Beer We Go Steelers

The Steelers made their Las Vegas debut in front of a raucous crowd of fans, beating the Raiders 23-18 in a very well rounded hard fought effort.

Kenny Pickett put together a workman like night. He passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns. After starting off slow and nearly getting torched for a pick six by Marcus Peters, he settled in and the game never looked too big for him. He converted when needed and made the plays. He also used his mobility to evade a fierce Raiders pass rush. It was his best game of the season, and he converted a huge third down in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter with a nifty six-yard pass to Allen Robinson to put the game close to out of reach.

The receivers had a nice night. Calvin Austin III got the start and took the lid off the Raiders defense with a quick strike 72-yard touchdown that got the Steelers on the board. George Pickens contributed with four catches for 75 Yards. Pat Freiermuth got in the box score with his first touchdown of the season, in a classically orchestrated balanced Steelers drive. The running game was mediocre again but they managed to grind out 100+ yards on the ground with Najee Harris leading the way, he had 19 carries for 65 very hard earned yards. Jaylen Warren contributed in both the passing game and the running game with 23 yards in the air and 29 yards on the ground.

The defense put together a strong performance bottling up the Raiders running game for only 69 yards, forcing three turnovers and sacking Jimmy Garoppolo four times. It should have been five as the refs blew a huge call on Minkah Fitzpatrick barreling down Jimmy G.

T.J. Watt had two sacks; Keanu Benton put together a strong performance registering his first sack of his young career. Markus Golden also had a big sack late in the game. The secondary played bend but don’t break defense. Davante Adams racked up a whopping 13 catches for 172 yards and scored both Raiders touchdowns. But the secondary rallied and had three interceptions including a nifty game sealing victory pick by Levi Wallace. He also snagged one earlier in the game. Patrick Peterson had his first pick as a Steeler.

The Special Teams were a key contributor to last nights victory! Pressley Harvin III had another big week. He averaged 53.8 yards per punt and flipped the field, pinning the Raiders down three times inside the 20. His last punt erased nearly 11 seconds off the clock and went for 63 yards. Chris Boswell is having a great comeback season; he was three for three on field goals and he absolutely hammered a 57-yarder that extended the Steelers lead.

The refs had a terrible night, calling Minkah Fitzpatrick for a personal foul penalty on a bone crunching sack of Garoppolo, it clearly was not. They also missed an obvious holding call on the Raiders two point try, opting to call for pass interference on Chandon Sullivan, it was questionable at best. It led to the Raiders inching closer and kept the game interesting.

The Steelers game plan was to stop the run and have the Raiders passing offense try and beat them…they didn’t. It was a well rounded effort on all three phases of the game and it was a good game to build off of.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Kenny Pickett the numbers were okay, but he just made plays when they most needed it. It is the intangibles that he has that gives you hope. Honorable Mention: T.J. Watt with two sacks, Keanu Benton who played a great game and how about the reborn Pressley Harvin III.

Beer of the Game: Went with Modello straight up. Always a solid choice and it is now the number one selling beer in America. Always take it easy during night games.

“Steel the Snacks”: Las Vegas doesn’t really have a signature food, so KGB went with the classic Vegas buffet which consisted of Potato Skins and Wings. Excellent snack night for a night game. (BTW if there is something Vegas has that we didn’t address please message me)

My Stat of the week: Nothing jumped out at me, we will go with Kenny Pickett who is now 2-0 in his career v. The Raiders. There is something about him that you want to root for him.

My Thoughts on next week: This is the CLASSIC Steelers trap game that has plagued Mike Tomlin throughout his career. Houston pulled the upset yesterday with a big win over Jacksonville and the Steelers have the Ravens looming the following week. On paper this should be a big win, they need the offense to perform like it did yesterday and they will make quick work of the Texans. The key is to stay focused.

Jersey of the Week: Went with Cam “Steelhead” Heyward #97 Away, Looking forward to having him back in the lineup!

