Beer We Go Steelers

The long awaited debut of Kenny Pickett was foiled by costly mistakes and a sagging fourth quarter defense, leading to another Steeler loss as they blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead. The inability to make any kind of adjustments and execute derailed the game.

Every unit has had ups and downs this season and this game was defined by that. The offense got the much-anticipated Kenny Pickett sighting they had been waiting for and he nearly pulled off some magic. He sparked the offense but two very big turnovers and one meaningless one, defined the day. Pickett finished 10-13 for 120 Yards with two rushing touchdowns and three interceptions. Trubisky was 7/13 for 84 yards before he was pulled out of the game.

The offensive line finally created running room for Najee Harris, they had 119 yards on the ground with Harris accounting for 74 of them. The pass protection was suspect though, and they had a hard time in pass protection against the Jets’ edge rushers. The interior line also accounted for two costly penalties that derailed two first half drives.

George Pickens was a bright spot; he was second on the team with six catches and had the first 100+ yard game of his career. Pat Freiermuth led the team with seven catches, but his failure to pull in an errant Kenny Pickett throw was the backbreaker towards the end of the game. Diontae Johnson was quiet most of the game.

The defense played well for the majority of the game, but once again faded down the stretch. The run defense held New York to under 100 yards but faltered late as the Jets’ put together two very big drives to capture the win. The pass rush has all but disappeared without T.J. Watt. Despite playing against a patchwork banged up line, the Steelers recorded only one sack. Alex Highsmith had the sack and should have had two more, but he was unable to wrap Zach Wilson. Despite playing against a fourth string offensive tackle, Malik Reed was nearly shutout and has been a disappointment, generating little to no pressure.

The defensive line is solid but needs someone else to step up. Cam Heyward gets doubled and tripled team most of the game now and it is frustrating at how they are unable to make anything out of that.

The secondary failed to make any adjustments and were torched over the middle by Corey Davis. Cam Sutton and Minkah Fitzpatrick both chipped in with interceptions but losing Terrell Edmunds late in the game proved costly as the Steelers couldn’t get off the field on third down.

The special teams are the same thing every week. You can reread the previous two weeks and it will seem eerily familiar. Chris Boswell is outstanding and had a monster day with a historic field goal; a 59-yarder, the longest in the Stadium’s history. But Pressley Harvin III once again struggled and average only 39.5 yards per punt. The Gunner Olszewski era will be over soon as Calvin Austin III is back or someone else steps up. Olszewski fumbled for the second week in a row and made another bonehead play that cost the Steelers 10 yards in field position. He was called out specifically by Mike Tomlin during his weekly press conference.

The Coaching was awful yet again. The offensive game plan was unimaginative and far too conservative, as it has been in the Canada era. As for the defense, how do the Steelers consistently get torched over the middle, especially against a very beatable New York Jets offense. Mike Tomlin needs someone else to decide when to challenge and when not to, he lost yet another challenge that cost the Steelers and important first down. Not sure how they bungled the time again at the end of the first half. The only upside was the Jets’ had a roughing call that setup the Boswell boot.

This team has so much potential, but they make so many costly mistakes and fail to execute when they need to make plays. The schedule only gets harder from here.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Has to be Kenny Pickett, yes, he made mistakes, yes, I was against this, especially this early in the year, but the difference in the game’s energy was palpable and one thing that was certain, the moment didn’t look to big for him. Also considered; Chris Boswell who bombed a 59-Yard Field Goal to end the first half, the longest kick in the history of Acrisure/Heinz Field history. Minkah Fitzpatrick, who grabbed his third interception of the season.

Beer of the Game: Since it is Hispanic heritage month, I went with Modello, KGB went Corona, and Dante did A&W Root Beer.

“Steel the Snacks”: We are native New Yorkers, this was our easiest, but one of our best weeks, we did Knishes and Pastrami sandwiches with Provolone, with spicy New York mustard! It was a great job by KGB, one thing of note, the snacks didn’t bring their usual good luck.

My Stat of the week:  The Steelers now lead the league in most three and outs with 12 after Sunday’s embarrassing loss. For the second year in a row the Steelers fall to 1-3 to start the year. On a positive note, Chris Boswell booted the longest field goal in the stadiums history and Kenny Pickett is the first NFL quarterback in the modern era to rush for two touchdowns in his debut.

