Steelers NT Tyson Alualu awaits another Jacksonville homecoming

Tyson Alualu hopes his second trip home to Jacksonville is as rewarding as the first.

In 2018, Alualu’s second season with the Pittsburgh Steelers following a seven-year career with the Jaguars, the Steelers overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to eke out a last-second 20-16 victory at TIAA Bank Field.

Alualu didn’t start that game, but he was third on the team with seven tackles in 39 snaps.

His second trip will be Sunday when the 9-0 Steelers try to avoid being upset by the 1-8 Jaguars.

“It means a lot to me,” Alualu said Friday. “Jacksonville is our second home. We laid so many roots there being there for seven or eight years. The city means a lot as do the people. To get a chance to go back and play there is a true blessing. But it’s always business. We have to go in there and take care of business and come back with a win.”

A few weeks ago, it looked like Alualu’s trip home might be in jeopardy when he sprained an MCL early in the Steelers’ game at Baltimore. The injury kept Alualu from traveling to Dallas the following week, but he returned and played 19 snaps last Sunday against Cincinnati.

The game Alualu missed at Dallas was just the fourth of his career. And because of the coronavirus pandemic, he didn’t make the trip with his teammates.

“It was a little weird being home with the family watching the game,” he said. “Even for them, seeing how they interact and what goes on during away games. That was different for sure.”

Alualu logged just 29% of the snaps against the Bengals as a concession to his injury and also because the Steelers played much of the game in their nickel defense when the nose tackle exits the field.

The Steelers expect to play in their base defense more frequently against Jacksonville, which has the NFL’s sixth-leading rusher in James Robinson, an undrafted free agent who has 689 yards. The Steelers have allowed teams to exceed 100 rushing yards three weeks in row, allowing 448 in that span.

Alualu’s return at nose tackle and slot corner Mike Hilton’s anticipated return from a four-game absence should help the Steelers slow down Robinson.

“That’s the plan,” Alualu said. “That’s even the plan when we’re out. The standard doesn’t change for anybody. It’s tough seeing that. We take a lot of pride in not letting teams get over 100 yards. We definitely want to start back this week, and we have a good challenge ahead of us.”