In a wild finish the Steelers took their first lead of the night with no time left on the clock, beating the San Diego Chargers. It was easily one of the gutsiest calls in Steelers History! Le’Veon Bell ran the Wildcat offense and ran it off tackle left, made a second effort and had the game winning score!
The Steelers still had one timeout left, and narrowly missed winning it on a great effort by Heath Miller one play earlier. Coach Tomlin turned to Bell to provide the win…he delivered. The Steelers mangled the clock as did the refs when the Steelers took over possession. So there was no chance to kick a field goal despite having one timeout when the Steelers went for it. Bell lined up in the shotgun and took the snap, he exhausted the clock as he picked his hole to run through, in the end he made a huge play.
Michael Vick again struggled with the offense, but he bookended a mediocre second quarter (in which the refs completely missed Pass interference on a Hail Mary) and terrible third quarter with a good first quarter and a great fourth quarter where he looked like he finally had command of the offense. A huge 72 yard strike to Markus Wheaton tied the game up. And on the last drive, we finally saw some Vick magic with an awesome scramble for 24 yards putting the Steelers in a position to tie the game, he also threw the pass to Heath Miller that nearly won the game.
While Vick survived another week, the night belonged to Le’Veon Bell, the plan was clearly to run the ball. Bell had some big runs of 25 and 32 yards in the first half when he rushed for 89 yards on 14 carries. On the night he finished with 111 yards, his second 100-yard game in a row, and of course the game winning score.
The defense had a very good game, after sleep walking through the opening drive. Antwon Blake made a huge play as he jumped a comeback route and returned an interception for 70 yards. Jarvis Jones had a terrific game as he had his first sack of the year, he also recorded a forced fumble. Cam Heyward was held on nearly every play and was caving in the O-line. Lawrence Timmons and Sean Spence played great games and stuffed the Chargers running game. The secondary was leaky but made the plays when needed.
The coaches deserve a ton of credit as well. Mike Tomlin is a winner! I could care less what the media and what most fans say. He coaches to win not to cover himself. That to me is what a leader does! He would have been CRUSHED in the media if they lost. But in the end Bell delivered.
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Michael Vick, I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Great week and I am in such a good mood not even going to bring up special teams 🙂
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Le’Veon Bell! The Bus Jerome Bettis tweeted it best, “way to trust your horse” He delivered and has stepped up when we need him most. Also Considered: Mike Tomlin who had the guts to make the call!
Where I watched the game: Back at Buckley’s! To be honest, I nearly called an audible and went somewhere else, but in the end stayed loyal to my local pub! My partner in crime as always was KGB! She was super supportive and looked dynamite in her BWG shirt. Matt the bartender hooked us up with seats and our own TV. He is a good buddy and he helped make it a cool night, we met two awesome Steelers fans Mike and Courtney(Who was going crazy in the second half), we also hung out with my buddies Jeff and Rob! We had real wings(HOT), boneless wing(Teryaki Bomb) and clams, which were awesome! Josh the Bengals fan didn’t try and poison us! I drank Miller Lite in honor of Beer We Go Steelers. It was a terrific night and I am grateful to Buckley’s for being awesome hosts!
My Stat of the week: Is 111 Yards marking the second week in a row Le’Veon Bell has gone over a hundred. he continues to be a work horse!
My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers have a very tough test coming this week with the Cardinals in town. These are not your Dad’s Phoenix (St. Louis) Cardinals. They have Bruce Arians who has something to prove.
Bell Photo Courtesy of the Post Gazette! Getty Images