Beer We Go Steelers

It looked like it might be a tough night at first, but in the end the Steelers put together a nice division win, 24-17 over the Bengals. After a lousy start in which they fell behind by 11 points, with several gruesome mistakes including dropped passes, an interception, and a lost fumble, the Steelers dominated the Bengals on both sides of the ball!

The Steelers’ much maligned defense came up big for the first time this season. A deflection by Ziggy Hood and a key pick by LaMarr Woodley changed the tone of the game late in the first half. We held the Bengals to just 163 yards through the final three quarters of the game and kept the fourth lead intact. Ike Taylor held AJ Green to just one catch. He played a tough game all night and kept AJ under wraps.

The running game finally got rolling. Jonathan Dwyer, the running back that never goes away, played for the first time since his fumble in Oakland. He rumbled for 122 yards, the first 100 yard game this season for the Steelers, and he grinded out 70 second half yards including the game clincher. Chris Rainey ripped off an 11-yard TD run on a counter play to put the Steelers ahead. It was a razor sharp cut and he flew through the hole.

Big Ben put together a solid, if unspectacular, day. He had several key 3rd down conversions and despite two turnovers he made the plays that he had to. The offensive line, specifically backup center Doug Legursky and Willie Colon, played a great games and really handled the Bengals front four.

Mike Wallace had probably his worst day as a Steeler and he had three horrible drops. Conversely, Antonio Brown had a huge day and would have thrown a TD if Baron Batch didn’t misread it. Heath Miller is, well, Heath Miller. He did a great job helping in pass protection and he is having a breakout season, catching his 5th TD of the year. Manny Sanders made a huge play on the game winning score. The offense is finally clicking and despite the media playing up the Ben and Todd Haley soap opera, the numbers don’t lie. This team can score and looks like they can run with anyone.

It was a good night and it is back to the Burgh for the RG3 Show!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: The Steelers offensive line, That’s right… the WHOLE O-Line gets a game beer. They were banged up, but put together a great protection package and Willie Colon was blowing up the Bengals up front. Also considered, Jonathon Dwyer, who pounded out 100 tough yards and Ike Taylor for holding AJ Green who is plain awesome to one catch

Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB and my buddy, Mike Inzerillo, the Pool King of New York! The beer of choice was Long Board IPA from Kona, great Beer, we skipped the snacks as it was a late game! I also texted with BWG President Tom Janicki all night. No word from the Captain I am afraid! 

My Stat of the week: The stat of the week is a great one… 1 for 8. That is how many catches AJ Green had against Ike Taylor. That is a great day for Taylor. The one catch he did make was for a TD, but it was hard to fault Ike Taylor because it was excellent coverage.

My thoughts on Next Week: I will be in the ‘Burg, with Little Miss Tailgate and KGB! The Steelers face RG3 and the Redskins. I will be excited to see the Gatorade, Subway Sandwich, Selling Super Athelete. The Steelers should hold on to nip the ‘Skins!