The Patriots beat the Steelers for their 9th Super Bowl appearance, ending the Steelers season and edging them for the most Super Bowl appearances. It was a game in which the Steelers were completely outplayed. They had no answer for Tom Brady and Chris Hogan. It was a bitter loss to a hated rival in the most important game of the season.
The Steelers lost Le’Veon Bell early in the game and never recovered. The offense isn’t the same without Bell and they never were able to get going. DeAngelo Williams did a nice job but the offense never clicked. There was very little running room and the Steelers couldn’t make the adjustments. Not scoring from the one foot line was really indicative of the issues the Steelers had all day.
Ben Roethlisberger and the passing game racked up decent numbers, but didn’t make the plays when needed. Too many drops and too many failed chances. To beat the Patriots, the Steelers needed to play a perfect game, they were far from it. With Antonio Brown being bracketed, the Steelers needed the young receivers to step up. They weren’t up for the challenge, Eli Rogers played well but turned the ball over in the biggest play of the game. That was the backbreaker. Cobi Hamilton again showed flashes but made two big mistakes, a dropped touchdown and a negated touchdown for running out of bounds in the end zone. Both have flashes of brilliance and bright futures, but they weren’t up to the challenge last night. Jesse James had a solid game and was a nice outlet when needed.
The defense simply didn’t have any answers. They clogged the Patriots running game, but then were destroyed in the passing game. There were too many missed tackles in the secondary. No pass rush, which was the crux of why the Steelers lost the game. They never were able to generate any sort of rush. The one drive they did, the Patriots punted. It was a tough ending for a unit that seems to be coming around.
“Little Bos”, was perfect last night in Field Goals, and has hit his first fifteen Field Goals, a new post season record. Of course he missed two extra points, which as an ominous sign. The coverage issues seemed resolved in the last three weeks, however they continue to not be able to generate any sort of return game.
In the end the Steelers were completely outplayed and were not up to the task of beating the Patriots.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Lawrence Timmons, he played a terrific game despite, a rough game on defense! Also Considered: NO ONE
Where I watched the game: We decided to stay home again with the kids who were able to con us into staying up late again. Dinner was outstanding, KGB had made a Chicken Parm/Lasagna combo. It was terrific and I hope there are leftovers tonight. Beer was the last of the IC Light and it ended ignominiously. I texted with Bill all game and the texts were about as expletive filled as you could imagine. I also was trolled by some jerk on Twitter. Will share that with you later in the week.
My Stat of the week: Going with 0! Number of Sacks the Steelers defense generated. They were terrible on the pass rush and in the end that doomed their season.
My Thoughts on next week: I wanted the Patriots, careful what you wish for. The Steelers were not up to the challenge. I will be doing the end of year report card later this week. I will miss the Steelers and the summer seems a long way off.
This week’s Jersey: 84, Antonio Brown Away, Wore it to mass on Saturday night.