Steelers Nation got a look at the “new” Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the “old” Peyton Manning and it was not a pretty sight.

What Tim Tebow started back in January, Peyton Manning finished.

The Steelers gave up their first game of the 2012 season by a score of 31-19. While that score is not overly lopsided, the fact is that the Steelers never firmly were in control of the game.

The offense struggled to maintain rhythm and alarmingly the defense struggled to slow let alone stop Peyton Manning in all but the first few series.

This was also the debut of the Todd Haley offense. It would be unfair to say that “there’s no where to go but up,” but the fact is they left a lot of room for improvement.

• Ben Roethlisberger got better protection, except when the game was on the line
• Performance in the Red Zone was spotty
• The Steelers suffered from penalties at in opportune moments

Clearly there’s a lot more to digest over this one folks. But it’s almost 2:00 am here in Buenos Aires, and work beckons early tomorrow morning. Check back for more.

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