The Steelers almost made it 0-3 against the worse teams in the NFL, but managed to pull it out with some overtime heroics by Lawrence Timmons. The big story of the game was “Big” Ben Roethlisberger going down with 13:40 to go in the third quarter, when he was planted by Justin Houston of Kansas City. The injury is being called a shoulder sprain and his season could be in jeopardy.
The Steelers had to erase an early 10-0 deficit and struggled moving the ball all night. After racking up three straight hundred yard games the Steelers couldn’t move the ball on the ground. Both Ike Redman and Jonathon Dwyer averaged less than 3 yards a carry, compounded by Redman’s fumble. The offensive line struggled for the first time in weeks.
Ben, until his injury, had an atypical night for him and struggled getting into any kind of rhythm. He was relieved by Byron Leftwich, who was erratic and looked rusty, but he did deliver the lead and made some key plays. It will be interesting to see how he does this week in practice. The Steelers only touchdown came on an amazing one handed catch by Mike Wallace. That was really the lone bright spot of the night for the offense.
The defense stepped up despite blowing another fourth quarter lead. The Chiefs lead the NFL in turnovers but it wasn’t until OT that the Steelers grabbed one. That was of course the biggest play of the game by Lawrence Timmons, who rescued a dreary night with his interception of Matt Cassel. The linebackers had good pressure but had no sacks to show for it and Jamaal Charles gashed the front seven for 100 yards.
Despite that fact, the defensive line played okay, and Brett Keisel and Ziggy Hood both had great second halves. The secondary was having a monster game until the last drive. They held the Chiefs to fewer than 100 yards passing until the fourth quarter in which they let the Chiefs drive down for the game tying field goal.
It was an ugly game but as Coach Tomlin always says, “Style points don’t matter!” The Steelers played one of their worst games of the year, but a win is a win, and this sets up the much anticipated Steelers v. Ravens Sunday night football showdown.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Lawrence Timmons, whose interception saved the Steelers from an embarrassing defeat. Also considered: Brett Keisel, who had both sacks on quarterback, Matt Cassel, and also forced a third-down incompletion.
Where I watched the game: At the house with all my buddies. The beer of choice was IC Light. KGB made “new” snacks, which were great and Jeff K brought KFC, which was a good treat. Bad news was that I didn’t feel well and really didn’t eat too much after the second quarter.
My Stat of the week: The stat of the week.. 1 interception by Lawrence Timmons. The Chiefs turned the ball over 29 times this year but the Steelers defense continues to struggle creating turnovers.
My thoughts on Next Week: This is nearly impossible without Ben, so I will reserve the pick until I know Ben is playing. On a bright note, Troy should be back!