When Steelers
coach Mike Tomlin hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in February, he proclaimed
that Steelers football is 60 minutes.
Ah, so that's the
Steelers' problem. They can't win when the game goes longer than 60
minutes.
With the Steelers' second consecutive overtime
loss, Tomlin is now dealing with the first three-game losing streak
of his head coaching career.
Dennis Dixon went 60 minutes without throwing an interception Sunday. Unfortunately, he saved his worst for last.
It was quite an alliterative situation for the Steelers. Dennis
Dixon making his starting debut on a night when the defense at times looked like it did in 2008.
One
"D" word that didn't apply was "disaster." By that I mean that Dixon's start at quarterback wasn't the
disaster we all feared it would be. While his flaws were apparent, Dixon put the Steelers in a position to win ... until the
game was in its 65th minute.
On third-and-5 from the 50,
Dixon was picked off by Ravens' rookie Paul Kruger, who returned it
to the Steelers' 28. Billy Cundiff eventually kicked a 29-yard field
goal to put the Steelers out of their misery.
Now that night in February might as well be the stuff of grainy old photos stuffed in a shoebox, because the Steelers are in a position from which only three teams have reached the Super Bowl.
Only the 1979 Rams, the 1988 49ers and the 2001 Patriots have
reached the Super Bowl after having a record of 6-5 or worse during the season.
With
the Ravens and Jaguars joining the Steelers at 6-5, the AFC playoff
picture is murkier than a Manny Ramirez urine sample.
When
the graphic is shown on TV, the Steelers now occupy the dreaded "In The Hunt" column.
If the Steelers and their coaching staff were just a little bit smarter Sunday, they might be in the "Wild Card" column this morning, with Denver at 7-4.
Dixon threw a touchdown pass to Santonio
Holmes but completed just 12 of his 26 passes for 145 yards. At this early stage in his career, his legs are more dangerous
than his arm. He had a 31-yard scramble called back because of a holding penalty in the first quarter. It was too bad, because
that run put the Steelers in field goal range.
In the fourth
quarter, Dixon's 24-yard touchdown run was flag-free, giving the Steelers
a 17-14 lead with 6:32 left.
With Dixon's running ability
in mind, would it have killed the Steelers to try a little wildcat?
It might be a gimmick, but when you have to start a guy who has thrown
just one NFL pass against a defense as nasty as the Ravens', why not
try everything?
Of course, the Steelers' most unforgivable
sin on Sunday was letting the Ravens off the hook on fourth-and-5
from their own 46 with 3:31 left. Dixon got them the lead, and they
pissed it away by allowing Ray Rice to run free for a 44-yard reception
that set up the game-tying field goal.
The only reason
I didn't try to hang myself with my Terrible Towel after that play is because I kind of knew the game was going into overtime.
You see, I wasn't able to see the game live, so I watched
it on NFL Game Rewind. Midway through the fourth quarter, there was
still 40 minutes left in the 2 hour, 6 minute broadcast. So I figured
either the game was going into OT or, this being a Steelers-Ravens slugfest, someone got hurt and had to be carted off on a stretcher.
The Steelers' defense was burned by
Rice just when it seemed like it finally learned how to make an impact without Troy Polamalu.
Joe Flacco was sacked five times, twice by Lawrence Timmons, and the Steelers recovered two fumbles.
The defense wasn't the only unit that made strides. The Steelers didn't allow a
touchdown on special teams, helping to end their NFL-record streak of eight straight games in which they allowed a return
touchdown. And the offensive line didn't allow a sack for the first time this season.
Despite all that progress, the Steelers weren't good enough to beat the Ravens Sunday.
Now if they're not good enough to beat the Raiders at home next Sunday, then Steelers football in 2009 won't be 60
minutes, it will be 16 games.
Just in case you think you're watching a tape of a preseason game tomorrow night
on NBC, rest assured that it is a real live NFL game.
That
actually will be Dennis Dixon starting at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Baltimore.
Ray Lewis is strapping on the feed bag as we speak.
Roethlisberger
suffered a concussion during Sunday's upset loss at Kansas City. But he went through a full week of practice and passed every
post-concussion test. However, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported that Roethlisberger
had exercise-induced headaches. So he decided to sit out.
The
last time Roethlisberger played a week after a concussion, he threw four interceptions in a 20-13 loss to the lowly Raiders
in Oakland in 2006. He had a concussion in the final week of the regular season last year, but the Steelers had a first-round bye in the playoffs. It would have been interesting if the Steelers had to play
a wild-card game.
So perhaps Roethlisberger's effectiveness
would be limited if he played tomorrow night. But Dennis Dixon?
Brace for impact.
Dixon, a former Oregon Duck,
was a Heisman Trophy candidate in 2007 before tearing his ACL with three games left in the season. So he slipped to the fifth
round of the 2008 draft.
Among those still on the board when
the Steelers picked Dixon were Carl Nicks, a guard who has started all 10 games for the 10-0 Saints, and Hall of Fame-bound
Chiefs linebacker Andy Studebaker (by the way, did you see where former Giants receiver Amani Toomer said it didn't feel like professional football when he played briefly with Kansas City? And
the Steelers lost to that team. I'm starting to wonder how the Steelers would fare in the UFL right now.)
Dixon's meteoric rise from wearing a baseball cap on the sidelines to starting
on national TV came about because Charlie Batch, the Steelers' No. 2 quarterback, is out with a wrist injury. The Steelers
worked out veteran quarterbacks Patrick Ramsey and Todd Bouman this
week, but didn't sign either one. They should have signed one of them as a stopgap.
Despite how well Roethlisberger did this week, the Steelers should have planned for the possibility of him not playing,
especially with all the recent sensitivity regarding concussions. It's not like Roethlisberger left the Steelers in the lurch. It's not his fault the lingering effects of the concussion weren't apparent until Friday.
When your only healthy quarterbacks are Dixon and Tyler Palko,
the people who get paid to run the team have dropped the ball.
Palko's
claim to fame is beating out Ravens' quarterback Joe Flacco as the University of Pittsburgh's starting quarterback in 2005.
Before playing at Pitt, Palko played at West Allegheny High School.
So if Ray Lewis adds Dixon to the list of young Steelers he puts out of commission (i.e. Rashard Mendenhall last season), Palko will
play quarterback for the hometown Steelers in this crucial AFC North showdown. Sounds like a cheesy movie.
The 2009 Steelers' season is no
movie. It's turning into a grim reality.
