The Steelers defeated the Cleveland Browns and received the help they needed in Buffalo! Allowing the Black and Gold to recapture the last seed of the NFL Playoff Tournament. As Coach Tomlin says, “style points don’t matter,” while the Steelers were not sharp they did enough to throttle the woeful Browns with a big fourth quarter.
It was the defense this week that stepped up and bailed a shaky offensive performance out. After getting only one sack all week against the Ravens the Steelers dialed up the blitz packages and recorded seven sacks and several pressures. They also had four takeaways including the backbreaker, a James Harrison interception in the end zone, in the 3rd quarter. Will Allen was a playmaker all day, including a sack, and several passes defended. Stephon Tuitt registered two sacks and was nearly unstoppable.
The offense had an uneven day at best. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 349 yards and three Touchdowns, but he also had two terrible interceptions and has now thrown SIX over the last three games. He did turn it up when needed and connected with Darrius Heyward-Bey for a huge 66 yard gain. If DHB didn’t get tripped up he would have gone the distance. Antonio Brown torched the Browns in the first half and capped off stellar season with 13 Catches for 187 yards and he finished the regular season with 136 catches.
The running game never got going and DeAngelo Williams was injured and may be unavailable Saturday. Fitz Toussant didn’t move the ball well either. The line just couldn’t push the line of scrimmage. The protection was great however and Ben never hit the floor and he held the ball for upwards of nine seconds several times.
Coach Tomlin needed a big win and he coaxed it out of a strong but very flawed team. The Steelers are on the way to Cincy! Meanwhile in Cleveland the Browns fired Mike Pettine I think halfway through the game. Look for Jimmy Haslin to steal one of Tomlin’s Coaches to start the rebuild or someone from New England. For all the heat Tomlin has gotten I think this is the best example of what a great Coach we have. BTW if I was Mike Pettine I would punch Johnny Manziel in the face! Just saying…
BEER WE GO STEELERS! BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Mike Tomlin, whose team won 10 games despite several key injuries and kept the Steelers in it. He has been criticized several times but for my money he is the best Coach in the league not name Bill Belichick. Also Considered: James Harrison, who played the whole game and had the biggest turnover of the day. Stephon Tuitt who was just a monster and of course AB who would most likely have a drinking problem by now from all the game beers he has won!
Where I watched the game: We stayed home again home with the “Tailgate Kids”, I was supposed to have cousins over but they cancelled last minute. The beer of choice was Samuel Adams Cold Snap, which I am now 4-1 with. KGB had great snacks around the 3rd quarter and the Steelers turned the corner.
My Stat of the week: ZERO, the number of losses the Steelers have when they win the Turnover battle. They have not lost all season when on the plus side on turnovers.
My thoughts on Next Week: The Steelers get their wish and if you thought last time was “chippy”, wait until you see this week! It is going to be a fist fight of epic proportions. This is no walk in the park, so the Steelers need to be ready and they have to improve their play, because the last two weeks didn’t inspire confidence. I believe in betting on the man. Ben Roethlisberger is that man! I have full faith that he can deliver us in Cincy. We needed to get them in a gunfight.