Beer We Go Steelers

The Steelers fell behind and then couldn’t comeback against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Steelers dropped an important division game against the AFC North perennial doormat Bengals. It was a tough loss and despite being only in three games so far, the media is writing the epitaph on Ben Roethlisberger.

I won’t do a full game report, because it is so late in the week. I was traveling for business so this will be abbreviated. Just to be clear, the only reason, is because I was traveling. It is not because the Steelers lost as one of our subscribers suggested.

What I would also point out, I expected to be 2-2 after four games. If the Steelers can salvage next week, they are right where we expected, albeit not how we expected it.

Beer We Go Steelers, Beer We Go!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Chris Boswell, who drilled the longest kick in the history of Heinz Field. Except for one season, he has been an absolute underappreciated star. Also Considered: Najee Harris who is starting to show signs of why he was a first round pick! Diontae Johnson pulling in 105 yards.

Beer of the Game: I was on the road, so I had a Sullivan Irish Red, real good beer. Because of timing, it was the first time I listened to a game on the radio without Tunch, it was definitely hard. Of course I love Wolf and Bill, but surely Tunch is missed. Tricky week for watching football for me, I was in Saratoga, for long time readers of the Blog, my go to bar was “The Stadium” it unfortunately looks like a victim of Covid. I had to watch in my Hotel on my Ipad.

“Steel the Snacks”: My wife KGB made Coney style dogs with Skyline Chili that looked fantastic. I was homesick for sure!

My Stat of the week: The Steelers NFL all-time leading sack streak finally ended; at 75 games! The Streak started in week 7 of the 2016 season. Keep in mind the Steelers were missing both Alex Highsmith and of course T.J. .

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers will be huge underdogs, originally, we were slated for the game, with Brother Bill and some friends, but Covid hindered the plan. I wouldn’t sleep on the Steelers just yet, especially if they get back T.J. and Diontae.

This week’s Jersey: JuJu Smith-Schuster, 19, Color Rush, clearly this didn’t bring any luck at all.

Another slow start and key injuries doomed the Steelers from the beginning as they fell to the Las Vegas Raiders 26-17 at the Heinz Field opener.

The day started off with key injuries and they only got worse as it progressed. Prior to the beginning of the game, the Steelers lost Devin Bush and Joe Haden, by half time they were down T.J. Watt and Tyson Alualu too and by the end of the game, it looks like they may be down Diontae Johnson. In the NFL it is next man up and everyone who filled in played admirably but losing four major impact players was too much to overcome.

The offense, particularly the offensive line is a mess right now. Ben Roethlisberger was under duress all day with 10 QB hurries and two sacks. There was no room to run the football and the Steelers only managed to grind out 39 yards. This played a huge factor in the fourth quarter when trailing by two scores, Mike Tomlin opted to punt rather than chance going for less than one yard on the Steelers side of the field. Adding insult to injury when the game was almost out of reach Trai Turner was ejected for spitting and fighting? Not sure how that could have been much worse. It was a lousy performance, capped off by a player being thrown out of the game, not a great week or look for the rebuilt line.

The play calling seems to be inconsistent and despite all this, Roethlisberger played fairly well. He finished with 295 yards with a touchdown and he was able to finally connect on a deep threat to Chase Claypool. Diontae Johnson led the receivers with nine catches and 105 yards. Najee Harris chipped in on the passing game with a big touchdown, the first of his career. There was not much else to highlight on the offense.

The defensive secondary got torched by Derek Carr who made every play he needed. He finished with 373 yards and two touchdowns, including completing a 61-yarder to Henry Scruggs III. With Minkah Fitzpatrick preoccupied with Darren Waller, Scruggs was able to score the back breaker. (The broadcast team was borderline obsessed with Waller, mentioning him on nearly every play) James Pierre had a tough day and was a frequent victim of Carr.

With Watt going out early and without Alualu, the pass rush slowed down significantly. Robert Spillane and Melvin Ingram both performed well and were all over the field as the majority replacements. Cameron Heyward had a big day, but the rest of the pass rush was just a step too slow or nonexistent in key crucial moments.

The special teams had another nice week. Chris Boswell hammered a 56-yard field goal and Pressley Harvin had a very good day flipping the field on the Raiders. Ray-Ray McCloud had some nice returns, with the only negative being he took a big penalty. Overall though this unit looks to be the most improved on the team.

The coaching staff had a tough day with clock management issues and a poor game plan. The play calling was inconsistent and awful for the most part, the fact the Steelers are trailing by two scores and don’t have any confidence in getting less than one yard is just plain terrible. It was a mistake by Tomlin not to go for it, but you could understand the thought process. The Steelers need to make some adjustments and figure out how to get the offense going. The defense wasn’t as bad as the stats indicated, they just seemed to wear down at the end of the game.

It was a tough loss, but there was bright spots and it would be a mistake to have any kind of freak out this early.

