Roethlisberger all day until he finally left in the fourth quarter to have his hand x-rayed.

Roethlisberger has not missed a game, but he's been roughed up every game except the reprieve he got from the Bengals. He expects the Giants to do more, much more.

"Since I was a kid their driving force was their defense and obviously it still is today," said Bronx native Willie Colon, Pittsburgh's starting right tackle. 'They have a young front four that likes to get after it.

"We expect them to get after us and we'll answer the bell. They do a lot (of blitzing). They'll mix it up, they have a lot of exotic stuff, linebackers fly around. They'll come, they'll go and you never know quite where they're coming from."

The Steelers should be better prepared after experiencing the crushing defense of the Eagles. They admitted they were confused in that game and have worked hard to correct it. They also have two different starting offensive linemen since then.

Darnell Stapleton has stepped in at right guard for veteran Kendall Simmons, who is out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon that was injured against Baltimore Sept. 29. Stapleton, in two starts, has done much better than Simmons but not faced the likes of the Eagles yet either.

Max Starks, once their starting right tackle, replaced Marvel Smith at left tackle last week and did a nice job -- against the Bengals. The New York Giants are another matter. Smith did not practice on Wednesday with back spasms and it's unknown if he will play Sunday. Starks is a lot slower afoot and a speed rusher could give him big problems.

The game against the Giants opens a difficult four-game stretch for the Steelers. They follow with games at Washington and then home to Indianapolis and San Diego. If they even split those four, they should be in good shape because they have the Bengals at home after that and would be looking at an 8-3 record heading into the final five games of the season.

SERIES HISTORY: 75th meeting. Giants lead the series 43-28-3, including a 21-14-3 record in Pittsburgh. The teams have never met in the post-season. They last played in New York in 2004 when Ben Roethlisberger's Steelers beat Eli Manning's Giants 33-30 in what was Big Ben's first 300-yard passing game. This will be New York's first visit to Pittsburgh since 1991, when the Giants also were defending Super Bowl champs when they played the Steelers.