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers head up to Buffalo against arguably the best team in the AFC. The Steelers won their matchup last year. It will be interesting to see what Kenny Pickett does with a full game of football. One thing, this team can win if they execute, the question is will they?

On a short week, it was a rough night for the Steelers as they were basically pushed around by the Cleveland Browns. After sweeping the series last year, the Browns got some much-needed revenge leaving both teams at 1-2.

The loss really sits on the the coaching staff. They had a rough night. Time management has been a Tomlin era problem and last night it was absolutely brutal. The Steelers wasted two valuable timeouts in the first half, that they could have used on the last drive of the first half to extend their lead, instead they went off without points. The Steelers down by two scores with 4:26 left opted to punt. The Browns were able to drain a portion of the clock and didn’t give the Steelers time to work. Teryl Austin’s defense had no answers for plays over the middle and struggled with the pass rush. Matt Canada’s play calling was horrendous as has been the through his entire tenure.

The offense did show signs of life but continued to fail in executing any kind of sustained play. The Steelers were atrocious on third down efficiency going only 1-9 and the play calling is baffling to frustrating on any given series. Mitch Trubisky is going to get roasted in the press this week and his play was less than stellar. He was not the reason though the Steelers struggled, he executed and was the victim of some dropped passes. He finished with 207 yards and no turnovers. The offensive line which has been in rebuilding mode, is starting to come together and the run blocking was improved. But a costly mistake by Chuks Okorafor negated a long pickup, he compounded it by dropping a WWE splash on Cleveland’s linebacker Anthony Walker, Jr., who was forced to leave the game.

The Steelers rushed for 100+ yards for the first time this season and Najee Harris led the team with 56 very hard-fought yards. Jaylen Warren contributed with 30 yards and despite almost losing a fumble, was a bright spot. Diontae Johnson led the team in catches with eight for 84 yards. George Pickens had a highlight reel catch and pitched in with 39 yards. It is clear the offense has playmakers but the game plan was awful and disjointed.

With a series of three and outs by the offense, the defense just wore down. The run defense came apart at the end after holding strong for three quarters. Cleveland banged out 171 yards on the ground, with 48 coming as part of an 11 play 80-yard drive. Nick Chubb led the way with 113 yards, the majority coming in the second half.

It is clear without T.J. Watt the Steelers pass rush has been non-existent, this gave Jacoby Brissett plenty of time to pick apart the secondary. David Njoku and Amari Cooper combined for 190 yards and 16 catches, they also had three key drops, so the numbers could have been worse. Akhello Witherspoon struggled in coverage as did Terrell Edmunds. Alex Highsmith got on the board with a late sack, combined with Malik Reed though, they never generated any kind of pass rush.

After a stellar first week, the special teams again hurt the Steelers for the second week in a row. Gunner Olszewski struggled with the return game. Chris Boswell missed a field goal, although to be fair it was a wind issue not a Bos issue. The onside kick try was valiant but as is always the theme with special teams, completely undisciplined.

It was a tough loss, but one thing to be optimistic about, there is something here. The Steelers have what they need to be successful, the question is can the coaching staff do what is needed to execute.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Dan Moore, who all but shutout Myles Garret, he had help but his development continues, and this was a big step forward. Also considered; Myles Jack, he hung in there for the whole game and played tough, he has the potential to be a Pittsburgh folk hero. Cam Heyward is everything a Steelers should be, he ate about 15 double teams last night.

Beer of the Game: Being back at the house, went back to IC Light for me, KGB went Bud Light lime again, and Dante did A&W Root Beer. Tried to catch the first week magic, clearly it didn’t work.

“Steel the Snacks”: KGB made Cleveland Po-boys, complete with Kielbasa, Fries our family Cole Slaw recipe on a pretzel role, we did them as dinner because of the night game.  I might make it breakfast as I write this, going to throw a fried egg on it to make it legit.

My Stat of the week:  Trying to lighten up the mood here, how about 21 Coaches for the Cleveland Browns against three coaches for the Steelers since 1969! Keep in mind that the Browns left the league after 1995 and returned in 1999. Cleveland turnover is the most in the NFL in that time period, even with missing 1996-1998.  Fun fact that I always knew but I guess never thought about, two of the three coaches played for the Brown. (Noll and Cowher)

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers will have time to recover and get back on track. The Jets are no longer a guaranteed win, and they will be tough. The Steelers are ready to bust out, perhaps the Jets are the team to do it against.

