The Steelers jumped out to an early lead, fell behind and roared back to beat the Lions and escape last place! The day belonged to “Big” Ben Roethlisberger as he showed everyone why he is still an elite quarterback. He helped the Steelers jump out to a 17-3 lead with two touchdowns, then brought them back from a 27-20 deficit with two more touchdown throws in the fourth quarter, including one that ended a 96 yard drive to take the lead.
It was a very strange day for the defense, on paper it was a pretty lousy, they allowed 27 points, 16 first downs and 379 yards in the first half. But whatever happened during the 12 minutes between half time, change the course of the day, as they shut out the Lions and held them to 72 yards and five first downs after halftime.
The Steelers held Matthew Stafford to 35 yards on just 3 of 16 completions in the second half and they held Calvin Johnson to ZERO Catches. Johnson finished the day with six catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns which are huge numbers, but he racked up 79 Yards on one catch that the Steelers defended but couldn’t make the tackle on. Ike Taylor played a good game despite the numbers and he dropped two sure interceptions. The defense made whatever adjustments that were needed and won the turnover battle.
The front seven played a pretty consistent day and despite missing LaMarr Woodley and Brett Keisel held their own. Ziggy Hood, starting for injured Keisel, played very well including the clinching sack. Cam Heyward is just getting better every week and he had another huge game, Steve McLendon made the biggest play of the day crushing Sam Martin causing a fumble on the Lions fake field-goal attempt from the Steelers 10. It changed the momentum of the game as the Steelers recovered, drove 96 yards for a touchdown, and the Lions never led again the rest of the day. Jason Worilds played well for the injured Woodley as he recorded the other sack.
All week the talk was of Ndamukong Suh and how he was going to shred the Steelers offensive line. Like Mario Williams the week before, Suh was a non-factor as he was pushed around by Dave DeCastro all day. Suh didn’t even record a tackle. The Steelers couldn’t move the ball at all on the ground but the protection was solid and it showed what Ben can do when he actually has time to make a play. Antonio Brown continues to be a huge playmaker has he racked up his second 100-yard game in a row and third this season, he put a monster seven catches for 147 yards and touchdowns of 34 and 47 yards. Brown ran 30 and 38 yards, respectively, after each catch. No catch was bigger though the 16 yarder that kept alive the 96 yards drive. Eight different players caught passes, including Will Johnson’s first touchdown of the season to take the lead.
It was a great comeback and the Steelers have now won two in a row and four out of six.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!!!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: “Big” Ben Roethlisberger, all week he has been the subject of several rumors, he proved Sunday that if he has some protection he can play with anyone in this league. He put together a huge day and showed the kind of player he is. Great day by Big Ben. Also Considered, Will Johnson, 1st TD of the year, Antonio Brown who we could get hammered for all the “Game Beers” we could win. All the guys on the defensive line.
Where I watched the game: Back home on the couch with my kids (who shuttle in an out) and KGB. I actually wanted to go out but this is the first 1PM that I got to watch at home since week one. I banged out local beers from Long Island, We had Celtic Ale from Long Ireland and White Bite from Spider Bite. I made a huge pot of sauce with San Marzano Tomatoes and KGB made Chicken Cutlets for Chicken Parm. GREAT MEAL, GREAT BEER, GREAT WIN!
My Stat of the week: 119.4 which was Big Ben’s QB rating, which was comprised of 367 yards passing, four touchdowns and NO TURNOVERS. Bravo Big Ben!
My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers head to their Arch Rivals in Cleveland. This is a statement game and the Steelers need to make sure it isn’t a trap game, as the Ravens loom very large on Thanksgiving Day! The Steelers need to play four quarters of defense and wait for the Browns to beat themselves. They can send the Browns into last place with a victory. Look for the Steelers to grind out a win like they did last week again Buffalo.