At
a glance:
Who: Steelers
(6-4) at Ravens (5-5) When: Sunday, 8 p.m. Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore TV: NBC (WPXI, Channel 11 in Pittsburgh) Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth,
Andrea Kremer (sideline) All-time: (Steelers lead 16-10; Steelers lead 2-0 in postseason) The
skinny: Steelers DE Travis Kirschke appears ready to return. ... Steelers S Troy Polamalu (knee) and G Chris Kemoeatu
(knee) are likely to sit out. ... The Steelers are trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak in Mike Tomlin's three seasons as head coach. ... Whichever team loses this game faces an uphill climb in
the AFC wild-card race. The Broncos (7-4) already won Thursday. The Jaguars (6-4) are at San Francisco Sunday. The Dolphins (5-5) are at Buffalo. The Texans (5-5) host Indianapolis.
La Canfora says Roethlisberger will make his decision this morning.
Apparently this
guy also reported that the Steelers might cut or trade Casey Hampton before the season, and last time I looked Hampton was
still rolling around the field in black and gold. So we'll see how credible this report is.
ProFootballTalk.com
saw fit to post a link to this report, while the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review have stayed away from
it.
Roethlisberger suffered a concussion in Sunday's upset loss at Kansas City. Since then, he has gone through
a full week of practice and passed every post-concussion test. The Steelers worked out veteran quarterbacks Todd Bouman and
Patrick Ramsey, but didn't sign them. If Roethlisberger doesn't start, second-year man Dennis Dixon will call the signals
for the Steelers.
God help us all.
As soon as I know what's going on, you'll know. I hope I didn't make
too many people choke on their Wheaties this morning.
Quite a simple explanation for the Steelers' sudden mediocrity.
Of course, head coach Mike Tomlin wasn't saying that the Steelers are attracted to their opponents, or to each other.
He was talking about the Steelers' meager total of 14 takeaways this season. If Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark could catch, maybe
they'd have more.
If Taylor could have come down with the
ball when he broke up a pass on the previous play, Chris Chambers' reprehensible 61-yard reception in overtime, which set
up the winning field goal for the Chiefs, never would have happened on Sunday.
Taylor's lack of ball skills (I hate when that happens) might have hurt the Steelers more on that play than any other
time.
Also revealed at Tomlin's weekly presser is the fact
that Ben Roethlisberger did, in fact, sustain a concussion Sunday. But apparently he's fine now and ready to go Sunday against
the Ravens. The situation will be closely monitored, and if Roethlisberger shows any symptoms during the week, your Pittsburgh
Steelers starting quarterback Sunday at Baltimore, on prime time television, will be Dennis Lee Dixon Jr.
With Charlie Batch out (it might only be 2-4 weeks now), Dixon moves up to No.
2 on the depth chart. If he does, in fact, start Sunday, the man who has No. 2 on his jersey might also have No. 2 in his
pants when Ray Lewis bears down on him.
Dixon is a Big
Ben headache away from starting Sunday because instead of getting a veteran quarterback, the Steelers have chosen to get a
practice-squad quarterback, most likely former University of Pittsburgh quarterback Tyler Palko, who's on the practice squad
of the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. Hey, you can't sound much tougher than "Alouette."
Get Jeff Garcia in here. He denied rumors that he's gay a few years ago. So you
wouldn't have to worry about him having his hands on balls. Plus, even though he's 39, I'd rather have Garcia starting for
the Steelers than Dixon, who has thrown just one NFL pass and was under center when the Steelers false started about eight
straight times, at home no less, in the final 2008 regular-season game against the Browns.
One guy who won't be playing for the Steelers Sunday is Chris Kemoeatu, who will be out with a sprained MCL. His
absence in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs could have been one of the reasons Roethlisberger was sacked on each of the Steelers'
final three possessions. Ramon Foster, an undrafted free agent from Tennessee, will take his place.
The Steelers (6-4) have lost two in a row, including Sunday's embarrassing loss
to the Chiefs. They beat the Ravens three times last season, but they easily could have lost all three games. The Ravens will
want to make amends for that on Sunday.
You could say the
Ravens (5-5) aren't as good as they were last year. But the Chiefs weren't any good, either.
It's crisis mode in Pittsburgh. The Steelers need to, well, show some balls.
Oh yeah, here's my NFL power rankings, record and last week's ranking in paretheses:
Steelers'
2009 season, meet iceberg. Iceberg, this is Steelers' 2009 season.
See, I knew all those ESPN talking heads should
have just kept their mouth shut.
Less than two weeks after The Worldwide Leader lauds the Steelers as if Terry
Bradshaw, Franco Harris and Jack Lambert are still in their primes, the Steelers are up to their cups in water.
Not
only were they humiliated by Haley's Heroes in Kansas City on Sunday. But now they might be without Ben Roethlisberger AND
Charlie Batch Sunday in Baltimore.
Roethlisberger might have a concussion. If he does, it's the fourth of his career.
Unfortunately, none of us are too concerned about the likelihood of Roethlisberger not recognizing his own family
or needing someone to wipe his ass when he's 50 because of long-term brain damage. We want to know if he'll be able
to play Sunday at Baltimore.
If he can't play, then it's either Dennis Dixon or someone off the street, because
Batch will be out six weeks with a wrist injury.
Batch's contribution to the 2009 Steelers begins and ends
with moving them 22 yards in overtime, close enough to field-goal range so they can taste it, but not close enough. What
a tease.
Dixon's about as ready to start as Sarah Palin is to be president. So it's likely that the Steelers will
do their part to help the economy by giving an unemployed quarterback a job. The job description should include backing up
Roethlisberger for the rest of the season and possibly starting Sunday.
According to Jason La Canfora's NFL.com
blog, the Steelers have contacted former Chargers, Ravens, Dolphins and Jaguars quarterback Cleo Lemon. Are you kidding me?
I'd rather see Jeff Garcia in black and gold. Yes, he's 39. But he'd still be with the Eagles if they didn't cream
their pants over Michael Vick. Garcia started 11 games for the Buccaneers last year, throwing 12 touchdowns and six interceptions
for a 90.2 passer rating.
Among the other guys out there are United Football League products J.P. Losman and Brooks
Bollinger.
Then there are the guys working out at Bally's hoping for a call from an NFL team such as Brock
Berlin, Damon Huard and Joey Harrington.
What is it about
late November that makes the Steelers lose on the road to shitty teams in overtime?