The Steelers dropped another to the New England Patriots in a poor performance on both sides of the ball. The game had a malaise and the Patriots picked up all the big plays when the Steelers couldn’t. 

The chants for Kenny Pickett have already started and Mitch Trubisky had his first bad day as a Steeler. He went 21-33 for 168 yards with a touchdown and a brutal interception. Despite having a great cast of playmakers Matt Canada has kept the offense shackled.

The defense couldn’t pressure Mac Jones and the front struggled to stop the rush. The Patriots took the air out of the ball and were able to run out the final 6:33 of the game.

After a great week, the special teams fell back into old issues. Gunner Olszewski muffed a punt and it setup a Patriots touchdown drive. The kickoff coverage team had a terrible day and surrendered over 85 yards.

Beer We Go Steelers, Beer We Go!

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!   

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Not a lot of bright spots, but Myles Jack had double digit tackles for the second week in a row and he has the Steelers attitude you want to see. Also Considered: “Little Bos” Chris Boswell who hammered both his kicks including a 52 yarder.

Beer of the Game: Miller Light for me at the West Side Sports Bar and Grill in Saratoga and I had to watch the game on the app, KGB did Bud Light lime, and Dante did A&W Root Beer.

“Steel the Snacks”: So being out of town for business made this a tough day for me, KGB kicked off the Steel the snacks tradition with New England Clam Chowder and New England Lobster rolls. Everything looked spectacular.

My Stat of the week:  Pretty simple, ZERO sacks without T.J. Watt. All the pressure the Steelers showed off week one, looks gone right now without Watt. It is a stark contrast.

My Thoughts on next week: It is two days from now, so not next week. The Browns are coming off a horrible and embarrassing loss to the Jets. They will be amped up pretty good and looking for revenge. This to me is the litmus test for the Steelers because this will tell us what the Steelers will be this year. I can discount the loss against the Patriots because Belichick seems to have Tomlin’s number. The other huge factor is the Steelers need to find a running game.

This week’s Jersey: This is tricky, I had a jersey ready to go, but because of several factors never got to wear it, going to save it for Thursday night football. I did wear the Beer We Go 2014.

Yesterday’s game was reminiscent to a great page turning novel, with well flushed out characters, tremendous storyline, each team’s Achilles heel being exposed, the loss of iconic people along the journey, and an epic unexpected finish. The Steelers went into the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals home, pummeled them, and then out lasted them to hold onto victory on Kickoff weekend for the 2022-2023 NFL Season.

The victory comes at a heavy cost as the Steelers lost both Najee Harris and T.J. Watt during the game. Both players absence was felt during key moments of the waning seconds, but depth carried them through.

The mainstream press has been trying to create the narrative that the Steelers are no longer the bullies in the division. That didn’t ring true yesterday as the Steelers defense dominated the Bengals up front and hammered them all over the field. Joe Mixon coming off torching the Steelers last year, found very little room to run averaging 3-yards a carry and he was forced from the game. Joe Burrow passed for 338 yards but needed 53 attempts and an extra quarter, while he did look spectacular at times, he was clearly uncomfortable all day, turning the ball over a whopping five times, with four interceptions, and two fumbles. The Bengals recovered one but were taken out of game winning field goal range.

It always starts up front for the Steelers and their defensive line set the tone with a strong and at times dominating performance. They had consistent and strong push up front. Cam Heyward had four tackles and recovered one of the Burrow fumbles. He was in Burrow’s face all day. Larry Ogunjobi was a major factor against his former team. It was great to see Tyson Alualu back as he provided much need push and clogged the running lanes. The Linebackers had a monster day, T.J. Watt was his usual game changing self. Alex Highsmith had his best performance as a Steeler with nine tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. Myles Jack did a great job as a run stuffer in the middle.

The secondary performed well led by Cam Sutton, Ahkello Witherspoon. Both managed interceptions as did Minkah Fitzpatrick who grabbed a pick six that got the Steelers on the board early. While his stats were not huge, Terrell Edmunds had a workman like game with six tackles and played almost every snap. The secondary chipped in with 14 tackles total and never allowed the Bengals to get off.

