Way of the K

Steelers win, Steelers win!

Today marks the Steelers’ 13th AFC title game, the most in league history. Coming in, they are 5-7 in such games, 1-4 under Cowher, and 4-3 under Chuck Knoll.

Game thoughts in an update… but the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl!

The Steelers built up a 21-3 lead after three quarters that would not be exceeded, despite a major officiating gaffe that gave the Colts new life, being down 21-10 with 5:26 to go.

On the field, Steelers Safety Troy Polamalu was credited with an interception, fumble and fumble recovery near midfield, an incerception that would have all but iced the game.

Inexplicably, this call was erroneously overturned by Referee Pete Morelli on a Colts’ replay challegenge. Polamalu had possession for some 6 seconds before knocking the ball out of his hands with his knee as he was getting back off the ground. The NFL would later admit that the original call on the field was the correct one, and it should have been steelers ball.

The Colts made the most of the error, taking the ball down to score a TD and a 2-point conversion, to draw within 21-18, but that’s as close as it would get. The Steelers went three and out, and punted, but the Colts were sacked twice in four plays, including on 4th and 16 at their own 2 yard line. Steelers only had to punch it in, and retake a 10 point lead to seal the game. The Steelers don’t kneel on it due to the colts having all three timeouts left (they should have lost one on the challenge), since that would still have left a minute.

Then comes the play with a finish on par with the Immaculate reception in 1972 and the deflection in 1995… Bettis hits the gap, and a Colts defender gets a direct hit on the ball with his helmet, knocking it out. A colt defender picked the ball up and began to run, apparently clear to the Steeler endzone for a winning score. Out of nowhere was a heads up and gutsy play by QB Ben Roethlisberger, who had retreated in Safety mode after he realized he couldn’t get the loose ball. He out-faked the defender, making a shoestring tackle on the Colts 42, making the Colts have to drive on the Steeler defense to win or tie.

The colts quickly got down to the Steeler 29/30, and had a 2nd and 2, but threw for the endzone on 2nd down, defended perfectly by rookie CB Bryant McFadden, and McFadden almost made a pick on third and 2, leading to a 4th and 2, and a 46 yard attempt by Mr. Automatic, Mike Vanderjagt of the colts, who had not missed at home all year. THis time, he was way right, and the Steelers move on to Denver.

Nearing the half, Steelers up 10-7, driving, despite having a touchdown disallowed on replay.

Charlie Batch scores on a Quarterback sneak with 0:06 left in the 1st half to make it 17-7 steelers, moments after Hines Ward was ruled down on the 1 inch line with the clock running and the Steelers out of time-outs.

First drive of the 3rd quarter features Tommy Maddox under center. Completed an early pass for a first down, then Randle El throws a 51-yard touchdown to Hines Ward on an end-around play, and just that quickly the score is 24-7 Steelers.

Browns get the ball, and Dilfer throws a long pass, complete, but the receiver is hit after one step, and fumbles the ball, and it is returned to the Cleveland 20 yard line. Steelers would get a field goal after two incomplete passes from the 15.

The near last gasp for the BRownies with 12 to go in the game sees the browns throw incomplete on four straight downs from the Steeler 30, turning the ball over on downs.

With four minutes to go, the Steelers attempted a field goal to go up 30-7, but it was blocked an run back for a TD by Cleveland, score 27-14. Cleveland attempts an onside kick, that Cedric Wilson for the steelers recovers at the Browns 29. That drive finishes off with a 10 yard TD run by Verron Haynes just after the two-minute warning, score now 34-14. Steelers kick deep, but the Browns make up lots of yards on a long reception that Troy Polamalu just missed picking off. All told, the Browns score on 4th down with 21 seconds to go, making it 34-21 Steelers. Browns once again attempt an onside kick, but it goes out of bounds untouched. Cowher doesnt rub it in, but simply downs the ball and runs out the clock to take the win to the house.

The night was one for the Ages for Hines Ward, who passed John Stallworth for the top spot on the Steelers all-time reception list.

The win improves the Steelers to 7-2, and in first place in the AFC North on head-to-head tiebreaker on division foe 7-2 Cincinnati.

Edge is the best way to put it. The Final Score was 20-19, closer than it ever should have been, but a W is a W is a W in the NFL. The Steelers got OUTGAINED by the WORST offense in the league coming in, some 316 to 262 yards. There were mistakes on both sides, from muffed snaps on a punt at midfield (Steelers) that led to Baltimore’s go-ahead FG with 4 minutes left (19-17), to an earlier miss (wide right) by Baltimore’s K Matt Stover, which caromed off the right upright and out.