To wit:
Date
Score
Opponent
Opponent's record entering game
Opponent's
final record
Steelers' record entering
game
What became of season
Nov. 26, 1998
19-16
Lions
4-7
5-11
7-4
7-9, missed playoffs
Nov. 20, 2005
16-13
Ravens
2-7
6-10
7-2
11-5, won Super Bowl XL
Nov. 18, 2007
19-16
Jets
1-8
4-12
7-2
10-6,
lost wild card
Nov. 22, 2009
27-24
Chiefs
2-7
?-??
6-3
??????
Before you tell
me that what happened in 1998, 2005 and 2007 is irrelevant, let me introduce you to Mr. Irrelevant.
Ryan Succop, so dubbed because he was the last player chosen in the 2009 draft,
kicked the game-winning, 22-yard field goal to beat the Steelers in
overtime at Arrowhead Stadium.
"Succop" is pronounced "suck up," which rhymes with "fuck
up," which is what the Steelers did in losing this game.
The Steelers received a little amnesty when the Bengals also failed
to beat their weak-ass AFC West opponent, the Raiders. The Steelers remain a game behind Cincinnati in the AFC North.
But
I'm not here to rip the Bengals. I'm here to rip the Steelers. I've been doing that a lot lately.
Only a memory
Among the many inexcusable things the Steelers did to lose this game was blow a fourth-quarter lead, even if they
took that lead in a fashion that evoked joyful memories of a certain
evening in Foxborough, Mass., last season.
Early in the
fourth, Lawrence Timmons strip-sacked Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel. James Harrison recovered the fumble at the Chiefs' 27.
Ben Roethlisberger eventually threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Rashard
Mendenhall for a 24-17 Steelers lead with 8:40 left.
Last
season, Cassel threw two interceptions and fumbled twice in the second half, helping the Steelers beat the Patriots and become
a championship-caliber team.
Alas, this isn't last season. The Steelers have lost two straight for the second time. They didn't lose two straight
at all last season.
Renovated Cassel
The Steelers still had a firm grip on this game when with 7:37 left Cassel faced a third-and-9 at the Chiefs' 10
and had to burn a timeout and talk to his coach, Todd Haley. Dick
Haley, Todd's father, was the Steelers' player personnel director in the 1970s.
Let's just say it must have been an effective timeout. In the eyes of Steelers fans, it turned Cassel from bed wetter
to baby-faced assassin.
With Troy Polamalu on the sideline
wearing a hat that made him look like an 8-year-old waiting for a school bus, the Chiefs gouged the Steelers' defense for 77 yards on the next two plays.
First, Cassel threw to Lance
Long for 30 yards then to Chris Chambers for 47 yards, putting the ball on the Steelers' 13. Cassel tied the game 24-24 by hitting Jamaal Charles for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 4:58 left.
Unlike so many times last season, the Steelers couldn't keep
the ball, work the clock and position themselves for the winning points. One of the culprits was the offensive line, which after not allowing a sack for 55 minutes picked the perfect time to start
sucking.
Roethlisberger was brought down for a 13-yard
loss to scuttle their ensuing drive. The Steelers got the ball back one more time in regulation, but another sack stalled that possession.
The O-Line
couldn't even protect Roethlisberger when it cheated. Justin Hartwig was holding when the most costly of the three sacks occurred.
Derrick Johnson's knee introduced itself to Roethlisberger's
head, knocking him out of the game with concussion-like symptoms. He said he felt "okay" after the game and I'm hearing he's probable for next Sunday's game at Baltimore.
Charlie Batch replaced Roethlisberger and got the Steelers to the fringe of field-goal
range at the 35, but even Mewelde "the chain mover" Moore let
the Steelers down on this day. He lost three yards on third down, forcing the Steelers to punt.
Cassel then connected with Chambers for 61 yards to set up Mr. Irrelevant's game-winning field goal.
Same shit, different week
As stunning as the game's final result was, what happened at the beginning of the
game was no surprise. And that's unfortunate.
Charles ran
the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, the fourth kickoff return for a TD the Steelers have allowed in the past five
games.
Allowing a touchdown on a kickoff has become as
much a part of Steelers games as the couch gag during the opening credits of "The Simpsons."
The Steelers have allowed a kickoff, fumble or interception return for a touchdown
in eight straight games.
I got two words for Steelers'
special teams coach Bob Ligashesky: Mr. Mom.
The Big Ligashesky
and his wife, Shelley, had their first child this summer. He should have plenty of time to change diapers after he's fired.
The Steelers' calamity Sunday was not limited to the usual
suspects. I once dubbed Heath Miller "Hands of God." Well, God punished me on Sunday. Or maybe He just punished me for not going to church.
That opening kickoff was starting to fade from memory when the Steelers took a 17-7 halftime lead and got the ball
to start the second half. Just when they seemed poised to add to their
lead, a Roethlisberger pass bounced off Miller's hands and into the hands of Andy Studebaker.
Studebaker's interception helped set up Leonard Pope's 21-yard touchdown catch, which cut the Steelers' lead to 17-14.
The Steelers, who outgained the Chiefs 515-282, were about
to restore their two-possession lead late in the third quarter. But from the Chiefs' 10, Studebaker picked off Roethlisberger in the end zone and returned his second interception 94 yards to the Steelers'
8 to set up Succop's game-tying field goal.
The last time a Studebaker ran like this, the Steelers had yet to win their first
playoff game.
Studebaker, by the way, is a second-year man from Division III Wheaton College in Illinois. That means the Steelers were victimized by a Division III product, a guy
passed over 255 times in the draft, and a guy who was just a pipsqueak
running around the locker room when the Steelers were winning Super Bowls in the 1970s.
At least there are no shitty teams left to play
in November.
According to ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with his strained
PCL.
That sucks, but even if Pittsburgh's favorite shampoo pusher does miss the next four games, three of them
are against the Chiefs, Raiders and Browns. With or without Polamalu, if they can't beat any of those teams, they don't deserve
to go to the playoffs.
Winning at Baltimore next Sunday night might be tough, although the Ravens will be without
Terrell Suggs.
So if the Steelers want to act like a playoff team, they should at least go 3-1 over the next four
games without Polamalu. That would put them at 9-4 and likely in the thick of the wild-card race when Polamalu returns for
the last three games, which are home to Green Bay and Baltimore and at Miami.
Of course, there's always the possibility
that ESPN is full of shit. But since three of the next four games are against opponents the Steelers should beat even if they're
hung over, they can afford to be cautious with Polamalu's knee.