It was not pretty and at times it was downright painful but in the end the Steelers did enough in all three phases of the game to pull out victory, defeating the Browns 26-22 on Monday Night Football.

The Steelers’ defense was tough and physical all night, forcing four turnovers, including three fumbles and one interception. Alex Highsmith had a pick-six on the first play of the game, and T.J. Watt returned a fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, the eventual game winner. Larry Ogunjobi held down the middle and was dominant in the first half.

While the Browns rushed for 198 Yards a huge chunk of that was 69 yards on a busted running play, where Levi Wallace failed to contain. The secondary struggled with tackling but played well for the most part. They were willing to give up the short plays and had tight coverage. Joey Porter Jr. had his first Steelers moment ending the Browns last comeback attempt with tight albeit somewhat questionable defense.

The offense struggled to get going again, but they were able to make enough plays to win the game. Kenny Pickett struggles continued very similar to last week and his late season swag from last year, seems all but gone, with throws that were inaccurate when he was not running for his life.

Pickett did manage to throw for 222 yards and a touchdown, and Najee Harris rushed for 43 yards with little to no openings. George Pickens had four catches for 127 yards and one touchdown. Jaylen Warren chipped in with four catches and had 66 yards. The offensive line had a tough night in both protection and in run blocking. It looked as if they were playing on ice skates.

The Browns lost running back Nick Chubb, who suffered a left knee injury in the second quarter after getting drilled by Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick also left the game with an injury. Noted sex offender, Deshaun Watson threw for 235 yards and a touchdown, but he was out of sorts all night and made several key mistakes, including the pick six interception and two fumbles one of which resulted in the touchdown by Watt. He also was flagged for a face mask twice. It was a Browns self-destruction kind of night.

Pressley Harvin III finally delivered and hammered two punts that pinned the Browns inside the five. It was his best performance as a Steeler to date. Chris Boswell hit two long field goals 50 and 52, respectively. The coverage teams were solid, the return teams…not so much. Overall it was a very good night for the Special Teams unit.

As for the coaching, they are going to get roasted in the mainstream media this week. The Steelers problems though are more about execution than schemes. The offense is awful, and the play calling is lousy, but there were several missed opportunities that left points on the board where the Steelers could have executed starkly better. It will be a continued work in progress.

It was the usual hard hitting, physical AFC North and as Coach Tomlin says, they aren’t going to apologize for victory.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: T.J. Watt who scored the winning touchdown and broke James Harrison all-time Steelers sack record! Honorable Mention: This easily could have gone to Alex Highsmith, we went with history, but Highsmith absolutely had a huge game, forcing the fumble and starting the game with a pick six.

Beer of the Game: Went with Modello Chelada, KGB went with Yuengling…No strategy on these selections, cleaning out the summer beer fridge.

“Steel the Snacks”: We stole the Cleveland classic Corned Beef Sandwich and Pierogies, the corned beef was not cold cuts, it was an actual oven roasted corned beef that KGB made. It makes a huge difference! We had the not so Little Miss Tailgate and D-Man with us for the game.

My Stat of the week: With Monday’s victory Mike Tomlin now is 20-3 all-time on “Monday Night Football”. They have also won 21 straight “Monday Night Football” games at home.

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers have the personnel and the ability to beat The Raiders, both teams sit at 1-1. Obviously, the offense needs to step it up, the performance on Monday night will not be enough to beat a dangerous Las Vegas team.

Jersey of the Week: Went with my first jersey that I ever purchased #36 Home, “The Bus” Jerome Bettis, while you can’t argue with results, I was hoping it would spur the running game!

The Steelers never got going and were easily handled by the 49ers 30-7.

It started with high hopes, and it finished with a crushing reality that maybe they are not as far along as they looked in preseason. The Steelers were dominated and defeated by the San Francisco 49ers Sunday at the home opener at Acrisure Stadium.

