This was a five star matchup, featuring Eleven Super Bowl Championships between each team. I had a bad feeling going into this game and that manifested it pretty early. When the lights went out twice, it was apparent that it was going to be a tough night.
Big Ben who continued to tough it out and played in a boot was courageous but clearly out of synch he had two HUGE turnovers and his clock management at the end of the half was awful. It seemed like an eternity since the Steelers played and they looked completely rusty. When the night ended the Steelers playoff picture took a major hit and their chance to seize first place in the division was lost.
I can’t stand over officiated games and this one was terribly over officiated, including the soon to be famous “Leaping” penalty. Seriously, leaping? The calls were mostly awful all night for both sides. Adding to the frustration was the AWFUL Monday Night Announcers who just blather on about everything, to be clear they did not “hate” on the Steelers in fact they were complimentary but it is a horrible package to listen too. I was going to comment on how much I liked the Thursday night crew but didn’t want the blog to get too long. I wish I had, as the contrast is night and day. Gruden is just ridiculous, Tirico does an admirable job considering the morons he is paired with and Jaworski is a crappier version of Joe Theisman.
As for the game itself, it was a rough night. The Steelers defense was probably a C+ effort, it was good enough to win but not up to Steelers standards. James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons both had tough games, Farrior was getting killed in coverage and Timmons was out of position so many times. Both are marquee performers so we can give them a pass for an off night. Lamar’s hamstring is becoming a recurring issue and he again had to leave the game early. That caused Jason Worilds to basically be invisible. The best performance by the linebackers was Silverback Tweeting about the lights being out!
I thought the secondary had a very good night after they had a slow start. It was a nice effort by Troy and Ike. Ryan “Crash” Clark played his best game this season and Keenan Lewis is right on the verge!
The Offensive line was horrible, AGAIN. Trai Essex couldn’t pick up any of the stunts and Max Starks played his worst game since he got back. In their defense, the team is completely different with Pouncey in there. The offense moved the ball pretty well but turnovers and extremely long fields were tough to overcome. Jericho Cotchery and Heath Miller had great games. I also have to ask WHERE IS HINES WARD?
Special Teams, is so important and people never give it the credit it deserves. The Steelers missed a much needed field goal. The player of the game to me was Andy Lee the 49ers Punter, he trapped the Steelers the whole game and they could drive it sixty yards and barely be on the 49ers side of the field.
Here is the bright side, the Steelers almost certainly will make the playoffs and whether they are 1 or 2 or 5 have a clear road to where they need to go. They were missing their best O-lineman, their best defensive player and their QB was playing at 60% and it was a closer game than the score indicates.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!!!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Heath Miller! After fumbling last week Heath bounced back to have a great game. The Familiar “Heeeeaaaath” chant was awesome and BWG nation deserves credit! Also considered, Ryan Clark and Jericho Cotchery.
Where I watched the game: SHUTTERED in the house. The Steelers weren’t the only people having a rough week. We needed to just lay low. I also didn’t have a beer which I believe contributed to the mediocre effort.
My thoughts on Next Week: Another short week, The Rams are in for a very bad day as I expect the Steelers to jump them off the bus. This will be an underdog team that the Steelers man handle!