Lights Out For Steelers In San Francisco

The Pittsburgh Steelers hopes for another AFC North title were dimmed Monday night in San Francisco. Even before the San Francisco 49ers stadium went dark, Steelers fans were concerned about their chances to win. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was already nursing a broken thumb and a high ankle sprain that would have kept most players out of the game. As tough as Ben is there was a lot of speculation he might not start. He hadn't practiced since the ankle injury, but there he was hobbling unto the field anyway.

Ben received a shot for pain in the locker room that the Steelers hoped would last the whole game. When the lights went out before the opening kickoff, the 20 minute delay made that doubtful. Ben was off on his passes early in the game and he threw 2 interceptions. The Steelers defense was able to stop the 49ers from scoring touchdowns both times resulting in just two field goals. The the lights went out again. This time the game was delayed 15 minutes.

Steelers fans could sense the game was turning in favor of the forty niners. It looked like the offense would be unable to score and the 49ers seemed to be always working with a short field. You just can't give a good team those kinds of chances. The 49ers’first touchdown came after Roethlisberger’s fumble was aided by a highly questionable Steelers penalty. Pittsburgh’s defense initially held the 49ers to a field goal on the drive, but the Steelers were called for unsportsmanlike conduct for leaping in an attempt to block the kick. Replays didn’t appear to support that call, and the 49ers took advantage by scoring a touchdown following the penalty. Just as it wasn’t a good night for Roethlisberger, it wasn’t a good night for the officials.

This loss represents a huge missed opportunity for the Steelers. When the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans both lost on Sunday, it thrust the Steelers into a position where all they had to do was win their remaining three games to clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. But tonight’s 20-3 loss to the 49ers drops the Steelers back behind the Ravens in the AFC North, and now the Steelers appear to be a wild card team, likely headed for Denver and a date with the Denver Broncos in the first round of the playoffs.

Bad Play Calls, Injured Defense, Lousy Special Teams and Blind Refs = Steelers Loss

           Another agonizing Pittsburgh Steelers game to watch. The Steelers managed to snatch defeat from victory in a 22-17 loss to the New York Jets. With an opportunity to put some distance between them and the Baltimore Ravens and a shot at home field for the NFL playoffs, the Steelers managed to come up short.

         The Jets were coming off a couple of losses where quarterback, Mark Sanchez had less than stellar performances. He was plagued by interceptions and the offense had trouble scoring points. The Steelers defense had been carrying the team waiting for the offense to get on track. So, what went wrong?

         Tragedy struck before the game when super safety, Troy Polamalu could not start because of an injury. Although the Jets had never won at Heinz Field, The Steelers record without Polamalu favored the New York team. If that wasn't bad enough, the Steelers go-to tight end, Heath Miller would have to sit out another week after suffering a concussion in the Ravens game.

         Then the game! Pittsburgh's special teams fell asleep during the opening kickoff and the Steelers started 7 points in the hole. As the game progressed, the referees became blind and decided not to flag some interference and holding calls on the Jets defense. On a crucial drive, that would have put the Steelers ahead, the refs missed a defensive holding call by the Jets against, Steelers wide receiver, Emmanual Sanders.

         The Pittsburgh offense put up good numbers and the score was tied three times then the Steelers had the lead 17-10 in the 3rd quarter. Rashard Mendenhall had 100 yards rushing and Ben Roethlisberger threw for 264. So, how did they lose? Well  the the Steelers defense had trouble getting off the field on 3rd down. An unnecessary roughness penalty by Ryan Clark which put the Jets on the Steelers 17. Now the Pittsburgh defense fell asleep and let Sanchez run a naked bootleg to the left and scored untouched. Game tied 17-17.

          The Jets started the 4th quarter running on the Steelers which produced  a field goal. With less than 3 minutes left, the Steelers needed 3 points to tie the game and send it into overtime. But they were pinned at their own 3 yard line after a punt destined for the end zone was batted back by the Jets. Now they would have a long way to go to keep their hopes alive.

          Here's where the brain-dead, bone-head bad play call came from the sidelines. Mewelde Moore took the hand off from Ben in the shotgun deep in the end zone and barley made it to the goal line. The result, a safety which gave the Jets 2 points, a 5 point lead and the ball back with 2:40 left on the clock. Now the Steelers would need a touchdown instead of a field goal. The Steelers defense held and gave the ball back to Ben with 2:08 left. I couldn't believe that they still had a chance to pull it out.

          Roethlisberger wa like a surgeon slicing the Jets defense with passes and running to keep the drive going. With 29 seconds left, he threw deep to Sanders and if the Jets defender wouldn't have grabbed his jersey, he would have scored the winning touchdown. But, the refs didn't throw the flag. On 3rd and ten, with 2 seconds to go, Ben threw an incomplete pass as time ran out.

          It was an exciting game to watch, but you felt empty and drained when it was over. I hope the Steelers have a better outcome when they play the Carolina Panthers on Thursday. It's not known whether Polamalu will play or not.

The Best Offense Is A Good Defense!

I know I'm late with this post, but anyone who saw the Pittsburgh Steelers offense Sunday would agree: The best offense was a Great defense. The Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-7, but Ben Roethlisberger and company could only score 9 points on three field goals.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense scored 14 points with two touchdowns. Troy Polamalu and Lamarr Woodley scored enough points to beat the Bengals without the offense. They both returned Carson Palmer interceptions for TDs leading the Steelers to a 10-3 record and a spot in the NFL playoffs.

Pittsburgh is atop the AFC North division with three game left on their schedule. They will try to beat the New York Jets this week, then the Carolina Panthers and division rival, Cleveland Browns.  Let's hope they can muster more offense than three field goals against the Jets. If not, I hope the defense can score some points.