It's Getting Ridiculous

The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting a little ridiculous when it come to special teams. For the eighth straight game the Steelers special teams have allowed a touchdown off of a kick return. This time it was on the opening kick off. Now that's a little ridiculous, especially since Mike Tomlin keeps saying they are working to correct the situation. Well, they managed to give the game away again in a 27-24 overtime loss to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs.

Turnovers played a big role too. Although Ben Roethlisberger threw for almost 400 yards, he allowed 2 interceptions before leaving in the 4th quarter with a head injury. Troy Polamalu also re-injured his knee and will probably be out for more than a month. The Steelers managed to snatch defeat from victory for the second week in a row.

The 6-4 Steelers are now 2 games behind Cincinnati 8-2 and 1 game ahead or the 5-5 Ravens who they play next. If they can't beat Baltimore, their chance for another Super Bowl could be gone. If you want to watch a ridiculous game watch the Steelers Chiefs video highlights.

Special Teams And Kicker Help Lose To Bengals

I know the "Team" wins and the "Team" loses, but a lot of the credit for the Steelers 18-12 loss to the Bengals could be attributed to bad special teams play and a cowardly kicker. Although both offenses were basically shut down, The Steelers really failed to take advantage of their "Red Zone" opportunities.

This game was so winnable for Pittsburgh and that's what made it such an agonizing game to watch. The Steelers first scoring drive ended in a Jeff Reed field goal after they had a first and ten inside the Bengals 15. If not scoring in the "Red Zone" was bad enough, what happened next was worse. When the Steelers kicked off, Bernard Scott took it from his own 4 yard line 96 yards for a touchdown.

What was so bad about the horrible kick coverage was that the kicker, Jeff Reed had the best shot to take him down before he reached the 50 yard line, but whiffed and became useless as a tackler. He made a feeble attempt in another game this year and allowed another touchdown. Luckily the Steelers defense was able to score to win that game. All he had to do was make contact or just get in his way to prevent him from scoring.

The Steelers and the Bengal had 4 field goals each. That's just 12 points for the offense for each team. The difference in the 18-12 score was the 6 points off the kick return. The Steelers really need to work on their kick coverage and maybe kick the kicker in the but and show him how to tackle. This is football not "hide-n-seek". Check out the Steelers vs Bengals video below and you'll see the kick return for yourself.

Steelers Offense Plays Half A Game And Wins

The 5-2 Pittsburgh Steelers went into Denver to face the 6-1 Broncos Monday needing a victory to stay tied for the AFC North with the 6-2 Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers offense played the first quarter more like the Cleveland Browns than the defending Super Bowl Champions. They will play the Bengals next and they have to beat them to nullify the tie breaker because of losing to them early this season.

The Broncos went on top first with a field goal on their opening possession. That would be their only offensive score of the game. The Steelers first score came in the second quarter when safety, Tyrone Carter took an interception in for a touchdown. He was starting because of health concerns for Ryan Clark. Carter had two interceptions on the night.

The Steelers defense gave up 221 yards passing, only allowed 27 yards rushing. They also intercepted Orton three times and sacked him twice. The Steelers looked pretty flat on offense the whole first half. With only 23 yards on the ground and 31 yards passing, the Steelers were lucky to be ahead 7-3 at half time. The Broncos had the ball for almost ten minutes more than they did.

It looked like they were going do much better when they came out for the second half. Ben lead them from their own 17 to the Broncos 33 on the opening drive. Then he was sacked and fumbled the ball and the Broncos ran it in for a touchdown. Now they were behind 10-3.

I guess that fumble and score made Roethlisberger mad. As soon as he got the ball back he began to dismantle the Broncos defense ending with a touchdown pass to Hines Ward. The Steelers went on top and never looked back. Ben threw three touch down passes in the second half and the Steelers won 28-10.

Rashard Mendenhall ran for 155 yards and Ben was 21 for 29 and 233 yards, but he was sacked thee times for 31 yards. Watch Steelers vs Broncos video.

Steelers Wait As Ravens Demolish Broncos

The Pittsburgh Steelers 5-2 who are tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for The AFC North lead have a week off before they meet the 6-1 Broncos in Denver on Monday night. The Broncos lost to the Baltmore Ravens 30-7 to spoil their undefeated record. Now only the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints remain undefeated.

The Ravens came alive on both sides of the ball after losing three in a row. Baltimore's defense was not going to let the highly touted Broncos "D" be better than them. They got back to the same intimidating style that can crush the opposition and create a short field for their offense. The Steelers will have to play with the same intensity if they expect to beat the Broncos. Check out the Ravens vs Broncos video.