It is looking like Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Keenan Lewis will be a go this week for the must-win game Sunday at Heinz Field against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Lewis said on Wednesday that he will be 100% by Sunday after aggravating a hip injury in the loss to the Dallas Cowboys while defending a pass in the end zone intended for wide receiver Dez Bryant.
That is certainly good news as Lewis will be following around Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green, who is currently 8th in the league in receptions with 85 of them for 1,208 yards.
In the win over the Bengals back in Week 7 it was cornerback Ike Taylor who had coverage responsibilities on Green and he held him to just 1 catch on 6 targets. That catch was good for an 8 yard touchdown, but it was the lowest production that the second year receiver has had this season up until this point.
Taylor of course will be sidelined for the game Sunday as he continues to recover from the fractured right ankle he suffered several weeks ago so now Lewis will get a chance to show that he too can lock down Green.
So far this season Lewis has backed up his preseason prediction that this would be a big year for him and he can put an exclamation point on his fabulous season on Sunday. The Oregon State product is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the season, so a solid performance against one of the league\’s best young receivers would not only help the Steelers chances of making the playoffs, but it would also help increase his free agent stock even more.
Heading into Sunday Lewis has been targeted 100 times and allowed just 51 catches for 587 yards and 4 touchdowns. Although he doesn\’t have any interceptions this year, he leads the league in passes defensed with 21, according to ESPN.