The Steelers gutted out a tough win against an out matched but game St. Louis Rams team. The Steelers won 12-6 and made several big plays but they lost big, as Big Ben Roethlisberger was injured. As of press time it is unknown how bad it is. The rumor is it is only four weeks, which Michael Vick is good enough to get us the split, however, the Steelers haven’t done and MRI yet, so not sure how they can make that call.
The game was a study in two halves as the Steelers completely dominated the first half and hung on for dear life in the second. It was the defense who delivered in the second half. The front seven without Ryan Shazier still had a great game, Stephon Tuitt had a monster game as he is rounding into form, he recorded a sack, two sacks for a loss and was all over the Rams. Steve McClendon had a huge stop and Lawrence Timmons and Sean Spence made several key plays.
The maligned secondary stepped up when the Steelers needed it most, they made key plays including Will Allen’s back breaking interception. He returned it 19 yards and setup the field goal. In the end the Rams only managed 258 Yards against the Steelers.
The offense would have had a huge day, but once Ben went down it was “turtle mode” keep the ball and protect it. Le’Veon Bell was his usual workhorse self, he put together a solid game when the Steelers decided to take the air out of the ball. Antonio Brown had another monster day and the Rams literally couldn’t stop him. Whenever the Steelers needed a first brown, they would chuck it to Brown.
Michael Vick looked shaky at best and this was what we were all afraid of. The Steelers are going to need a lot of help to make this work around Vick. He is certainly good enough to get us at least a split over the next 4-6 weeks. There
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Stephon Tuitt and Antonio Brown. Both were outstanding and both were huge contributors to the win! Also Considered: Le’Veon Bell on a successful return.
Where I watched the game: At “The Stadium” In Saratoga, My usual spot when I come here. KGB accompanied me, The Beer of Choice was the local beer out of Glens Falls. KGB and I had Boneless Wings, Regular Wings and Crab cakes. Also Saratoga chips which I munched on the whole game. I literally didn’t eat dinner afterwards.
My Stat of the week: Since I am posting on Tuesday instead of Monday and the Game is Thursday, my Stat of the Week is 1-5 the Steelers record against the Ravens without Big Ben. Charlie Batch pulled the big win against the Ravens.
My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers have a fast turnaround as they play a Ravens team that is clinging to it’s life. If Ben was in this game is a no brainer, but Michael Vick will be a wild card in this. This could be the back breaker so the Steelers need to gut it out and finish off the Ravens.