Beer We Go Steelers

The Steelers dominated the Texans and have clinched a first round bye!

More to come!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Going with Joe Haden who basically shutdown one of the best receivers in football, DeAndre Hopkins holding him to 65 yards with 38 of those yards coming on one catch. He needed a circus catch to score the only Texans TD. Also Considered: JuJu Smith Schuster who stepped in nicely for AB with 75 yards and a TD.

Where I watched the game: Christmas Day at the house, was outstanding, with several great pregame snacks, including Sausage Bread (HOT AND SWEET) and several meats and cheeses. We scheduled Christmas dinner for Halftime and we had near perfect execution. Dinner was chicken parmigiana and Baked Ziti. No Beer this week, which is rare, but had an awesome bottle of Caymus.

My Stat of the week:  2.0 T.J. Yates QBR for the game! That defies logic and tells how dominant the Steelers were in the game! The Texans finished with EIGHT catches!

My Thoughts on next week: The Browns who have locked up the First Round Pick win or lose, will be out for blood as they try and avoid the ignominious 0-16 season. The Steelers need to determine if they want to play their starters and try and win home field advantage as the Patriots play a game Jets team. Either way the Steelers should pull out a victory and be ready for the playoffs!

This week’s Jersey: Steelers Throwback #92 James Harrison! I am still very upset and rocked the jersey to mass on Saturday! It trumped my Franco Jersey on Immaculate Reception Day!

Absolutely crushed that the Steelers released James Harrison today!

Happy Immaculate Reception Day:

Original Broadcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM08mW78zi4

The Steelers rallied twice, but in the end were unable to beat their nemesis Patriots and overcome a terrible reversed call. While the playoffs are secured, the number one seed is now in jeopardy. The Steelers lost a lot more than that though as Antonio Brown went out with a torn calf muscle.

The Steelers put together a solid game plan and nearly made it work. The defense used a lot of press coverage and for the most part it kept the Patriots in some type of check, including a near game winning interception that was dropped by Sean Davis. But Davis was completely mismatched against Rob Gronkowski and Gronk torched the Steelers on the final drive.

The defense seemed to finally harass Tom Brady, dropping him for two sacks and being in his face all day, they dropped him on several play. They also had their first interception in about 13 years. But when Brady had both a second and third chance, he is going to beat you, engineering the game winning drive. It was a nice effort by Cam Heyward, Javon Hargrave and Stephon Tuitt. Bud Dupree had a big third down sack. Where is Deebo?

The offense had nice balance and converted 63 percent on third down, even without AB, they spread the ball around and moved the ball well, Martavis Bryant finally stepped up making two awesome catches a diving 39-yarder down the sideline and a one-handed 4-yard TD with a Patriot defender literally holding him. The ghost of Eli Rogers reappeared and had a terrific 18-yard TD on play action. JuJu Smith-Schuster rang in for 114 yards including the 69-yard catch-and run that should have setup at minimum a game tying Field Goal and of course the disputed TD by Jesse James, that was incorrectly overturned by replay.

Le’Veon Bell finished with 117 yards rushing, with 67 coming in the second half, including the 3-yard touchdown run. He finished with 165 scrimmage yards and averaged 5.7 yards on 29 touches. He anchored the offense and really was a weapon, the Patriots had no answer for.

Little Bos nailed his only Field Goal attempt a 51 yarder and Jordan Berry had a solid day punting.

The Steelers had this game and let it and the number seed slip through their fingers. They were clearly jobbed on the game winning touchdown but they also should have had two more shots at it and it never should have gotten that far. Why are the Steelers calling a draw on a 2^nd and long when they have the chance to choke out the Patriots? They moved the ball pretty much at will and gave Tom Brady a chance to beat him and they did.

The good news is win out and you get a bye and maybe another shot at the Patriots!

