Steelers Escape Bills in OT, 19-16
The Steelers played a game in Buffalo that didn’t go quite as expected but ended as we all hoped. The black and gold went into Buffalo and got the win, that’s what counts. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t smoothe, but it was a win and they’ll take it and we’ll take it.
The Steelers took a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a Rashard Mendenhall 1 yard run. They went up 13-0 at the half and it looked like they were headed for an easy win. Then, the second half came and things went south. The defense gave up big plays, the offense couldn’t move the ball effectively and turned the ball over. Next thing the Steelers knew it was 13-13. The black and gold rebounded and took a 16-13 lead. Big Ben had a huge 18 yard run on 3rd and 18 to help extend that drive. After the 16-13 lead, the D held when Troy Polamalu made a great interception on the Steelers one yard line as it appeared Buffalo may take the lead for keeps. All they boys needed to do now was run out the clock by making a couple of first downs. They were able to get one, and it appeared they got a second one, which would have ended the game but a holding call on Chris K. overturned the call. The Steelers were unable to pick up the first and had to punt, leaving the Bills with a little over 40 seconds to play and no timeouts. They were able to get the necessary yardage, kick a field goal and send it into OT.
OT led off with the Steelers kicking off. Buffalo had a prime opportunity as they ran the ball back to the 5o, then had a wide open receiver in the end zone who luckily dropped the ball. There was no reason for him to drop it other than he had hands of stone, he was open by 7 yards. A little back and forth and finally the Steelers got the drive they needed, went down and hit the game winner with about 3 minutes to go.
It wasn’t a pretty game by the Steelers but some notable stats include Big Ben throwing for 246 yards, Rashard Mendenhall running for 151 yards on 36 carries and Hines Ward catching 7 balls for 107 yards. We’d also like to give special mention to Isaac Redman who ran for a big 25 yards, mostly in short yardage situations and a special mention of Sean Suisham making all his kicks, especially in the clutch!
A few negatives, the penalties were a factor again, as they team had 10 totaling 107 yards. We said in our game day section they couldn’t afford to do that against a decent team and Buffalo, who’s not even decent almost proved that. Mendenhall can’t fumble like that, the pass defense can’t continue to give up big plays as they did and they team must keep double digit leads in the second half.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and if you win, that’s all that matters.
8-3, up next: Baltimore
Led By Big Ben, Steelers Pound Raiders 35-3
It was a day for redemption. The Steelers were destroyed last week at home by New England and they wanted to make up for that debacle today. They sure did, too. The black and gold came out and put a good old fashioned ass woopin on the Raiders with the final score being 35-3. The Steelers started off a little slow but once they got going they never looked back.
The offense was on their game most of the day and a lot of that was thanks to their quarterback. Big Ben was 18 of 29 for 275 yards and 3 TD’s. On top of that he rushed 3 times for 55 yards and another TD. His TD run was a thing of beauty, scrambling to his left, acting like he was going to slide around the 7 yard line, cutting back in to his right and diving about 3 yards into the ends zone. It was a fantastic game by Ben but a lot of that can also be credited to the offensive line, they actually protected Ben pretty well and he was only sacked twice. That’s new! Not only did they protect him between the whistles, but they protected him post whistle too. When that jack ass Richard Seymour popped Ben in the neck after he threw a sweet TD to Sanders, Chris Kemoutu and the rest of the line jumped in the face of Seymor and a scrum ensued. That’s what you want to see out of your line, protect your 100 million dollar man at all times!
While Ben had success today, it’s hard to say that Mendenhall did. At least by the numbers. He ran 23 times for a feeble 59 yards, though he did add a TD. Even with those less than stellar numbers we felt like he looked pretty good and had some very nice runs. We were also very pleased with the double reverse call that led to a Mike Wallace run of 17 yards. We called for balance in our Game Day preview between the run and pass and we pretty much got it. The team ran the ball 33 times and threw it 29 times, you can’t ask for much more balance than that. It seems the coaches are reading our articles!
We also told you to keep your eyes on the linebackers this week after they were taken out of their game last week. We sure hope you listened to us because those boys showed up today didn’t they? Farrior led the team with 8 tackles and the rest of the linebackers added another 16 tackles. They were flying to the ball today and the linebackers accounted for 5 of the teams’ 6 sackes. Troy Polamalu added 6 tackles and really looked good getting into the backfield and playing all over the place, he added an interception to his day as well. The Steelers totaled 2 interceptions, one amazing one handed one by Harrison but they actually had a 3rd interception that was returned for a TD by Ike Taylor, overturned on a roughing the passer call on Harrison. That call was ridiculous and it does seem a little like the refs are really focusing on the Steelers style of play and specifically Harrison. If he gets fined again we all need to raise hell.