Once one of the NFL's toughest stadiums for a visiting team to play, Arrowhead
Stadium has become a prison camp for former Steelers tormentors.
Actually, there's only one true Steelers tormentor in this
NFL oblivion, and he won't even be playing Sunday. Mike Vrabel, a Steelers castoff who with the Patriots celebrated two AFC championships on the Heinz Field turf, is out indefinitely with a knee injury.
Fresh soil?
Head coach Todd Haley and quarterback Matt Cassel tried to become
Steelers tormentors last season, but instead were shoved aside in the Steelers'
pursuit of their sixth Lombardi Trophy.
Cassel fumbled
twice and threw two interceptions in the Steelers' 33-10 win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. I think his soiled underwear
from that game is part of the Steelers' 2008 championship exhibit
at Heinz Field. Haley was the Cardinals' offensive coordinator last season, and his offense worked to perfection, at least in the fourth quarter, in Super Bowl XLIII. But it was trumped by Ben Roethlisberger
and Santonio Holmes.
So Cassel and Haley could compare
notes. They both have an ax to grind with the Steelers. But with the team they have around them, they might be heading into the game like the knight in the Far Side cartoon who can't find his helmet so goes into battle with
just a kitchen pot on his head.
There are a couple of other
Steelers tormentor wannabees playing for the lowly Chiefs. Tight end Leonard Pope also played for the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. Wide receiver Chris Chambers played against the Steelers twice
last season as a member of the Chargers. He caught three passes for
21 yards in the Steelers' 11-10 regular-season win and four passes for 72 yards in the Steelers' 35-24 playoff win.
Undercard
Also at 1 p.m. Sunday is Cleveland at Detroit. The most meaningless NFL game of
the year, right? Well, maybe not. I think Steelers fans should pull
for the Browns in this one. If the Browns lose to the Lions, Eric Mangini might get fired.
I want Mangini to survive
at least until the Steelers' game in Cleveland on Dec. 10. That way,
at least we have a full season to make fun of Mangini. It's not fair
that Patriots fans had three years to make fun of Mangini when he coached the Jets, and Steelers fans will probably only get
a year to make fun of him. So let's hope the Browns beat the Lions,
so the Steelers can get Mangini fired on Dec. 10.
Speaking
of Mangini, before we get too overconfident about the Steelers beating the Chiefs, let's not forget what happened right around
this time two years ago. Mangini led the 1-8 Jets to a 19-16, overtime
win over the 7-2 Steelers. It was the beginning of the end for what started as a promising 2007 season.
The Steelers need this
win to get their 2009 season back on track.
At a glance:
Who:
Steelers (6-3) at Chiefs (7-2) When: Sunday, 1 p.m. Where: Arrowhead Stadium,
Kansas City, Mo. TV: CBS (KDKA Channel 2 in Pittsburgh. DirecTV Channel 707. Click here for national broadcast map.) Announcers: Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon All-time: Steelers lead 17-8 (Chiefs
1-0 in playoffs) The skinny: Chiefs are 0-4 at home this season. Their two wins have come at Washington
(14-6) and at Oakland (16-10). ... Chiefs' offense is ranked 30th
in the NFL and their defense is ranked 27th. ... Chiefs S Mike Brown was named AFC defensive player of the week for intercepting
Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski twice in last Sunday's win over
the Raiders. ... For the Steelers, S Troy Polamalu is out with a strained PCL
in his left knee and DT Travis Kirschke is out with a calf injury. FB Carey Davis is questionable (hamstring). For the Chiefs,
LB Mike Vrabel(knee), G Andy Alleman (knee), RB Dantrell Savage (ankle)
and LB Justin Rogers (thigh) are doubtful. LB David Herron (knee) is questionable.
So what does the Pacific Coast League have to do with Troy Polamalu's knee?
In this case, PCL stands for "posterior cruciate ligament."
I had heard of ACL and MCL, but never PCL before Mike Tomlin's
press conference today. He said Polamalu is "questionable at best" for Sunday's game in Kansas City because of a
PCL strain.
You know what that means? It means Polamalu
should be picking out a sweat suit to wear on the sidelines Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. He shouldn't even think about playing.
He should, however, do all he can to be able to play Nov.
29 at Baltimore. The way things stand now, that game looms as the most pivotal of the season. The Ravens are only a game behind
the Steelers. If the Steelers don't at least split their two games with the Ravens, things could get hairy in the wild-card
race.
So Troy, borrow Hines Ward's hyperbaric chamber,
rub some Head & Shoulders on that knee. The Steelers will need you against the Ravens.
If the Steelers can't beat the Chiefs, even without Polamalu, then they officially suck.
Here's hoping that Larry Johnson disrupts the Bengals' chemistry to HazMat proportions. Now, my NFL power rankings, with
records and last week's ranking in parentheses.
I'll be back later after Mike Tomlin's press conference, where
he'll spill the beans about Troy Polamalu's injury and talk about the Chiefs like they're the '72 Dolphins.
OK, OK. The Bengals
are for real. Blah, blah, blah.
They've swept the Steelers
for the first time since 1998. Let's put them right up there with the '85 Bears and the Lombardi-era Packers.
I'm not here to praise the Bengals. I'm here to rip the Steelers.
One unit I won't rip (much) is the defense, which gave the Steelers a chance to
win this game despite losing Troy Polamalu to a knee injury in the first
quarter. Polamalu hurt his left knee, the same one that caused him to miss four games earlier this season. It's unclear at
this point how long he'll be out (check my Steeltweets for updates).
Because of the way the rest of the Steelers performed, the
effort of the defense was in vain.
History lesson
The biggest culprit is special teams. After the Steelers (6-3) took a 3-0 lead
on Jeff Reed's 28-yard field goal in the first quarter, Bernard Scott took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. Not that it mattered, but Bengals kicker Shayne Graham
missed the extra point, keeping the score 6-3.
The Steelers gave up six points on special teams, and wouldn't you know it, they
lost by six points. In the last four games, this was the third kickoff return for a touchdown they have allowed. Something
has to be done about the kickoff coverage.
Let's hope the
Steelers don't make the same mistake they made in 2001, when they finished 13-3 but sucked on special teams. They swept it
under the rug until the Patriots exposed it in the AFC championship
game.
This year's Steelers have a long way to go if they're
even going to get that far.