The Special Teams also was a big contributor to the victory. Chris Boswell hit the game winning field goal after nearly pulling it out with a 55-yard game winner earlier in the game. Bos was 3-4 on Field Goal tries and blasted a 53 to win the game. Pressley Harvin III had a good day punting and helped the Steelers with field position. The coverage teams were solid and new return man Gunner Olszewski chipped in with a 20-yard return, setting a short field for a scoring drive. Minkah Fitzpatrick made a game saving play when he blocked the extra point try. The Bengals backup long snapper Mitchell Wilcox was terrorized by the Steelers special teams.

The offense had an uneven performance at best. The problems from last season continued to plague the Black and Gold.

On the positive side, Mitch Trubisky had a good performance and did what he was called upon to do, he managed the game, and his mobility helped the Steelers stay active. He hit two clutch passes to Pat Freiermuth on the game winning drive and never turned the ball over. His longest pass was a catch and run to the big man Zach Gentry. Diontae Johnson led the team in catches but was relatively quiet most of the day. Rookie starter George Pickens didn’t have much of an impact.

The running game continues to be non-existent. There were no running lanes and the best the team could manage was a 15-yard end around by Chase Claypool. The line had no push and Najee Harris was injured during the game. Jaylen Warren looks like he will be fun to watch this season and he hit some great blocks, but his stat line was miniscule. The offensive line protected Trubisky with the only sack coming on a busted play, but they didn’t make any headway moving the ball on the ground.

The defensive coaching staff deserves credit for having the answers for Joe Burrow. He looked ordinary and confused for most of the game. Teryl Austin and Brian Flores executed a great game plan and Cincinnati took nearly three quarters to figure out anything of circumstance. The Steelers offense is still a work in progress, the management of the clock particularly at the end of the day was awful and they need to figure out a way to run the football without all the trickery. One thing though, the Steelers staff clearly out coached the Bengals staff, who made several questionable calls.

A victory is a victory and the Steelers get to be 1-0 without much of a performance from the offense and beat the AFC Champions.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!   

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Minkah Fitzpatrick, whose interception return for a touchdown set a defensive tone all day, he also had the game saving extra point block. Also Considered: Alex Highsmith, the “other’ Steelers Outside Linebacker was a force and hammered the Bengals all day!

Beer of the Game: IC Light for me, had to go classic, KGB did Bud Light lime, and Dante did A&W Root Beer.

“Steel the Snacks”: Later in the season we will do Coney’s and Skyline Chili for Cincinnati, we went with Primanti Brothers Sandwiches made by KGB. It was Corned Beef and Provolone.

My Stat of the week:  Seven sacks and four interceptions, Teryl Austin put together a vintage virtuoso Steelers game plan. The Steelers dominated up front and the Bengals, who ran all over Pittsburgh last time were completely stifled.

My Thoughts on next week: I always worry about the Patriots and next week will be no different, a wounded and down Patriots team is a scary team and the Steelers most likely will be without T.J. Watt and possibly Najee Harris. This is the most beatable Patriots team in the last ten years, the Steelers need to make a statement.

This week’s Jersey: Cameron Heyward, 97, Away Jersey, starting the year off with a new tradition and couldn’t think of a better person to start with.

Your 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers so far….a new beginning. This will have changes over the next few weeks.

*Editors Note: Marcus Allen will be returning to replace the injured Kazee.

John LeGlue, Cody White, Hamilcar Rashed and Anthony McFarland will all be resigned to the practice squad.

Here is the BWG analysis of the 2022 roster so far.

The pick is in … Kenny Pickett comes home! Probably should have written stayed home

Round 1, Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh; It is going to be a polarizing pick, but one thing is for sure, the Steelers were not going to relive the 1983 draft when they passed on local legend Dan Marino. Pickett will push to start in year 1 and has all the intangibles. This was the clear pick and considering how far Malik fell the rest of the NFL agreed. Loved Malik but this to me was the right pick and what I was hoping for on the first day.

Round 2, George Pickens, WR, Georgia; Has the potential to be the steal of the Draft for the Steelers, it is early, but he is clearly cut from the Hines Ward cloth, physical and tough, who can make big catches with a bully mentality.

Round 3, DeMarvin Leal , DL, Texas A&M; Will provide much needed defensive line help. Great foot work and had explosive first move. He is the perfect Steeler DE for the 3-4.

