Looks like that Steelers-Giants Super Bowl I predicted isn't going to happen. And I guess the Redskins aren't going to be this year's surprise playoff team.
Speaking
of the Redskins, who already have a new coach, they led the NFL with seven losses of six points or less. Does that sound
familiar? The Steelers lost six by six points or less and the other by seven.
No one's saying the Redskins were
almost an 11-5 team. A loss is a loss, and the Steelers had seven of them this season, which is too many.
About
the only thing I got right in my preseason predictions is that the Chargers would finish 13-3. One of those three losses was
against the Steelers. What a way to twist the knife if the Chargers end up winning the Super Bowl (as if the Steelers would
have a prayer against the Chargers if they played today).
Well, at least try to enjoy the playoffs without the
Steelers in them. I'll be rooting for any team not named the Patriots.
Perhaps it's fitting that Texans' safety Bernard Pollard was a central
figure in Sunday's intricate plot.
With a hair more than
14 minutes remaining in their respective games, the Steelers took
a 27-10 lead in Miami and the Patriots took a 27-13 lead in Houston.
It looked like the 1 p.m. chapter of this trilogy would play
out perfectly for the Steelers. Had they and the Patriots held on,
the Steelers would have needed a Ravens loss or tie at 4 p.m. OR a
Jets loss or tie in the night game.
Maybe, just maybe, the Steelers would get into the playoffs.
Feeling their
pain
Before euphoria could ensue,
the Steelers' lead was whittled to three and the Patriots' lead was
gone.
Maybe
a minute after Dolphins' third-string quarterback Tyler Thigpen threw
a 34-yard touchdown to Davone Bess to narrow the Steelers' lead to
27-24, Pollard intercepted Brady at the Patriots' 43 with four minutes
left, setting up the winning touchdown for the Texans.
This is the same Pollard who shredded Brady's knee and ended his season in Week 1 last year. The next day, "Bernard Pollard Fan Club" T-shirts became a hot item among Steelers fans.
That fan club probably lost a lot of members after that interception Sunday. Not that it ultimately mattered. The plug was pulled on the
Steelers' playoff hopes when the Ravens defeated the Raiders 21-13.
Then the Bengals took the night off against the Jets.
Say this about the Patriots, Brady played most of the game
even after Wes Welker was lost for the playoffs with a knee injury. They played to win. The integrity displayed by Bill Belichick
elevated his standing to the point that now he's just a prick.
I
got on my soapbox last year when certain Steelers fans celebrated
Brady's injury with those Bernard Pollard T-shirts. I asked how we'd
like it if something similar happened to the Steelers.
Well, it did happen. Sort of.
Like the Patriots in 2008, the Steelers lost a franchise player with the season just minutes old. And like the Patriots in 2008, they damn
near made the playoffs without him.
Troy Polamalu packed
a career highlight reel into less than a half of football when the
Steelers opened the 2009 season against the Titans. He had six tackles
and one interception before Alge Crumpler crumpled his knee.
Unlike Brady in 2008, Polamalu did return for three full games,
helping the Steelers go 6-2. But he hurt his knee again in Week 10 against the Bengals, and his season was over.
The Steelers were without Polamalu for 11 games, and that's all you
need to know about their 2009 season. It will forever be remembered
as the year Polamalu got hurt.
Rising from the ashes
The third season of the Mike Tomlin Era obviously won't be remembered as fondly as the second. But I think it will ultimately have a sweeter taste than the first, when the Steelers started 7-2 but were slowly deflated by injuries, and were a dead team walking
before a heartbreaking playoff loss to Jacksonville.
There's
something to be said for the way the 2009 Steelers emerged from the
ruins of a five-game losing streak. They finished the season with
three straight wins and still had a chance to make the playoffs when
their work was done.
You could call Sunday's game a season
finale in the same sense as a TV series, because the story line was
familiar. The Steelers built a big lead and let their opponent back
in the game in the fourth quarter.
But in a stunning conclusion,
they secured the lead with the help of some characters that might
be written out of the story next season.
Dolphins' receiver Brian Hartline went 16 yards on an end around for
a touchdown to narrow the Steelers' lead to 27-17 with 11:32 left
in the game. After a Steelers' three-and-out, the Dolphins needed
just three plays to score again. Bess's TD made it 27-24 with 8:46
to go.
It looked like this fourth-quarter collapse would
dwarf all others when less than two minutes later, Ben Roethlisberger
was strip-sacked and Joey Porter (who else?) recovered the fumble
at the Steelers' 21.