So long,
shorty
Here's an idea. If Polamalu is out for an extended period of time, how about the Steelers
cut Stefan Logan and use that roster spot to add depth at safety?
The 5-foot-7 Logan's only purpose is to score touchdowns on kickoff or punt returns. We're more than halfway through the season
and he doesn't have a single touchdown.
Late in the third quarter, with the Bengals leading 12-9 and punting from their own 2, Logan called for a fair catch
at the 50. It didn't look like he could have returned the punt for
a touchdown, but he could have at least tried to squeeze out a few yards. It might have been the difference between the Steelers settling for a game-tying field goal, which is what happened, and scoring a touchdown to take
a four-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The way it played,
the defense could have held a four-point lead.
Being 5-foot-7
myself, I'm an advocate for short guys. But it's time for Logan to go.
Cards with the 'tards
Here's another problem. After playing heads-up football for
a few weeks in a row, it looked like Santonio Holmes again decided to give himself a prostate exam by sticking his head up his ass.
Holmes led the Steelers with seven catches for 88 yards,
so his cranium was not lodged in his rectal cavity for the entire
game, but it was when it mattered most.
Holmes let a touchdown pass go through his hands in the end zone with
21 seconds left in the first half. So the Steelers settled for a field
goal and a 9-6 halftime lead.
That pass was one of the
few that Ben Roethlisberger threw on the mark. If Roethlisberger were a computer Sunday, he would have needed to be rebooted, because he was just a little off, completing 20 of 40 passes with an
interception. The Bengals could have had more picks. They got their hands
on a lot of passes.
It didn't help that Roethlisberger
was sacked four times, even though a couple of them came when he was wrapped up at the ankles, probably not hurting him any more than an ankle-biting puppy. It was the sixth straight game Roethlisberger's been sacked at least
three times, a career high. He's been sacked 27 times this season.
Whatever happened to the offensive line being better because
those guys all hang out with Roethlisberger and bond together? Did they have a fight the last time they hung out? Did somebody
not like the kind of potato chips Roethlisberger bought for their card game? Whatever it is, they need to talk about it. Communication is key in any relationship.
Dance the game away
Even though he didn't have a great game, I'm
not going to rip Rashard Mendenhall as much as I'm ripping everyone else. He had just 36 yards on 13 carries. He's not going to get 165 yards every game. He ran into a good defense. The one thing that bothered me,
though, was his inability to get the tough yards.
With the Steelers trailing 6-3, Holmes caught consecutive passes of 21 and 10 yards
to put the ball on the Bengals' 5. Then the Steelers' momentum petered
out when Mendenhall tried to dance his way through the hole and lost three yards.
Seems like Mendenhall hasn't
learned to punch it between the tackles. The Steelers, who were held
without a touchdown for the first time since last year's 11-10 win over the Chargers, settled for a game-tying field goal.
Maybe the
Steelers' offense has grown too accustomed to the defense scoring points. They didn't do that Sunday, but they did make this
game winnable. Until the Bengals' final drive.
The Bengals led 15-12 and took over on their own 21 with 6:16 to play. The Steelers
could have held the deficit to a field goal, but unnecessary roughness
on James Harrison (couldn't he at least act civilized?) and offsides on Lawrence Timmons helped the Bengals get close enough
for a field goal and an 18-12 cushion.
Not that it made a difference. Logan got the Steelers to their 33 on the kickoff, but that was it. Roethlisberger
threw four straight incomplete passes. Game, set, match.
Kiss someone else's ass
Now the Bengals (7-2) essentially have a two-game lead on the Steelers in the AFC North because they own the tiebreaker.
The Steelers will likely have to navigate the wild-card
labyrinth to get into the playoffs. Those wins over the Broncos and Chargers could come in handy.
I knew it wasn't a good thing that the TV suits were putting the words "Steelers"
and "Super Bowl" in the same sentence all week. Now they can fawn
over Bengals.
Everybody's
on the Steelers' bandwagon after their big win Monday night in Denver.
I wish it would stop.
I'm not
comfortable with the Steelers being anointed as a Super Bowl-caliber team this early in the season. Do I think they are? Sure.
But the less all the pundits talk about it, the better. History has shown that the Steelers are better off under the
radar.
The Steelers deflected a lot of attention late last season when they got hammered in Tennessee. The Titans
were 13-3 and the Colts finished the regular season with a nine-game winning streak. So those teams got the accolades while
the Steelers just went about their business and won the Super Bowl.
In 2005, when they won Super Bowl XL, they
were the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, so nobody picked them to win it all.
So, all you talking heads, go kiss another
team's ass. Talk about the Patriots. Feed Bill Belichick's voracious ego. What about the Saints, ESPN? You show that Drew
Brees pre-game-shouting feature every other hour. And, hey, Brett Favre is back from his bye this week. You're in love with
him. You must have missed him something awful.
It's only November. Stop mentioning "Steelers" and
"Super Bowl" in the same sentence and let them do their work.
While Monday's win in Denver was big, let's
not forget that it was against a team coached by a guy who carries a lunchbox.
Sunday's game is bigger. The Steelers
need this win more than they needed the win in Denver. It's not the time for them to hear how great they are.
At a glance:
Who: Bengals (6-2) at Steelers (6-2) When:
Sunday, 1 p.m. Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh TV: CBS (KDKA, Channel 2 in Pittsburgh.
Click here for the national broadcast map) Announcers: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms All-time: Steelers lead 47-31 The
skinny: The Bengals haven't swept the Steelers in a season since 1998. That's also the last time the Bengals have
beaten the Steelers twice in a row. ... Steelers ILB Lawrence Timmons is expected to play after sitting out in Denver because
of an ankle sprain. ... Steelers DE Travis Kirschke is expected to miss his second straight game with a torn calf muscle.
... Steelers FB Carey Davis is out with a hamstring injury.
This will be a good way to fire up the Heinz Field crowd before Sunday's
AFC North showdown against the Bengals.
To honor the 30th anniversary of the famous Coca-Cola commercial in which
"Mean" Joe Greene tosses his jersey to then 9-year-old Tommy Okon, both will be on the field in a pregame ceremony
in which Greene will accept a Clio award for his role in the commercial. The Clio recognizes creative excellence in advertising.
The commercial debuted during the Major League Baseball playoffs in 1979. Greene won the Clio that year but wasn't
available to accept it, and hasn't received it since. As part of the ceremony, Greene and Okon will reunite for the first
time in several years.
This should get the crowd so charged up that Carson Palmer won't be able to hear himself
think.