The Steelers offense struggled to get going against the 49ers. They were held to just 229 total yards and seven points. Kenny Pickett who dazzled in the preseason struggled to find his rhythm. He completed 31 of 46 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. His throws were inaccurate and off target most of the day.

The Steelers’ running game was also ineffective. Najee Harris rushed for just 31 yards on six carries. The offensive line had trouble opening up holes for Harris, and the 49ers defense was able to stuff the run at the line of scrimmage. The protection in passing downs held up especially against a tough 49ers’ pass rush but eventually succumbed. Pickett was sacked five times and pressured throughout the game. He was unable to get into a rhythm and make consistent throws.

The Steelers’ receivers also had a quiet day. Veteran Allen Robinson II led the team with five catches. The Steelers were unable to get any big plays in the passing game.

The defense had very few answers from the returning Brock Purdy. Brandon Aiyuk torched the secondary and found every possible hole in the zone coverage with 129 yards on eight catches. Every time Purdy needed to make a play, he hit it with Aiyuk. Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace had few if any answers to slow down the passing game.

The run defense was atrocious as well. The 49ers racked up 188 yards on the ground led by Christian McCaffrey who torched the Steelers front seven for 152 yards and a long of 65 yards that extinguished any flames of a comeback in the second half.

Cam Heyward and DeMarvin Leal went down with injuries and the 49ers took full advantage of it. In their absence there was next to no push up front and the Steelers struggled to set any point of attack.

T.J. Watt was the line bright spot, finishing with Three sacks and two forced fumbles. Anytime he had a one-on-one matchup he disrupted the game. Nothing else really stood out in what can only be described as an awful performance.

The special teams had the typical Steelers special teams performance. A few bright spots but mostly inconsistent and awful. Pressley Harvin once again had an uneven day punting, he hammered a 57 yarder but also laid an egg with a 34 yarder that gave the 49ers the ball at midfield. Even Christian Kuntz racked up a face mask penalty. Anthony McFarland had a nice day returning kicks and finish just over 90 yards.

The coaching staff needs to take some knocks here. This team was clearly not prepared and at no point did they make any adjustments. They were dominated from the opening whistle to the last and showed next to no life in recovering.

The fans were terrible too as in they clearly sold out, for the first time since I can remember the stadium sounded like a 49ers home came. The whole downstairs was littered with 49ers “Faithful”.

Throw in some key injuries to Diontae Johnson, Cam Heyward and the crew and this was just awful.

While it is way to early to panic, the loss was so severe and final, that it will be the talk of the media all week.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: T.J. Watt who tied James Harrison for the all-time Steelers record for total sacks! Honorable Mention: NO ONE, seriously couldn’t think of anyone, maybe Allen Robinson, but that is a stretch

Beer of the Game: Went with Yuengling Lager, one of my staples from college until now, from a great brewery. They could not summon the ghosts of the Pottsville Maroons to help the lagging Steelers. Great beer, but obviously won’t be back after that stinker.

“Steel the Snacks”: Awesome effort by KGB in her first time out this season. First she toughed it out and BBQ’d in the rain and finished in the house making Honey Siracha Chicken sliders and Garlic Fries from San Francisco. BTW only touchdown came when the snack came out. Watched the game with my Dad and son D-man. My Dad’s record is like 0 and hundred when we watch with him…he won’t be invited back.

My Stat of the week:  Been a rough write today, so must go with three sacks for T.J. Watt, which led to tying James Harrison at 80 ½ sacks. The Steelers are an infinitely better team when he is in the lineup. My sincere hope is that he will battle Cam all season trading the record back and forth.

My Thoughts on next week: Need a bounce back win against a Browns team that absolutely demolished the division rival Bengals. They look very tough right now.

Jersey of the Week: Went back to my basics, Mike Webster #52 Home. For several years this was always my kickoff jersey.

Your 2023 Steelers … as of now