The NFL has completely made a mockery of the catch rule and seemed to contradict itself this week!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Going with Le’Veon Bell who shouldered the load after AB went out. He finished with 165 Scrimmage Yards and he created a huge question, what would have happened in the AFC Championship game if the Steelers hadn’t lost Bell. Also Considered: JuJu Smith-Schuster who had a huge game and nearly won it. Little Bos who is becoming a huge weapon!

Where I watched the game: KGB and I were back at the house with 2/3 of the Tailgate kids. We had Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner and buffalo chicken pretzels as the game snack. Because it was New England we switched from Sam Winter to Long Ireland Winter Lager. It was an entertaining game and we were all well behaved given the issues with the ending.

My Stat of the week: THREE! As in three times the Patriots were helped both for and against in the controversial touchdown ruling. The game winner v. the Texans, the game losers against the Steelers and the Jets.* Tell me how there was enough evidence to over turn the ruling on the field! Also from the game eight! The number of receivers that Ben completed passes to during the game, showing how dangerous this team can be and that they aren’t one dimensional!

My Thoughts on next week: It’s crucial that the Steelers pull this win and not do “the usual” drop one to an inferior road team. The biggest key is to get some type of bye in the playoffs! They can do that if they beat the Texans and Browns who are a combined 4-24…which is what scares me! It will also mark the second time the Steelers play on Christmas in two years…which is problematic at the BWG Household.

This week’s Jersey: Steelers Home #86 Hines Ward that I wore to church! Not my best luck jersey as you can probably tell!

 *SOURCE: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2017/12/18/alberto-riveron-nfl-senior-vice-president-of-officiating-patriots-calls-jesse-james/stories/201712180138

The Steelers jumped out early, fell behind and recovered to beat the Ravens and clinch the AFC North! Backed by a magnificent performance by Ben Roethlisberger and the usual Antonio Brown and Chris Boswell heroics, the Steelers won the game and clinched the AFC North while knocking off their biggest rival.

The offense put together a historic performance. Ben Roethlisberger passed for a career high 64 attempts and racked up a monster 506 yards with two touchdowns. He had solid protection and moved the ball almost at will. The Ravens hadn’t allowed a 300-yard passer all season. Antonio Brown put on another prime-time show. He had 11 catches for 213 yards, making one clutch catch after the other. Vance McDonald and Jesse James racked up 149 yards on 14 catches between them. McDonald once again left the game with an injury.

The defense was clearly missing Ryan Shazier as they were gashed by Alex Collins and the Ravens rushing attack for 26 carries and 152 yards. Collins bounced outside and Sean Spence and Arthur Moats never adjusted. The secondary struggled again, giving up big plays and finding themselves out of position on several plays. Sean Davis had a takeaway but struggled covering Mike Wallace and was hit with a bogus penalty.

The Steelers generated pressure but only had one sack, the game winner by T.J. Watt. James Harrison was finally back in the lineup and in on the last series.

Special teams had a good game on the kicking side, with Little Bos becoming a huge asset. He banged out his second 50+Yarder of the season and he also hit the game winner for 46 yards for the third time in four weeks! Jordan Berry had a solid bounce back week with three booming punts for 141 yards. The return game and the coverage units are still mediocre, including the Steelers getting gashed after they missed a two point try.

The refs for the second week in a row were lousy, getting way to involved and then missing blatant calls.

It was another lesson in escape artistry for the eighth win in a row and the Steelers now sit with the best record in football. They also are playing understaffed and still have not played their best football!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Going with three game beers, Antonio Brown, who put up a monster game again on prime time. Chris Boswell who won yet another game with four great boots and Ben Roethlisberger who put up a monster day against a tough Ravens Defense for 500+ yards.

Where I watched the game: KGB and I decided to watch the game in front of the fire and a Christmas tree, these night games have been brutal and of course they have all been nail biters. We had Sam Adam’s Winter Lager as the beer of choice and Pretzels as the snacks, I am excited to go back to a 4:00PM game next week!