In the grand scheme of things, this is still a fledgling blog. Therefore it is constantly evolving. With that in mind, I've
made the decision to go without comments with my NFL power rankings and instead just list the rankings.
I hate
to admit this, but even during football season, there are non-Steelers things in my life that need my time and attention.
So in terms of my time budget, something's got to give, and I'm not going to compromise my Steelers game previews and game
columns. By the way, click here to read my Steelers-Broncos game column, or just scroll down a little.
The good news about this is you'll be getting the rankings a lot sooner. Because
of the time I needed to get the comments together, I didn't release my rankings until Wednesday, sometimes even later. Now
I'll have my rankings out when everyone else does.
Now if I get a ton of compaints about the lack of comments,
I'll rethink this decision. But I doubt that will happen.
Now, the rankings, with record and last week's ranking
in parentheses:
How important was the Steelers' win
over the Broncos on Monday night?
It was as important as
brushing teeth.
Now they have to floss.
Beating the Bengals next week is even more important, because if they lose, they'll
be a game behind them in the AFC North, and the Bengals will own the
tiebreaker by virtue of their head-to-head sweep.
But let's
not downplay what the Steelers (6-2) accomplished Monday night. Not only was it their first road win over a decent team, but
they won in Denver for only the fifth time in franchise history, including
playoffs.
Two of the Steelers teams that won in Denver (1978 and 2005) went on to win the Super Bowl. One of them (1984) reached the AFC championship game. The other one (1990) was in playoff contention
until the final week of the regular season.
So historically, a win in the thin mountain air usually means the Steelers are
good.
With the game well in hand late in the fourth quarter,
Invesco Field at Mile High was swamped by Terrible Towels. It was a scene reminiscent of last season at Gillette Stadium, another venue where the Steelers have had a hard time winning.
This stadium coup took place because the Steelers beat the Broncos (6-2) in much
the same way they beat the Patriots last season. They followed a tight
first half with a dominant second half.
In the first half,
it was the Steelers who were dominated. They had just three first downs and 25 rushing yards. They didn't even penetrate Broncos
territory until nearly three minutes into the third quarter.
Despite getting their asses kicked in the first half, the Steelers
led 7-3 at halftime because of a guy who was tired of getting his ass kicked.
Tyrone Carter had a rough time when he was called upon to fill in for an injured Troy Polamalu earlier in the season.
Carter was pressed into duty again Monday to spell free safety
Ryan Clark, who sat out because of his sickle-cell trait, which nearly killed him the last time he played in Denver.
In his second stint
as a starter, Carter redeemed himself by intercepting Kyle Orton and returning it 48 yards for a touchdown early in the second
quarter.
The Broncos scored a defensive touchdown of their own in the third quarter when Ben Roethlisberger was strip sacked
and Robert Ayers returned the fumble 54 yards for a 10-7 Broncos lead.
It took 2 minute and 15 seconds for the Steelers to regain
the lead for good.
The Steelers showed championship resiliency
when Roethlisberger completed an 18-yard pass to Mike Wallace and a 35-yard pass to Santonio Holmes. Those plays were sandwiched around a 24-yard run by Rashard Mendenhall, who gained 130 of his 155 yards after
halftime.
Roethlisberger's 3-yard touchdown pass to Hines
Ward gave the Steelers a 14-10 lead with nine minutes to go in the third quarter.
Roethlisberger blew a chance to add to the lead late in the third quarter when he threw an interception to Andre'
Goodman from the Denver 15, his first red-zone interception in two
years.
That was as close as either offense came to scoring
for a while. The Steelers' defense did a good job protecting their four-point lead, and provided a boost to the offense when Polamalu intercepted Orton to give the Steelers the ball at the Denver 25.
Three plays later, Wallace hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass to increase the Steelers'
lead to 21-10 with 7:12 left in the game.
The Broncos went
three-and-out, and the Steelers slowly but surely took the air out of the Broncos' balloon with a five-minute drive that culminated
in another 3-yard TD reception for Ward.
Carter came up with his second interception with 24 seconds left. It was Orton's third interception after just one
in the first seven games.
It reminded me of the Steelers'
Monday-night win in early November last season, when they intercepted Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell twice after he went 271 straight passes without a pick. That win also improved the Steelers'
record to 6-2.
Of course, a lot has to break the Steelers'
way for this season to unfold the way last season did. But considering how worried I was earlier in the season that the Steelers were following the path of the 2006 team, it's nice to be able to draw a parallel from a
championship season.
Now if the Steelers could figuratively floss their teeth next week by beating the Bengals,
we'll all have a bigger reason to smile.
The biggest game of the Steelers' season kicks off in a little more than two hours. This being the last NFL game before
Veterans Day, let's take a moment to remember the soldiers who lost their lives last week at Fort Hood, and also to say thanks
to all those who are fighting overseas to protect our way of life.
My way of life is staying indoors on warm
November afternoon and blogging about the Steelers, leaving the house only to drive around Westchester County in a futile
attempt to find Iron City Beer.
This is a case of deja vu. The Steelers are 5-2, playing a Monday-night game on
the road in early November against a good team.
Sounds a lot like last year, doesn't it? The Steelers played on
the eve of Election Day, beat the Redskins, who started 6-2 last year but haven't been the same since being slapped around
by the Steelers. By the time I was finished writing my column, it was a couple of hours before the polls opened, so I just
stayed awake and went to the polls at 6 a.m.
History isn't at the turning point it was when the Steelers played
in Washington at this time last year. However, it is the 20th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall came down.
That
was a great day for freedom, which is what our men and women overseas are fighting for.
The best news about tonight's Steelers game in Denver is that Ryan Clark won't play. The last time the Steelers played in
Denver, his sickle-cell trait made him ill and caused him to lose his spleen and gall bladder. No matter what the scoreboard
says after tonight's game, at least the Steelers are winners in terms
of valuing human life over wins and losses.
Now for some not-so-great
news. The tide of public opinion seems to be flowing the Steelers' way. More and more people are picking the Steelers to win
this game. Let's not forget the Steelers will be without three starters on defense. That doesn't bode well with their depth
compromised in the thin mountain air. Keyaron Fox, one of the Steelers' best special teams players, will start in place of
Lawrence Timmons at linebacker. Will he still have enough in the tank to be effective on special teams, if he plays there
at all? The Steelers need all the help they can get on special teams.
