Intense. Thrilling. Captivating. Hard fought. Heartbreaking. The NFL’s most anticipated match of the year, the New England Patriots vs the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field lived up to its billing.
- The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots played a titanic match that went down to the wire.
Unfortunately, the Steelers came up on the short end, and they did so at the cost of losing the man who should be the league MVP, possibly for the rest of the season. Two words describe the situation: This Sucks.
Jesse James touchdown that wasn’t vs Patriots. Photo Credit: Barry Reeger, PennLive.com
But We Never Expected “The Standard Is the Standard” to Include Brown…
Going into the game, this site noted that although the Steelers locker room has bought into Mike Tomlin’s “The Standard is the Standard,” there was no denying that injuries played a major role in recent Steelers defeats at the hands of the Patriots. And it was time to flip the script.
There are times when bloggers beg to be wrong, and this is one of them.
Four plays into the 2nd quarter Ben Roethlisberger targeted Antonio Brown in the end zone.
- The pass fell away incomplete.
- Brown didn’t get up after the play.
- He couldn’t walk off the field under his own power.
This was new territory for the Steelers.
Since the Killer Bees converged in Pittsburgh, the Steelers have had to win without Ben Roethlisberger and Le’Veon Bell, but never have they had to go without Antonio Brown. The Steelers entered the game without Joe Haden and obviously Ryan Shazier, but their offense was (almost) at full strength.
Not anymore. But Steelers Nation knows the drill, “The Standard is the Standard: Injuries will not be an excuse.” The rest of the 47 men on the active game day roster would not need to find something a little extra special if Pittsburgh was to have any hope of winning. And, for the much of the game they did just that.
Steelers Digging Deep and Delivering
Tom Brady knows how to score points. Tom Brady has written a manual on how to score points against the Steelers! And the game started out as so many other recent Steelers vs Patriots contests have started – with New England scoring a touchdown, and making it look easy.
- Credit Keith Butler’s defense with not caving, not falling into the rut of past failures.
Cam Heyward started off New England’s next possession by sacking Tom Brady. On their next try, New England made it into the Red Zone, but Mike Hilton defended a would-be touchdown pass in the end zone. Sean Davis broke up another one near the goal line intended for Rob Gronkowski (with a lot of help from Stephon Tuitt who was closing in on Brady.)
On the offensive side of the ball, the Steelers showed they could slug it out. With Le’Veon Bell’s running, and short passes to Martavis Bryant, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Jesse James, the Steelers burned 8 minutes off the clock which set up this play:
Martavis Bryant with a crazy one-handed touchdown to give the #Steelers the lead pic.twitter.com/1xoX4XKcND
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 17, 2017
If anyone had any doubt that the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to find a way to give an extra 110%, this play definitively erased that. The question was, would it be enough?
3rd Quarter Stalemate
The Steelers entered the second half with a 7-point cushion, but the Patriots answered with a methodical, 6 minute touchdown drive. They followed by forcing a punt after just five plays.
But the Steelers turned the tables on the next drive, as Javon Hargrave pressured Tom Brady into throwing just a moment too soon, which allowed Vince Williams to intercept the ball, and the Steelers only needed 5 plays to score another touchdown. Now they held a 24-16 lead.
Vince Williams is 1st Steeler to intercept Tom Brady since 2005. Photo Credit: Barry Reeger, PennLive.com
The Steelers forced another punt. Then they opened the 4th quarter with a drive that amazingly burned 7 minutes off the clock yet saw the Steelers do no more than advance 31 yards. A score here would have been a game changer, but at least the Steelers were keeping the ball out of Brady’s hands.
The Patriots got the ball back, and marched all the way down to the Steelers 21-yard line, where Bud Dupree sacked Tom Brady on third down forcing a field goal. The score was now 24-19, if only the Steelers could hold on….
Steelers Commit Cardinal Sin Against Patriots
The lion’s share of the sound and fury generated by this game will revolve around the Steelers final drive. And rightly so. But if you really want to understand where the Steeler lost this game, you need to look at the two drives that preceded this.