But with 6:10 left, Ryan Clark intercepted Thigpen at the Steelers' 2. Thigpen was in the game because starter Chad Henne hurt his eye
and backup Pat White was taken off on a stretcher after a helmet-to-helmet
hit by Ike Taylor.
Then Willie Parker gained 74 yards on
nine carries as the Steelers milked the clock with a 14-play, 98-yard
drive that ended with a 33-yard field goal by Jeff Reed and a 30-24
lead with 45 seconds left.
Clark and Parker both will be free agents and aren't likely to be back with the Steelers next year. If they're not back, this was a nice ride into the sunset.
For that matter, Deshea
Townsend also might not be back. The 34-year-old, who shares with
Hines Ward the distinction as the longest-tenured Steeler, grabbed
the first interception by a Steelers cornerback this season with 5:32
left in the first half. The Steelers had just taken a 17-10 lead on
Reed's 22-yard field goal.
Ike Taylor, who probably will
be back next season, followed Townsend's example with an interception
of his own. The stone-handed Taylor picked off Thigpen at the Dolphins'
38 with 36 seconds left to seal the Steelers' win.
If Taylor and his fellow cornerbacks (yeah, I'm talking to you, Joe Burnett) could have held onto the ball in the first 15 games of the season like they did Sunday, the Steelers might have had one more win, which is all they needed to make the playoffs.
The Steelers also might have had one more win had Polamalu played
anything close to a full season.
Al Michaels was calling
the game when Polamalu hurt his knee on Sept. 10.
Four
months later, Steelers fans had to ask themselves if they believed in miracles.
Steelers
did all they could do by beating the Dolphins 30-24. I never thought I'd say these words, but the Patriots' loss hurts.
Now the Steelers need the Ravens and Broncos to lose or tie now and Jets to lose or tie tonight in order to make the
playoffs at 9-7.
I won't be watching most or all of the 4 p.m. games. To quote "Good Will Hunting," I
have to see about a girl. My chances with this young lady are probably about as good as the Steelers' chances of making the
playoffs.
Depending on how the Ravens and Broncos do, I'll start my column after those games or after the Bengals-Jets
game.
OK, so on Sunday the Patriots' starters might be sunning themselves
in Houston and the Bengals' starters might be sipping hot cocoa around
a fire in New Jersey.
Let's stop complaining about the
possibility of the Patriots and Bengals half-assing it and losing
to keep the Steelers out of the playoffs. The Steelers brought this
on themselves by losing five in a row, including losses to the Chiefs,
Raiders and Browns.
Let's just be happy that on the final
day of the regular season, the Steelers are still playing meaningful
football. Who would have thought that was possible three weeks ago
on that bitter, cold Thursday night when they lost in Cleveland?
Sure, this has been a disappointing season. But historically,
the 2009 Steelers already have given us more than the 1998 Steelers,
who started 7-4 but ended the season with five straight losses. At
least this season there's been an attempted rescue after the disaster.
By winning Sunday and still having a chance to make the playoffs
when they go home, these Steelers officially will be awarded a better
place in our memory than the 2006 Steelers, who as defending champions
were eliminated from playoff contention by Week 17 but still won in
Cincinnati to keep the Bengals out of the playoffs.
The bad news is that Troy Polamalu,
while listed as questionable, is not likely to play. If the Steelers
somehow get into the playoffs (and let's face it, the odds are against
that), it's more likely he'll be ready then.
The good news is the Steelers probably won't have to deal with the wildcat with Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown out for the season.
The wildcat made the Steelers defense look like a bunch of Sunday-morning rec leaguers against the Browns.
What's also good news for the Steelers is the
Dolphins' secondary might actually be worse than the Steelers' secondary.
So look for the Steelers to remain pass-happy.
All the Steelers can do is win and hope. The rest is out of their control.
At a glance:
Who: Steelers (8-7) at Dolphins (7-8) When:
Sunday, 1 p.m. Where: Land Shark Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla. TV: CBS (KDKA, Ch.
2 in Pittsburgh area. Go to the506.com for national broadcast map) Announcers: Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf All-time: Steelers lead 10-9 (Dolphins lead
2-1 in postseason) The skinny: Former Steeler Joey Porter leads the Dolphins with eight sacks this season. ... Steelers RB Willie Parker (shoulder) and S Troy Polamalu (knee) are doubtful. ... Steelers G Chris Kemoeatu
(wrist), WR Hines Ward (hamstring) and LB Rocky Boiman (calf) are
questionable. ... Steelers DE Brett Keisel (shoulder) is probable.
... Dolphins RB Ricky Williams (shoulder) is probable.
