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Mitchell, Steelers to test Mettenberger's toughness

Coming out of Sunday's disastrous loss to the Jets, Mike Tomlin's Steelers have suffered more road losses against teams with five or fewer wins than any squad in the league since 2007.

Free safety Mike Mitchell hopes to end that trend Monday night in Tennessee by putting a hurt on Titans rookie Zach Mettenberger.

"We're going to dial up some things to see how tough this quarterback is," Mitchell said Thursday, per David Todd of WBGG-AM.

History sits on Pittsburgh's side, with rookie passers winning just two of 17 games against defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau since 2004.

Mettenberger showed an ounce of improvement last week against the Ravens after his off-kilter debut vs. the Texans in Week 8. Facing Baltimore's rugged defense, the rookie completed five tosses of 15 or more yards in the opening 15 minutes before fading down the stretch.

He struggled during a second half that saw the Ravens generate three sacks and hit Mettenberger eight times. Under duress, he wasn't the same guy, something Mitchell and the Steelers saw on tape and hope to emulate Monday night.

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