The Steelers got the ball back with 3:56 minutes left. New England had all of their time outs left, so at least 2 first downs were in order. There the Steelers committed their cardinal sins.
- The Steelers played it cautious, running the ball twice and punting after 3.
- Sean Davis got both hands on Tom Brady’s first pass, but couldn’t hold on. You NEVER give Brady a 2nd chance.
- Brady then proceeded to connect with Ron Gronkowski on four straight plays, including a TD and 2 point conversion
If you’re going to beat the Patriots, you really have to find a way to stop Tom Brady to Ron Gronkowski. OK, that’s easy to say but hard to do, and the Steelers knew that as the drive began, but they failed.
The Greatest Comeback that Never Was
The Steelers had 52 seconds and 1 time out left to come back to either tie or win. Such last minute heroics have been a staple for the Steelers during 2017, but nothing prepared them for what came next.
JuJu Smith-Schuster took a simple slant route and while looking for the sidelines, broke free through the Patriots secondary for a 69 yard reception. Ben Roethlisberger hit Jesse James on the next play for an apparent touchdown….
…Except it wasn’t a touchdown.
I can't stand the #Steelers and I will never stick up for them, BUT unbelievable that the catch by Jesse James is not considered a catch/Touchdown. #NEvsPIT pic.twitter.com/R6cDzMKTg8
— (@3lone) December 18, 2017
The replay officials ruled that Jesse James didn’t have complete control of the ball. Was that the correct call? Honestly, it does look like their ruling was within the letter of the law, although enough neutral observers, including Tony Dungy, argue that the reversal is a gross miscarriage of justice.
- It matters little now.
Ben Roethlisberger hit Darrius Heyward-Bey on his next throw, who failed to get out of bounds. Instead of clocking the ball and giving Chris Boswell a chance to tie the game, Ben Roethlisberger went for all the marbles. Ben tried to thread the ball in triple coverage to Eli Rogers only to have the pass deflected and intercepted by Duron Harmon.
- Just like that, it was all over for the Steelers.
Since their 2016 Christmas win over the Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers have developed a flair for the dramatic. They’ve authored any number of 4th quarter comebacks worth of narration by John Facenda. The Patriots game was no different. The Steelers simply came out on the wrong side.
And man, it really sucks.
They needed more points earlier! Can’t just go point to point with these guys. They know that, just couldn’t get it done. I am hopefull that in a couple years we get Ben out and can move on. I have tired of his lack of passion and blame for others.
Kent,
Not sure what generation you’re from, but do the names Cliff Stoudt, Mark Malone or David Woodley ring a bell? I didn’t see those guys play because I grew up outside of Pittsburgh, but teleport anyone of them from their last year as the Steelers starer into 2017, and they still might have trouble winning the Browns starting job.
I did see Bubby Brister, Neil O’Donnell and Kordell Stewart play. I defended each of them, and those guys did have their strengths.
But they were boys compared to Ben Roethlisberger.
Yes, this site was critical of Roethlisberger early in this season because he wasn’t playing well. But that’s not the case now, and hasn’t been since at least the 1/2 half of the Colts game.
While I agree that the offense got a little too conservative on their 2nd to last drive in the 4th quarter and it would have been better to have scored more points the truth is the Steelers offense played well enough to win.
While I didn’t grow up in Pittsburgh, I rooted for the Steelers from suburban Maryland. And I remember when Terry Bradshaw wasn’t playing in 1983, and I remember being happy (mind you, I was in grade school), simply because “Bradshaw was old” and Stoudt was young. Of course 1983 WAS the end of the line for Bradshaw and any semblance of contender status for the Super Steelers.
And while the Steelers were legitimate contenders through much of the ’90’s an the early 00’s, they didn’t become champions until Ben Roethlisberger arrived in 2004. Most fans remain convinced this is Ben’s last year, I’m less certain, although if the Steelers run the table and bring home Lombardi Number 7 then I think the chances of him pulling a Bettis are strong. You seem to welcome a retirement. Careful for what you wish for.
Thanks for your contribution.