Round 4, Calvin Austin III, WR, Memphis; Speed demon and will help in the special teams game and will take the Ray-Ray McCloud job.

Round 6, Connor Heyward, FB, Michigan State; Old school up the middle banger influenced by his late father. He will have an opportunity to run the ball, and possibly play TE. He gives the Steelers their fourth set of brothers.

Round 7, Mark Robinson, LB, Ole Miss; Good speed, might be suited for a Strong Safety role in the nickel. HE is a project player who will most likely start the year on the practice squad. Also, could contribute on special teams.

Round 7, Chris Oladokun, QB, South Dakota State; Great athlete who could possibly be the next Kordell Stewart. At minimum he will be another camp arm. The Steelers wanted a mobile guy at QB, so this is the best of both worlds.

Stories to watch:

1. Will the Steelers go QB?
2. Steelers needs other than Ben’s replacement: 1. Strong Safety, 2. Defensive Line, 3. Wide Receiver
3. Kevin Cobert’s last draft, below is his list of first round picks. I would say that is a pretty solid legacy!

Ben Roethlisberger has retired from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since this blog started he has always been on the Steelers, it is a strange feeling!

There would be no Hollywood ending for Ben Roethlisberger as the Chiefs dismantled the Steelers 42-21…

The Steelers hung in there for about 25 minutes and then the Chiefs hit the gas and left the Black and Gold in the dust for the game and the season, handily winning by 21 points and it wasn’t even that close. The gap in talent and innovation on offense between these two teams was on full display.

For the most part the Steelers star players, played well, and it was also apparent that they had so many holes that a handful of players were not going to beat the defending AFC champions. The Chiefs got on a roll and never looked back, scoring 21 points in the last five minutes of the half and then scoring 21 points on their first three possessions of the second half. The Steelers offense continued their embarrassing first half scoring drought. Once it got into a shootout you knew there would be no answer.

Not too much to write here. If you look back at the last half of the season, it reads the same. The offense is inept, the defense runs out of gas and is over exposed and the special teams does something lousy that jams the Steelers up. This weekend also felt like the changing of the guard in the AFC with the Patriots and Steelers both being beaten handily.

It is going to be a transitional offseason.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!   

My “GAME BEER” goes to: Tough but I am going with Cam Heyward, who was a one-man wrecking crew, literally and figuratively. He played hard and deserved better, than what he got this year. Also Considered: T.J. Watt who made several big plays.

Beer of the Game: Had to go IC Light and Modello for the game. Always go back to your roots and dance with who brung you. KGB had the Modello. We also had a little Wyoming Rye Whiskey.

“Steel the Snacks”: Once again went big on the snacks, with everything from Capelini cakes, to Spinach dip bites, we also brought in two different kinds of wings, Boneless and Regular wings which I prefer.

My Stat of the week:  SEVEN punts in the first half, the offense has been a disaster the second half of the season and this sums it up perfectly. It was very clear from the beginning that they went with a similar game plan. Too many mistakes, not push from the offensive line and not enough innovation. It was a dismal performance for the offense.

My Thoughts on next week: It is going to be a long and difficult offseason. The feeling was this was a rebuilding year, but Ben was back, and the Steelers pulled a miracle to get in the playoffs. The Browns look like they are about to take another Cleveland swan dive, and they are getting ready to run Baker Mayfield out of town. The Ravens always put a good product on the field and have the least complicated effective offense in football the Bengals made the biggest strides this season and look like they will be the team to beat for the next few seasons. The Steelers will wander the wilderness for a few years now. I correctly predicted the Steelers would finish four and two in the division and most likely hit second place…I never saw the Bengals winning the division and the Browns finishing in last place.

This week’s Jersey: Ben Roethlisberger, 7, Home Black, ran this back again, knowing this would most likely be Ben’s last game. The Jersey will be retired for two seasons and then join the historic Jersey collection.

The Steelers found a way to beat the Ravens in overtime. The Colts took the upset loss to the Jaguars and the Raiders and Chargers didn’t tie…despite their best efforts to do so, and suddenly all is right for one more week in the world of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As the formula has been this season, the Steelers started slow, had trouble running the ball and then used another fourth quarter comeback to send their game to overtime. The defense held, Ben Roethlisberger drove down the field and Chris Boswell delivered a game winner! And T.J. Watt also tied the sack record two times…with only one time counting.