The way the game started, it looked to be trouble for the Ravens. The Steelers took teh opening kickoff back to their 22, and proceeded to rack up a 15-play, 78-yard Touchdown drive that took 8:57 of time off the clock. Baltimore, not shaken, spent 4+ minutes driving down to get their own touchdown, largely on the strength of the pass, and a questionable defensive holding call on an incomplete third down pass, where the receiver did a spin-move, avoiding the defender completely who was flagged for the “holding”. It was also questionable as to whether Ravens receiver Chester Taylor was out of bounds prior to the end zone — he was given the TD, and steelers did not challenge. The ball was out at the 2 yard line, but Taylor was apparently given credit for being in the air, with the ball crossing the plane of the goal line out of bounds.

The Steelers then drove a ways before stalling on the Baltimore 37, and lined-up with Roethlisberger still in as to go for it on 4th down. Ben pooched it where it was downed inside the 1. On Baltimore’s next play, RB Jamal Lewis was almost tacked in the end-zone for a safety, but escaped, only to be stripped of the ball, and the Steelers recovered on the Bal 12 yard line. The Steelers could not take advantage of this opportuntiy, and after a pair of no-gain plays, Ben was sacked for a 13 yard loss on 3rd down. No worries, though, as Jeff Reed made good from 41 yards out to make it a 10-7 game.

After Baltimore’s next possession, the Steelers fumbled a punt return in the 2nd quarter, setting up a Baltimore field goal that tied the game. The Steelers also survived Roethlisberger’s 2nd interception thrown on the season without giving up any points. The 2nd quarter wound down, with Baltimore making one last stab to get into field goal range. Inexplicably, with no timeouts left for the Ravens, and the clock winding down, the Steelers called a timeout with 0:08 left in the half. Coach Cowher said is was to make sure the correct personnel were on the field, but the clock may have expired prior to the Ravens getting the play off. It turned out ok, as Ike Taylor picked off Baltimore QB Anthony Wright in the endzone to end the first half tied at 10-10.

Chris Hope intercepted Wright on the first Ravens’ possession of the 2nd half, and, despite a successful Baltimore challenge that negated a 22 yard return, the Steelers drove down for another Heath Miller touchdown catch, his 2nd of the night, for a 17-10 Steeler lead. Like the first half though, the Ravens did not give up, and came right back down the field, but were forced to try a field goal, but the 3rd quarter expired with the score still 17-10. First play of the 4th quarter was a Baltimore field goal to make it 17-13.

The Steelers drove, but could not get close enough for another field goal try, while Baltimore racked up another field goal, this time making it 17-16. Enter the aforementioned Steelers drive, to their own 45, where a botched 4th down snap, on what was to be a punt, turned into a Morey rush, pitched back to Gardocki (the Punter) who attempted a forward pass to Morey, who briefly had possession, but was far from the first down marker. This would lead directly to a Baltimore field goal, giving the Ravens their first lead of the day at 19-17.

Three and a half minutes to go, and the Steelers give the ball to Ben Roethlisberger, and he proceeds to hit good passes to Quincy Morgan and good runs by Jerome Bettis to drive down to the Ravens 19, forcing the Ravens to burn their timeouts, setting up Jeff Reed’s game winning field goal with 1:45 to go.

The Steelers took a step toward regaining the top spot in the AFC North by defeating the previously 5-1 Bengals in Cincinnati to close within a half-game of first place in the north, even in the loss column.

The Steelers survived two red-zone trips by Cincinnati in the 1st quarter only giving up 3 points, and quickly responded in the 2nd quarter with a Touchdown drive led by QB Ben Roethlisberger. Tight End Heath Miller was the prime target on this drive, and it was Miller who was the recipient of a 3 yard TD pass from Roethlisberger.

The officiating seemed heavily biased against Pittsburgh in this game, but they did make the right call on a Pittsburgh challenge of an apparent Cincinnati touchdown on the Bengals’ first posession. The receiver had been out of bounds with his forearm before getting his second foot down, but the official on the field had ruled touchdown. The Bengals dropped a potential TD on the next play, and then missed a 30 yard field goal wide left.

The Bengals scored to make it 7-6 shortly before halftime, aided by some more questionable personal foul calls on the Steelers defense. The most glaring was one where the defender simply tackled the receiver, yet was called for unnecessary roughness.