My Stat of the week: ZERO the amount of times the Steelers have lost when they have a 14-point lead. That streak was in serious jeopardy last night, but the rally kept the streak intact.

My Thoughts on next week: It’s a Playoff Preview we hope. The Steelers play the Patriots who are coming off a short week. With the defense in shambles the Steelers are limping into this one. They will need a perfect game to win and need someone to step up!

This week’s Jersey: Steelers Home #36 “The Bus”, Jerome Bettis. I missed Church this week, so wore it on Sunday for dinner!

The Steelers rallied from 17 points and defeated the Bengals in a violent game, which saw Ryan Shazier suffer a serious injury. The Steelers extended their best start in 13 years with the come from behind win. This was the Steelers sixth straight win against their AFC North Rival and their ninth in ten games!

The offense and the defense started off slow. With Ryan Shazier going out early, the Bengals, ran through big holes in the line and finished with 130 yards on 22 carries, the most the Steelers have allowed in the past eight games. The team clearly lacked focus and energy.  They also gave up three 3rd and longs. The second half they came out strong and were able to take the fight to the Bengals, holding them to three second half points. Vince Williams led the way with a big sack and several big plays. The Secondary continues to struggle without Joe Haden. Coty Sensabaugh was sent to the bench after getting torched by A.J. Green and it was clear that Mike Mitchell was missed.

The offense was nearly shutout in the first half, but scored three points in the closing seconds. Ben Roethlisberger rallied the Steelers in the second half. Throwing for 181 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He did a terrific job avoiding pressure. Le’Veon Bell didn’t find the running room he had in the first meeting. Bell ran for 76 yards with 51 coming in the second half. He also demolished Dre Kirkpatrick on a 4th and one, running him over for a nine yard gain, He made a huge impact in the passing game, leading the team with 106 yards on five catches, two of which, were the biggest in the game. A 33 yarder in the first half, setup the first Steelers points and a tight rope run against a confused and frozen Bengals defense got the Steelers back in it. James Conner also checked in with three carries for 12 yards.

It is hard to find any new superlatives about Antonio Brown’s game. He continues to impress with eight passes for 101 yards including the game tying Touchdown that he was nearly decapitated on by George “Jago” Iloka. Martavis Bryant seems to be coming out of his funk. He made four catches and is starting to make an impact, he also had a run back on kickoff that was negated on a holding penalty. JuJu Smith-Schuster had only four catches but his impact was felt on a crushing blindside block that annihilated Vontaze Burfict, sending him to the locker room on a stretcher. It wasn’t a cheap shot, but it was an illegal crack back and JuJu made it worst by taunting.

Chris Boswell aka “Little Boz” nailed his third winning field goal in four weeks.

In the end the Steelers got off the deck and recovered in time to win the game!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Ryan Shazier our thoughts and prayers are with #50 as he begins the road to recovery. Also Considered: Le’Veon Bell who made two big plays, Antonio Brown who had the game tying TD while almost getting decapitated and “Little Bos” who hit the game winner three of the last four weeks.

Where I watched the game: KGB and I tried Buckley’s my local pub, but we had to deal with “Dart Night” then tried Sea Cove, which has the jersey giveaway, but the vibe wasn’t great for MNF, so we came back and finished at the house. Beer of Choice was Narragansett Lager and we had baked clams and the worst boneless wings ever!

My Stat of the week: 13-173 yards in Penalties for the Bengals, A new record! The game almost had a body count by the end and suspensions are being handed out today. It also shows Marvin Lewis has little to no control over his team!

My Thoughts on next week: Buckle up! The Ravens are on the comeback trail and this is almost a must win for them. Look for a slugfest with the Steelers out shooting them. Also my favorite excuse of all time to KGB, “But it’s Raven’s Week”

This week’s Jersey: Steelers Color Rush, Alejandro Villanueva #78, this is the jersey we won at Sea Cove for the Titans game!