Was there even a doubt that this game would come down to the wire and that Ben Roethlisberger who is surely playing his last game at M&T stadium would lead the Steelers to victory over his most competitive and heated rival. The stats only partially tell the story, but he was clearly the difference maker in the game, making the throws that the younger, stronger Tyler Huntley didn’t. Roethlisberger finished his regular season finale 30-44 for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

He nearly pulled the fourth quarter comeback, leading the Steelers on a 10-play touchdown drive with just under three minutes left, and a four play drive that fell a yard short, after the defense couldn’t hold the lead. Saving his best for last, Roethlisberger orchestrated a 15 play, 65-yard masterpiece converting two third downs and a big 4^th-and-8 to setup the game winning field goal.

Also on the overtime drive, an injured Najee Harris, with help from Chase Claypool, busted his longest and most significant run of the day, a 15-yard scramble to make the field goal a no doubter. The running game never got going and the Steelers settled for just 79 yards on the ground, but they made the plays they needed to make.

The receivers were thin and Ray-Ray McCloud, Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson played the majority of the snaps. There were key drops but also key plays made. None bigger than McCloud’s 4^th-and-8^th catch that all but sealed the win. Diontae Johnson chipped in with a big catch on a third down conversion and Chase Claypool scored the only touchdown and was the teams leading rusher by yardage. Pat Freiermuth and Zach Gentry combined for 10 catches and 92 yards.

The defense was once against gashed for an insane 249 yards, with Latavius Murray ripping off 150 of the yards, scoring the only Baltimore touchdown. It was not a great game for the front seven, with the noted exception of Cam Heyward, who was a wrecking crew, registering six tackles and one of the three sacks collected. T.J. Watt made history with his record tying 22.5 sack of the season. Watt has been an absolute force this year and his play was unbelievable given he was doubled and tripled team the whole day.

The secondary chipped in with some big plays. Cam Sutton had a red zone interception and Terrell Edmunds grabbed an errant Huntley pass that was headed for Mark Andrews. Tyler Huntley never really tested the secondary after that and when he did, the plays were made. Minkah Fitzpatrick had a game saving breakup of a crisp pass to Marquise Brown late in the fourth quarter.

The Special teams had a positive impact. Ray-Ray McCloud had his best game of the season in the return game and helped the Steelers flip the field. Chris Boswell was borderline spectacular drilling three field goals including the game winner in overtime. Pressley Harvin’s return was mediocre and is becoming a huge liability.

As for the coaching, what can you say except it was an outstanding job with a team that is severely limited. The Steelers have trailed more minutes than any team in the NFL, except for the Texans, yet they are headed to the playoffs. Despite some horrendous losses, this team never lost focus and stayed on message and battled back in almost every game. That doesn’t happen with bad coaching. Also give credit as Tomlin was doing double duty as the defensive coordinator, with Keith Butler battling Covid.

BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!   

My “GAME BEER” goes to: T.J. Watt, clearly he deserves it after a truly historic season. He was double and tripled teamed yesterday and even took a shot to his nuts from Huntley. He is a difference maker when he is on the field. Also Considered: Mike Tomlin, this team is a mess, and he kept the train on the tracks, all the fire Tomlin jabronis should stay silent now.…and just for fun, also considered Trevor Lawrence, who at some point will be a big-time opponent but yesterday saved our season and of course Daniel Carlson and his last second overtime field goal that propelled the Steelers into the playoffs!

Beer of the Game: We had Modello, a friend brought to me the night before. Awesome beer and it truly embodies the fighting Spirit as the ad says.

“Steel the Snacks”: We had a plethora of snacks, including Buffalo Chicken and Cheesesteak Empanadas, Risotto Rice Balls, all were made by KGB and were awesome. She had an outstanding snack season for us

My Stat of the week:  22.5 Sacks for T.J. Watt who did it in 14 games this season. He really had an extra sack that was negated when Tyler Huntley fumbled. Watt is now tied for the single season all-time lead with Michael Strahan.

My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers run into the buzz saw next week in Kansas City, it would be easy to write the Steelers off, but I believe they have a punchers chance in this game.

This week’s Jersey: Ben Roethlisberger, 7, Home Black, ran this back again, in honor of Ben’s possible last game.