The third quarter, however, belonged to the Steelers. They scored a 27-yard field goal after a stalled drive following an interception return to the Bengals 15. They quickly got the ball back from the Bengals on a Kimo Von Oelhoffen tipped pass that defensive lineman Aaron Smith caught. The Steelers made quick work, capped off by a 37 yard touchdown run by Willie Parker to make it 17-6. Jerome Bettis found some heavy work during the following Steelers drive to extend the lead to 24-6 on a Hines Ward touchdown as the quarter expired. (Hines had been shaken up on a pass in the end-zone earier in the drive, on a play that it appeared he had possession and both feet, before dropping the ball when he hit the ground)

Jeff Reed added a 39 yard field goal in the fourth quarter as the Steelers did nothing but run. Willie Parker secured his 100 yard game on this drive, emphatically going from 98 yards to 129 on two plays. Verron Haynes would come in on the next possession, and after some good runs, fumbled just outside the Cincinnati 20 yard line. The Bengals would take the ball all the way down, but got the benefit of a long “completion” where the receiver got one foot before falling out of bounds, but was awared the catch. This being just before the two minute warning, Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who had won his lone challenge in the 1st quarter, did not challenge (much to the chagrin of the crowd at Brittany’s in Woodbridge) and the play stood. The Bengals would score to close to within two touchdowns, but their onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, as Hines Ward recovered.

The hooplah coming into this game was Bengals QB Carson Palmer having nine straight games with a QB rating of 100.0 or greater — he fell far short today, finishing with a rating of 53.8, or 100.0 points short of Perfect. Roethlisberger was 9 for 14 with 2 TDs and one INT, his first of the season. The Steelers defense promptly got that one right back, with a Chris Hope interception of Carson Palmer in the 3rd quarter, returned to the Bengals 15. Ben’s rating was 93.2, and he still leads the NFL in passer rating to this point of the season.

Up next for the Stillers are the Baltimore Ravens, who come to Pittsburgh on a monday night Halloween game.

THIS JUST IN: NFL admits 60:52 was played, and instead of scoring with 0:01 left, NE actually scored 0:51 after regulation should have ended. The NFL won’t change the outcome, of course, but NE could not (and did not) drive down into field goal range in only the 0:29 they should have had left.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2173143

An NFL press release is admits as such this evening, and cane be viewed at this link: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/8895637

original draft below
Off the heels of Penn State’s exasperating win yesterday, New England’s place-kicker Adam Vinatieri did it again, kicking a field goal with 0:01 left to go up 23-20 over the host Steelers. While the Patriots’ #4 won it, the game was a back and forth defensive battle. Either team had the opportunity to take a 10 or 14 point lead early on, but both defenses arose to the challenge.

The loss snapped the Steelers’ 16 game regular season winning streak, and QB Ben Roethlisberger’s personal 15-0 start as a starter. Ben threw no picks, and drove down to tie the game with less than 2 minutes remaining, but the Steelers scored too soon, leaving New England with 1;31 to go.

NE got a good kickoff return, to start on their own 37. NE had burned all of their timeouts previously, so they turned to Tom Brady, who completed 3 big passes on the drive, and on two of them, his receivers were able to get open fast (the rush was coming, knocking Brady down on two of the plays), catch the ball, avoid a tackle or two, gain the first down, and get out of bounds. (SEE ABOVE ABOUT THE EXTRA 0:52)

The Steelers left no doubt, scoring on their first drive enroute to a 20-0 halftime lead over the host Houston Texans. Roethlisberger had a week similar to week 1, but passing a little more. 14/21 for 254 yards and 2 TD passes to Hines Ward. Willie Parker had a 10 yard TD run, and Jeff Reed had 2 FGs to break Gary Anderson’s team record for consecutive field goals. He entered the game tied with Anderson at 19 straight dating back to last season.

(Clark Haggans (53) sacks David Carr (8) in one of 8 sacks by the Steeler D)

The Steelers did not commit a turnover for the 2nd straight week, and Willie Parker amassed another 100 yard game on the ground. Safety Troy Polamalu was the defensive star among stars, recording 3 sacks amongst 6 tackles

Steelers.com recap
NFL.com recap
ESPN.com recap

The win extended the Steelers’ regular season winning streak to 16 games, and Ben Roethlisberger’s regular season record to 15-0. The all-time record is 18 games, a streak that the Steelers ended last season when they beat New England on Halloween. (Prior to NE’s streak last year, the record was held by the 71-73 and 83-84 Dolphins at 16 games) Roethlisberger had a small letdown from his week 1 perfect rating, as he came in at a 138.0 (** League says it’s 139.8 in the offical stats) rating for today, still not too shabby, with an overall season rating of 153.7, or one-tenth below perfect. All in all, a satisfying but frustrating game, at least in the 3rd quarter, when Houston was able to score. But the Steelers answered right back. Hard to believe that the Steelers only allowed 221 total yards from watching the game, and held Houston to 108 net yards passing after the 59 sack yards lost.

Steelers team stats through 2 games

Up next is New England at Heinz Field on 9-25, who lost 27-17 at Carolina.