That penalty aside, the Steelers did have far too many penalties, nullifying big runs and big plays. They had 14 penalties for 163 yards. To put that into perespective the Raiders only totaled 181 yards on offense. Those supid mistakes need to be a one time thing because a better team than Oakland will make you pay.
Other than the penalties the only real complaint we might have is we felt the coaching staff should have pulled Big Ben when the scores was 28-3 late in the fourth to ensure he didn’t get injured. We suspect they were a little pissed at all the fights that took place, most instigated by the Oakland jackasses, and they wanted to stick it to them.
All in all, great game by the team and a fantastic way to bounce back after the disgraceful game last week. That shows they are mentally tough, and quite frankly, flat out better than the Raiders.
7-3, up next: Buffalo
Pats Beat Down Steelers 39-26
It was a chance for the Steelers to flex their muscle, take a one game lead on the Ravens for sole possesion of first place in the AFC North and really prove they are worthy of being called the best team in the NFL. None of that happened, the Patriots of New England came into Pittsburgh and destroyed them in all facets of the game. Some of the stats won’t indicate that as the Steelers offense got going in the 4th quarter. Some of that is attributed to the Pats playing a softer D, some was Ben finally heated up and Wallace got free. Either way, it was far too late as New England already had the game well in hand.
The Steelers were truly exposed defensively in the pass game. The way New England approached the game offensively was exactly what we talked about in our Game Day preview. They spread the ball out and let Brady throw it over 40 times for better than 350 yards! This is what the Pats do to the Steelers every time and it’s like the black and gold never learn. They Steelers couldn’t get to Brady and when the linebackers can’t put the opposing QB on the ground or at least pressure him, the secondary becomes exposed. Speaking of exposed, William Gay, the man we’ve been lambasting over the past few weeks proved again why we think he sucks. He was burned for 3 touchdowns tonight. Yeah, 3 touchdowns. That’s pathetic and no DB in the league should give that up in a single game. He needs to be off the field, he can not play and should not play!
While Gay is a big reason the team lost, he’s not the only reason. It wasn’t their night from the beginning, the Patriots blitzed the hell out of Roethlisberger as they knew the offensive line was weakened by injuries and lack of talent. Ben was sacked 5 times and pressured an infinite amount. The O line looked really bad and you have to question why they don’t have more depth there. It’s always been the weakness on this team so why hasn’t that been addressed in some form or fashion? Big Ben finished with 387 yards, which is an impressive total but not a single one of those yards went to Hines Ward as his streak of catching a pass in 186 straight games was broken when he was injured by a helmet to helmet hit by the Patriots. Ward left with a neck injury and never returned. Mike Wallace was a great go to guy again this week as he caught 8 balls for 136 yards and 2 TD but it wasn’t enough.
On defense Farrior had a nother big day leading the team with 10 tackles but you’d never really notice, the team was whipped. They allowed Brady to drive the Pats up and down the field and it was a disaster from the get go. To make matters worse, Lawrence Timmons was knocked out of the game with a hip injury, no word yet on the severity but that’s certainly a concern if he has to miss any time moving forward.
It was certainly nice to see Sanders starting to return punts in addition to kick offs, it’s about time as we’ve been asking for that move for weeks. It was sickening to see Reed miss yet another field goal, this one a chip shot from inside the Pats 10. That is unacceptable and we’ll say this for the 2nd week in a row, the Steelers MUST try out other kickers this week. Reed is not kicking like a franchise tagged player. If he is going to be paid that kind of money, then he needs to kick like he’s worth it.
It was a dreadful night from the beginning and one thing we would have liked to have seen at some point would have been a little emotion from Tomlin. It’s like he felt defeated from the opening kick, he never appeared to be in the game. We aren’t saying he needs to act like Cowher, but he needs to fire the team up in some way and it wasn’t happening tonight. He let Bellichick intimidate him. Speaking of Bellichick, does it really have to be his M.O. to always look like he sleeps in an alley and eats out of a dumpster behind a gas station, what a bum that guy is! His team is filled with arrogant clowns and they certainly put the beat down on the Steelers but they acted like a bunch of punks doing it.
