THE GOOD: 1st Round Bye (i.e. at least 2nd seed in AFC) Ben Roethlisberger completed 20 of 29 for 226 yards 2 TDs and 0 Ints Le'Veon Bell didn't have to rush much so as to help keep him fresh for the playoffs. J2S2, Martavis Bryant, Vance McDonald made plays. Justin Hunter made a pretty sliding touchdown grab. Roosevelt Nix had a rushing TD. Steelers score on 5 of their first 7 drives. The Steelers offense did not give up a QB sack. The Steelers defense registered 7 QB Sacks - with 3 coming from Mike Hilton and 2 from Cam Heyward Artie Burns had an INT. Mike Hilton, Cam Heyward, and Stephon Tuitt all forced a fumble. Bos 2/2 FG and 4/4 XP. The Steelers finally had a comfortable victory. No Xmas Defib required. THE BAD: Alfred Blue rushed 16 times for 108 yards Alfred Blue and Lamar Miller each had over 5 ypc DeAndre Hopkins deserves better. THE UGLY: Depending upon the New York Jets to defeat the Patriots so the Steelers could get 1st seed. Steelers starters will have to play the Browns for at least part of the game as the 1st seed is still in play - although will not likely change. RECORDS: Le'Veon Bell became the first player in team history with multiple seasons of at least 1,900 total yards. Le'Veon Bell became the first player since DeMarco Murray to touch the ball 400 times in a single season, and the first Steeler to do so since 1992. Le'Veon Bell recorded for most receptions by a non-wide receiver in Steelers history. Bos kicked his 35th FG on the season (Steelers record). Cam Heyward tied Keith Willis for the second-most sacks by a Steeler in a single season.
GOOD - The offensive line had an immaculate game, but three in particular played like All-Pros. Our local dope-fiend showed off why he's invaluable still. Hubbard did well in relief of Marcus Gilbert, but none like the game Gilbert had today. Gilbert allowed zero pressures on 32 passing plays. Le'Veon Bell ran well in limited carries thanks in part to Gilbert being back on the field as well. The other two? Alejandro Villanueva and David DeCastro, of course, the former holding off Jadeveon Clowney and stopping him from making any difference all game. - ^^^ In addition, no false starts and only one declined holding penalty. - Artie Burns played like a lockdown corner in possibly his best game all season. He shut down Will Fuller completely and didn't allow a catch on either of the only two times he was targeted. - Ben Roethlisberger deserves ample praise for taking advantage of the wall of an offensive line he had tonight and making solid, patient reads and good decisions overall. He wasn't perfect, but he played really well. - Joe Haden is back and he eliminated DeAndre Hopkins from the game until garbage time. - Mike Hilton, blitzer extraordinaire. - Cameron Heyward has the most sacks of any Steelers player since LaMarr Woodley in 2009 (13.5). BAD - Cameron Heyward isn't going to the Pro Bowl. - Fair question. Were the Steelers so concerned about DeAndre Hopkins that they basically let the Houston running backs run wild? He's good enough that they would do that, but the secondary overall had a fantastic game.
Good job and a lot of credit should go to Tomlin and coaching staff for having the team ready to play after 3 emotional games, on Christmas Day, and playing on the road. They took care of business. Defense is still a concern, I don’t care if they leaned on stopping Hopkins, that run defense is still way too leaky and it’s been like that for a while even with Shazier playing. Ben played well but there where still a couple of throws that had me SMH and asking “what is he thinking throwing the ball there?” He has to be smarter in the playoffs, he’s gotten away with a lot of throws this year that could have easily been intercepted. Hopkins is lucky he wasn’t playing NE, I saw a tiny bit of movement of the ball on that TD catch that would have been interpreted in such a way that’s its incomplete. Boo Hoo
I think that is a very good question. As long as they don't give up big plays, there's no way the Texans can stay with the Steelers. I think they were playing pass most of the day and, of course, once they got way ahead, I doubt they worried about the run at all. The good: No hangover from last week and no playing down to bad competition. Ben: Lots of ball distribution. Only one forced pass early to JuJu. He hasn't always been good on the road but lately he's been OK. Haden. Hopkins did nothing until late in the game but when it's 27-0 you lose the edge. Mike Hilton: What a find for the secondary. 3 sacks was it? Cam Heyward adds 2 sacks of his own. MB got 60 yards and had a great long catch and one where he fought for the first. Great effort. They pulled Ben and Bell when the game was out of reach The Bad: The Bills teased for a bit but lost anyway. I can't see the Jets winning in Foxboro or anyone else but that's why they play em. Run D: I suspect they weren't all that concerned about the run and so they gave up yards. JuJu only got 13 fantasy points and I needed 16 from him to win. The Ugly: The Browns: They will be desperate for a win next week. I think NE wins anyway so it won't matter but the stigma may be too much to bear. Not much else. It was a win they needed and they pounded a bad team. Summary: Bye all sewn up which is great for resting the team. I think they play next week for a win just in case. As for the 2 vs 3 game. I know the Jags are an unbeatable force in the minds of many because of what happened oh so long ago earlier in the season but I'm not convinced. The Steelers are a different team and the Jags are too. The 5 and 6 seeds aren't even set so who knows who Jax will play. They might not even get out of the WC round. Pittsburgh might get KC if the WC round goes awry. Just worry when it happens. Here's to getting a bye. Go Steelers. Special year.....so far.
There's alot to decide among the last two spots. I think the Ravens win and get in but they would be the 5 seed and thus they would play KC. If they lose and then the Titans win and the Bills lose or vice versa, the Ravens get the 6 seed. If the Ravens lose and the Titans and Bills both win, the Ravens are out.
Adding to Records: Ben Roethlisberger tied Hines Ward for the most career Steelers victories (136). Probably not a record, but it was also Big Ben's 200th NFL regular season game.
The good: we blew out a team we should blow out for a change The bad: I don’t see a lot of teams that are out of it trying all that hard right now so not sure it means much The ugly: no uglies this week
The Good: first round bye. 7 sacks by our D and Ben was eating a sandwich between reads. Haden just made beating NE more realistic. The Bad: Run Defense and kicking FG’s in the red zone. The Ugly: Al Riveron ... AGAIN . Unless it’s a blatant Oversight and undisputable evidence stop F$&@ing overturning calls on the field you incompetent assclown