As anticipated as this game is, the
Steelers don't need to win tonight as much as they do Sunday at home against the Bengals. This is a key two-game stretch for
the Steelers before a breather (I hope) at Kansas City on Nov. 22. Hey, Larry Johnson won't be around to pull Troy Polamalu's
hair. The Chiefs cut him today.
So let's take a look at all four win-loss combinations over the next two weeks.
Win both games: The Steelers will be 7-2, in first place in the AFC North and in the running for
a first-round playoff bye. And, if the Colts beat the Patriots next Sunday night, the Steelers would occupy the No. 2 spot
in the AFC.
Lose this week, win next week: The AFC North title would be well within reach. The
Steelers and Bengals both would be 6-3, but the Bengals would lead the division for the time being because of a better division
record.
Win this week, lose next week: The Bengals would have a one-game lead on the Steelers
in the AFC North and own the tiebreaker by virtue of a head-to-head sweep. The Steelers would still be in the driver's seat
in the wild-card race.
Lose both games: Two words: Scoreboard watching.
At a glance:
Who:
Steelers (5-2) at Broncos (6-1) When: Monday, 8:30 p.m. Where: INVESCO Field at
Mile High, Denver TV: ESPN (WTAE Channel 4 in Pittsburgh) Announcers: Mike Tirico,
Ron Jaworski, Jon Gruden, Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya All-time: Broncos lead 13-6-1 (not including postseason,
which is tied 3-3) The skinny: The Steelers are without three starters on defense, S Ryan Clark, LB
Lawrence Timmons and DE Travis Kirschke. ... The Broncos are without RT Ryan Harris on offense. ... Former Patriots CB Ty
Law signed with the Broncos last week and could see limited playing time against the Steelers. ... The Steelers' last win
in Denver came in the 2005 AFC championship game. They haven't won a regular-season game in Denver since 1990.
(Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23, at Tampa, Fla.)
Those close to me will tell you that I sometimes have a difficult time making decisions.
This was not one of those times.
Yes, I might have slighted James Harrison in the last sentence of my previous post. But when I first thought of doing
this list in order to keep my traffic going during the Steelers' bye
week, I knew what No. 1 would be.
It's indisputable that
the Steelers would not have won their sixth Super Bowl without Harrison's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown that
closed out the first half and gave the Steelers a 17-7 lead.
The Steelers led 10-7 when the Cardinals, out of timeouts, had a
first-and-goal at the Steelers' 1 with 18 seconds left before halftime.
Probably tired of being held by blockers without a flag, James Harrison decided to drop back into coverage rather
than blitz. He stepped in front of Cardinals' receiver Anquan Boldin
and picked off Kurt Warner at the goal line.
Harrison's
time in the 100-yard dash: About 15 seconds.
I mentioned
in my No. 2 post that Troy Polamalu is the heart and soul of the Steelers' defense. Unfortunately, he was on camera less in
the Super Bowl than he's been in games he's sat out this season. This
allowed the Cardinals to take the lead in the fourth quarter, and it meant that Ben Roethlisberger had to pull this victory out of the fire in the game's final minute.
It also meant that it's a damn good thing Harrison wasn't content to just preserve the Steelers' lead at halftime.
The Steelers would need every single one of those points.
After not being drafted, being cut four times and waiting until
he was 29 to earn a starting job, Harrison wasn't about to quit in his effort to give the Steelers a 10-point halftime lead.
Running with
a convoy of white jerseys blocking for him, Harrison navigated the red jerseys as well as the sideline, which he came perilously
close to at one point, and completed the longest play in Super Bowl
history.
It helped the Steelers become the first team in
history to win six Super Bowls.
The Steelers' 15 most pivotal defensive touchdowns
of the last 15 years
No. 2: Troy Polamalu
(2008 AFC championship game: Steelers
23, Ravens 14, Jan. 18, 2009, at Pittsburgh)
For
any team, it's very difficult to beat the same opponent three times in a season.
For the Steelers, it has proven very difficult to win the AFC championship game at home.
The Steelers accomplished both in this game, but without Troy Polamalu's pick six,
it might not have happened.
During the 15-year era that
is the subject of this series on defensive touchdowns, the Steelers have lost the AFC title game at home four times.
Before this game, they hadn't earned a Super Bowl berth at home
since 1995. And in two previous tries, they hadn't won an AFC title game at Heinz Field.
The Steelers clung to a 16-14 lead
with less than five minutes left. Ravens' rookie quarterback Joe Flacco struggled, but seemed to have put it together with five straight completions. On third-and-13 from the Baltimore 29,
Flacco threw a ball to Derrick Mason that would have been damn
close
to a first down. Had the pass been completed, the Ravens would have needed about 30 yards to get into field-goal range, with
4:39 still on the clock. A precarious situation for the Steelers.
The outcome of this game was still in doubt because the Steelers
simply lacked the offensive firepower to put the Ravens away. On top of that, Hines Ward was out with an injury.
They needed points from the defense, and they got some.
The Steelers finally hoisted the Lamar Hunt trophy at Heinz Field in the stadium's
eighth year.
The Steelers might boast the reigning NFL
Defensive Player of the Year, but with this defensive touchdown, Polamalu again showed that he's the heart and soul of the Steelers' defense.
The Steelers' 15 most pivotal defensive touchdowns of the last 15 years
No. 3: LaMarr Woodley
(Steelers
23, Ravens 20, OT, Sept. 29, 2008, at Pittsburgh)
The boos were starting to rain down at Heinz Field.
After
starting the season 2-0, the Steelers suffered a humiliating 15-6 loss at Philadelphia the previous week in which they allowed
nine sacks.
In this Monday-night game, they trailed the
Ravens 13-3 with five minutes left in the third quarter. The Steelers teetered on the precipice of a .500 record.
Ben Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes for a 38-yard touchdown to
make the score 13-10.
The Steelers improved to 3-1 and started a three-game winning
streak. It was the first of three victories over the Ravens in their 2008 championship season. None of them would be easy.
The Steelers' 15 most pivotal defensive touchdowns
of the last 15 years
No.
4: Deshea Townsend
(Steelers 20, Cowboys 13, Dec. 7, 2008, at Pittsburgh)
In our previous episode of this countdown, we saw Deshea Townsend
take it to the house after intercepting a pretty-boy quarterback.
He does it again here, but instead of Tom Brady, it's Tony Romo.
The Steelers proved their championship mettle the previous week with a 33-10 win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium,
only their second win over the Patriots in their last eight games against them.