Beer We Go Steelers, Beer We Go!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Chris Boswell, who drilled the longest kick in the history of Heinz Field. Except for one season, he has been an absolute underappreciated star. Also Considered: Najee Harris who is starting to show signs of why he was a first round pick! Diontae Johnson pulling in 105 yards.

Beer of the Game: Was a little under the weather, so the Beer was Root Beer. Had A&W in a frosty mug! I know, this is a blog about sports and drinking beer, but wanted to be honest with the readers! BTW it was delicious.

“Steel the Snacks”: Awful Awful burger sliders from the now closed Nugget Diner in Nevada. My wife KGB recreated this classic in mini form. It was hard finding a definitive snack for the Raiders, especially now that they are in Nevada. We picked a Nevada classic the world famous Awful-Awful Burger.

My Stat of the week: Going with 1-1 a 56-yard field goal by Little Bos. He made history with the big boot and kept the Steelers in the game. (Najee Harris scoring what we hope will be the first of many touchdowns was also considered.)

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers need a win at home and the usual suspect Bengals will be there. The Bengals are dangerous and desperate. Look for a much tougher game than expected with the Steelers edging them out.

This week’s Jersey: Heath Miller, 83, Blackout jersey, one of my favorite players of all time and a very cool looking Jersey.

The Steelers came back and beat Buffalo to open the 2021 Season….

It wasn’t always pretty but in the end the Steelers started the season off right with a tough and hard-fought victory over AFC powerhouse Buffalo Bills, with a 17-point fourth quarter.  The defense was tough all game, the offense was a work in progress and in the end the special teams rebounded with the play of the game.

The front seven wreaked havoc all day, his numbers don’t show it, but Melvin Ingram was dominant and provided pressure all game, despite dealing with constant holding. Alex Highsmith also was tough, and his development continues, the numbers didn’t tell the story. Even without Stephon Tuitt, the defensive line had a great rotation and provided tremendous run support and pressure. Cam Heyward had a monster sack and kept a tough Josh Allen in place. Fresh off his new contract, T.J. Watt didn’t disappoint putting together two sacks a forced fumble, despite being double teamed all day. The refs literally could have called holding all day.

Except for one play, a 37-yard completion to Gabriel, the secondary blanketed the Bills and stayed consistent in coverage. Stephon Diggs never got off, Manny Sanders played well but was contained most of the day. Cam Sutton made the second biggest play of the game, sniffing out a big run on fourth down, tackling Matt Breida for a loss.

The biggest play of the game was authored on special teams by Miles Killebrew, blocking Matt Haack’s punt and allowing Ulysees Gilbert to recover for a touchdown. The play put the Steelers up by two scores with just under 10 minutes left. Chris Boswell put up a big day drilling three field goals, with the last one being the game clincher a 45-yarder with 2:42 left. Pressley Harvin III looked great at some points hitting a boomer for 51 yards and looked okay at others. After allowing a big opening play, the Special Teams adjusted nicely.

The offense is and looks like it will be a work in progress. The offensive line struggled to get any kind of rhythm, finding very little room to run and Ben Roethlisberger, never really had time to get set and throw down field. He played a very smart game, never panicking or forcing anything.

Najee Harris never left the field and while the numbers weren’t great, he clearly adds an element to the offense that was missing. The receivers next to the linebackers look like a clear strength. Diontae Johnson returned to his darkest NFL moment (Four drops in Buffalo last year) and made a spectacular catch for the Steelers first touchdown.

It would be easy to under estimate this win, but the Steelers beat the AFC East Champions in their own building in front of a raucous Bill’s crowd after getting off to a terrible start. That takes great coaching and a belief in the game plan!

Great Win!

Beer We Go Steelers, Beer We Go!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Ben Roethlisberger, He never panicked and was completely under control and made the big plays when he needed it, I confess to being a little bit nostalgic on this one. Also Considered: T.J. Watt who was a wrecking crew. Diontae Johnson who made a great catch for the first touchdown, Miles Killebrew for the blocked punt.

Beer of the Game: (NEW SECTION): The opening game requires a classic. Iron City Light, which I drove to Pennsylvania to get back in August. What can you say it is a classic for a reason, served it ice cold out of the can!

“Steel the Snacks”: Homemade Buffalo Chicken sliders, since Anchor Bar and Duffs are the inventor of hot wings, what better snack could you ask for! KGB made them and did everything from scratch.

My Stat of the week: Going with17 points in the fourth quarter to seal a victory. It was another double-digit comeback!

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers return to Heinz Field with what I imagine will be a raucous capacity crowd. Since the Raiders play tonight, not sure what to expect, will try and update this later in the week.

This week’s Jersey: Ben Roethlisberger, 7, Fashion jersey, I felt nostalgic as this certainly is close to being his last opening week.

Here is the BWG take on the roster.