The bottom line here is the Steelers need to regroup, quickly. They have to play Oakland who’s coming off a bye week and are a rejuvenated football team. A loss next week puts the Steelers in a tough spot. If they can regroup and win, then this loss isn’t the end of the world. What team will we see?
6-3, Up Next Oakland
Tavern 245
Steel Nation Association is now partners with Tavern 245 in Pittsburgh, PA. Tavern 245 is located at 245 4th Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA. The restaurant just opened at the end of October and are receiving a ton of accolades already! With your Steel Nation Association membership card you can receive 15% off your bill any time except M-F from 5-7pm and excluding alcohol. The food here is great and the atmosphere is better, when you get a chance, check it out and enjoy your time!
Steelers Escape Cincinnati with 27-21 Win
From the very get go it appeared this would be a Steeler night. The opening kickoff was fumbled by Cincinnati and the black and gold recovered it and promptly scored a TD a few snaps later. They actually scored from the 1 yard line too, to take a 7-0 lead. They took a quick 10-0 lead after William Gay, the man we ridiculed last week, blocked a Bengal punt and the O punched in a FG. The Steelers absolutely dominated the first half and took a 20-7 lead into the break. The third quarter was rather boring with nobody scoring and the fourth quarter got way too interesting when the Bengals outscored the Steelers 14-7. The Bengals had a real chance to win this thing as they had the ball on the Steelers 12 yard line with less than a minute to play. Thankfully the defense had a bend don’t break mentality and made enough plays to hold on for the 27-21 win.
There’s your summary, here’s the juice:
Big Ben played like a stud QB. His numbers won’t show that as he was 17 of 27 for a pedestrian 163 yards with one TD and one pick, but he made some stellar throws and some of the plays he made with his feet were unbelievalbe. The annoying crew of Monday night football pointed it out over and over and they were right, he’s very difficult to bring down. Can you imagine if he had a line that gave him time?!
Rashard Mendenhall was exactly the back we thought he could be. 22 rushes for 99 yards and 48 of those yards came on the Steelers final offensive drive when they were trying to put the game away, up 27-21. He has speed, power and the ability to change fields REAL fast. We love him as the feature back.
Mike Wallace is incredibly fast isn’t he? He had 5 catches for 110 yards. He just gets behind the defense and Ben puts the ball on the money and he’s gone. He has done an excellent job replacing Santonio ‘Cheech’ Holmes, so far.
Defensively Farrior lead the way with 10 tackles, which was by far his best game of the season. Harrison made some monster plays and Ike Taylor looked like a good cover corner. We are still very worried about the pass defense as they allowed Terrell Owens 10 catches for 141 yards and 2 TD. We said it last week and we’ll say it again, William Gay can NOT play defense. Look, we gave him credit on special teams, so maybe he can play there, but he can’t cover a receiver to save his life. That’s a problem.
Jeff Reed, it may be time to look for a new job. Seriously, this game wouldn’t have been as nerve racking if the man could make a kick in the clutch. He drilled a 53 yarder in the first half and then he goes out and misses a 46 yarder when the team could have put the nail in the coffin. That can’t happen and if you’re getting paid as a franchise kicker then you better kick like a franchise kicker. He’s got history on his side but bottom line is what have you done for me lately and that seems to be missing big kicks. We aren’t saying that he’ll be cut, but we do think the team should try some kickers out to at least scare Reed a little bit. C’mon Reed, pretend the ball is a gas station bathroom towel dispenser that you beat the hell out of drunk. Whatever it takes, just make your damn kicks!
A few notes:
The team got pretty banged up again, especially on the offensive line. When Pouncey went down they really couldn’t move the ball at all on the ground. That really tells you just how valuable this rookie is already. We do think that in that situation Arians needs to swallow his ego and put a full back in there to gain some extra blocking for Mendenhall. Why is it so hard for him to make a sensible football move? Seriously, how can that HURT your offense in a running situation when your line is already porous and then injured to boot? Arians is questionable at best as a coordinator.
The Steelers 4th quarter defense needs to improve. They have given up 63 points this year in the last quarter. That’s more than half their season total. That’s not what we need or want to see. It was evident that it COULD be a problem vs. a better team as the Bengals nearly erased a 20 point deficit in the 4th. Playing the Colts, Pats or another big time offense and this game could have turned out differently.
The best part about tonight, pushing the Bungles to 2-6 and avoiding 3 straight losses to those clowns. We still have to face them again and it will be tough, but they don’t appear to be a factor in the playoff race.
Great win, great way to hold on and keep pace with purple birds in Baltimore.
6-2, up next New England