But for three and a half quarters against the Cowboys, it looked like the Steelers were suffering from the dreaded
letdown, which would have washed away much of the glory from that win at Foxborough.
The Steelers trailed 13-3 when Jeff Reed barely made a 41-yard field goal to make it 13-6. Then with 2:10 left, Ben
Roethlisberger tied it with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller.
As I
so eloquently pointed out in my game column, it seems like Townsend has been around long enough to have played for Buddy Parker.
He and Hines Ward, both in their 12th seasons, are the longest tenured Steelers.
This was Townsend's 20th career
interception, his third returned for a touchdown. It came in handy for the Steelers, who in 2008 were an offensively challenged
team. The only difference between this offense and the limited Steelers offenses of the mid-1990s was that this team had Ben
Roethlisberger.
The Steelers improved to 10-3 with this
win, their fourth of five straight on their way to a 12-4 season. They would need every one of those wins to claim the AFC
North title and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.
I have no information nuggets for the top 12 teams this week,
except that Falcons coach Mike Smith sort of looks like Peterman from Seinfeld and Steelers safety Ryan Clark probably won't
play Monday night in Denver.
It's probably a good idea for Clark to sit out, considering he almost died the last
time the Steelers played in Denver. Tyrone Carter will replace Clark at free safety. Troy Polamalu will just have to cover
a lot more ground, as well as Carter's ass.
Now, my NFL power rankings, with record and previous week's ranking
in parentheses:
The Steelers' 15 most pivotal defensive touchdowns
of the last 15 years
No. 5: Deshea Townsend
(Steelers 34, Patriots 20, Oct.
31, 2004, at Pittsburgh)
Red Sox fans celebrated
their team's first world championship in 86 years while the Patriots were riding an NFL-record 21-game winning streak.
Then the Steelers threw cold water on the euphoria of New
England sports fans.
Except me.
Four days after reveling with other Red Sox fans, I broke from the ranks and retreated
to the enclave of Steelers fans in New England.
Ben Roethlisberger
connected with Plaxico Burress for two touchdown passes to give the Steelers a 14-3 lead in the first quarter. It wouldn't
be the last time Burress foiled the Patriots. Perhaps Steelers fans
should be grateful there aren't as many nightclubs in Pittsburgh as there are in New York.
The Patriots never got closer than 14 points after that.
I don't know what was more amazing about that game, the Patriots losing for the first time in 399 days or the fact
that Bill Belichick and Bill Cowher had what looked like an actual
conversation during the postgame handshake.
Well, it was
Halloween. Maybe Belichick was dressed as a friendly guy.
The
Steelers improved to 6-1 with the win and backed it up by beating another undefeated team, the Eagles, 27-3 at Heinz Field
the following week.
With that memorable two-week stretch,
the Steelers proved they were legitimate and were well on their way to the only 15-1 season in franchise history.
The ride ended when the Patriots returned
to Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers in the AFC championship game. The Steelers could only go so far with a rookie quarterback. But at least after a quarter century of Mark Malone, Mike Tomczak, Kent Graham and Kordell
Stewart, they finally had a quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers' 15 most pivotal defensive touchdowns
of the last 15 years
No. 7: Troy Polamalu
(Steelers 28, Bengals 17, Oct. 3,
2004, at Pittsburgh)
You always remember your
first time.
My first time? I was 33.
That's the first time I saw Troy Polamalu return an interception.
It's a dazzling display that made its debut in this game.
Ben Roethlisberger won his first career start the previous week in Miami, with
the help of Polamalu's first career interception. Nobody knew at the time that it would be the first of 15 straight wins,
especially with the way the Steelers were struggling at home against the Bengals. The Steelers took a 21-17 lead on a Jerome
Bettis 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
After
a Steelers punt, Carson Palmer and the Bengals took over at their own 20 with 2:19 left. They didn't have the ball very long.
On the first play of the drive, Polamalu intercepted Palmer and off he went.
With his hair flying behind him like a superhero's cape,
Polamalu zig-zagged his way around so many people that it looked like Grand Central Station at 5 p.m. on a Monday. Many of
Polamalu's 22 career interceptions, including three in the playoffs, are followed by this jaw-dropping spectacle.
Polamalu went 26 yards for the TD and a 28-17 Steelers lead. The
Steelers improved to 3-1, and a special season, as well as a special career, was beginning to take shape.
No. 6:
Rod Woodson and Gerald Williams
(Steelers 23, Bills 10, Nov. 14, 1994, at Pittsburgh)
Was there ever any doubt that Rod Woodson would be
in this countdown? He only had 71 career interceptions, 12 of them returned for touchdowns. With the Steelers, the Hall of
Fame cornerback had 38 interceptions, fourth most in team history, with five returned for touchdowns.
This game represented the dawn of a new day in the AFC. The Bills were the four-time
AFC champions. But with this Monday-night victory, the Steelers showed that it was time for someone else to take over.
On the way to the third of their four straight Super Bowls,
the Bills defeated an upstart Steelers' team 24-3 in the 1992 AFC divisional playoffs. It was Bill Cowher's first year as
coach, and the Steelers were one of the big surprises in the NFL, going 11-5 and earning home-field advantage throughout the
playoffs. But they were no match for the playoff-savvy Bills. They weren't quite ready to be Super Bowl contenders.
In 1994, they were.
Of course we all know that the Steelers fell short of the Super Bowl in 1994, losing at home to the Chargers in the
AFC championship game. Their downfall was a lack of offense. Against the Bills, that offense didn't score any touchdowns.
Their points came on those two defensive touchdowns and three field goals.
In the first quarter, Woodson intercepted Jim Kelly and ran it back 37 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 Steelers
lead. The Steelers had a 16-3 lead at halftime, but the Bills pulled to within 16-10 when Andre Reed caught a 19-yard touchdown
pass from Kelly. The Steelers got their two-touchdown cushion back in the third quarter when defensive end Gerald Williams
recovered a fumble in the Bills' end zone for a touchdown.
This
was the last of nine seasons with the Steelers for Williams. He went to Carolina for two years then split time between the
Panthers and Packers in 1997, his final season.
The Steelers
improved to 7-3 with this win, their second of seven straight. It was a blow to the Bills' hopes of a fifth straight Super
Bowl berth. They dropped to 5-5.
The Steelers finished
the season 12-4. The journey back to their first Super Bowl since 1979 would take another year. But with this win, they helped
ensure that the Bills would no longer be a hurdle on the way there.
