Tag Archives: Steelers vs. Jaguars

The “Imperfections” in Steelers 27-3 Win over Jaguars are Feature, Not a Flaw

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A downside to going undefeated is that stories predicting your first loss begin to ellipse ones detailing why you’re winning. And so it is with the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers. No matter who the opponent was this week, the question was going to be “Has the upset arrived?” Now, stir in a little history and the plot thickens:

  • The Jacksonville Jaguars have a nasty habit of upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That habit started in the first meeting between the two franchises and carries through to Pittsburgh’s most recent playoff experience. Steel workers it would seem, make poor Jaguar hunters.

  • Yet, the men in Black and Gold arrived in Jacksonville with a 9-0 record and left 10-0.

The Steelers 27-3 win over the Jaguars certainly wasn’t spotless, but that’s actually a feature rather than a flaw. Let’s see why.

Chase Claypool, Steelers vs Jaguars

Chase Claypool catches a touchdown for the Steelers. Photo Credit: AP via Tribune-Review

Some Fine Football Footnotes, Courtesy of Luton and Robinson

The true history of world events is often told through the footnotes. In the NFL? Not so much.

History will little note that Jake Luton completed his first 2 passes for double-digit yardage, nor will it remember that James Robinson began the game by gouging the Steelers defense for double digit runs. Had Jacksonville won, scribes like me would have described this pair of unheralded rookies as “Setting the tone with their decisive play during the game’s opening drive.”

Steven Nelson, Steelers vs Jaguars

Steven Nelson deflects a pass. Photo Credit: AP, via Tribune-Review.

  • Instead, people are already forgetting that Jacksonville actually led for game’s first 19 minutes.

That’s because NFL history isn’t written by teams who can make a handful of good plays; it is made by teams who make plays consistently. Or at least make them at critical moments in games. During the first half against the Jaguars, the Steelers fell into the latter category by:

  • Going into bend-but-don’t-break mode to force a field goal after Jacksonville’s early advance
  • Marcus Allen’s attentive recovery of a surprise on-sides kick
  • James Conner tearing off a 25 yard run when Pittsburgh found itself backed up against its own end zone
  • Tyson Alualu tipping a pass that Minkah Fitzpatrick picked off in the end zone

Those efforts paved the way for Chris Boswell to make a 44 yard field goal after missing a 45 yarder, for Ben Roethlisberger to hook up with Chase Claypool to give the Steelers the lead and later to connect with Diontae Johnson to set up a one yard Benny Snell touchdown to give the Steelers a 17-3 lead just before the half.

Yet if the Steelers had done some opportunistic playmaking in the game’s first 30 minutes, the last 30 seconds reinforced just how much they’d left on the table.

Terrell Edmunds intercepted Jake Luton with 36 left to play. Ben Roethlisberger brought them within field goal range, yet threw an interception to Daniel Thomas. Instead of taking a 24 or 17 point and 3 score lead into half time, the Steelers were standing pat with just 14.

Jaguars Squander Opportunity

14 points is a healthy yet hardly insurmountable half time lead. And 14 points becomes even less insurmountable when you when start the half by getting the ball and then promptly run 3 plays for negative 1 yards. The worst thing you can do with a young team is to let them hang around, yet here were the Steelers, opening the door for Jacksonville to come roaring back into the game.

  • Would the Jaguars pounce on the opportunity?

For a few moments, it seemed liked they might. After limiting the Steelers to negative one yards, Jacksonville advanced from their own 31 to Pittsburgh’s 41 in six plays. Now, those six plays were hardly worthy of John Facenda narration, but the Jaguars were stalking their way up the field with confidence. Then they blinked:

  • On 2nd and 9, Bud Dupree gifted them 5 yards by going off sides
  • Jacksonville regifted those 5 yards right back with a false start
  • Next, Stephon Tuitt batted away a pass aimed for Tyler Eifert, bring up 3rd and 9
  • 3rd and 9 turned in to 3rd and 14 thanks to another false start
  • Then Stephon Tuitt sacked Jake Luton, forcing a punt

The Steelers gave Jacksonville a chance to get right back in this game, and the Jaguars squandered it. Now all that remained was for Pittsburgh to close the deal.

Dominating Steelers Defense Delivers the Difference

IF the late Steve Sabol were scripting this game, he’d have Stephon Tuitt’s sack sparking a Ben Roethlisberger response that included a few pristine passes to JuJu Smith-Schuster and/or James Washington, some road grading run blocking backed by James Conner’s powers rushing.

Bud Dupree Sacks Jake Luton. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

  • But NFL Films has the luxury of crafting their dramatic narratives after outcomes are decided.

Football games evolve at their own pace and in this case that meant that Jordan Berry would punt four more times during the second half, that the Steelers would have to wait until the 4th quarter to put more points on the board and those next points would come off of Chris Boswell’s leg.

But the offense’s difficulty scoring didn’t matter much, as the Steelers defense dominated the Jaguars en every sense of the word, whether it was Bud Dupree sacking Luton on third down, T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward  stoningJames Robinson at the line of scrimmage, or Terrell Edmunds intercepting Luton again, the defense made sure Jaguars never had a chance to take advantage of Pittsburgh’s offensive sluggishness.

Imperfection, a Feature, Not a Flaw

Terrell Edmunds’ second interception sparked the offense, as Ben Roethlisberger only needed 4 plays to find Eric Ebron in the end zone.

  • Was it a perfect afternoon for the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Hardly. That final touchdown padded Pittsburgh’s point margin, making the game look more lopsided than the 27-3 score suggests. But it doesn’t matter. In Ben Roethlisberger’s words, the Steelers are “…not chasing perfection in terms of a perfect 16-0. We’re chasing Lombardis.”

  • Mike Tomlin made a similar point offering that the only thing perfect about this team is its record.

So in other words, you’ve got a team with a 10-0 record with both room for improvement AND the self-awareness that they must improve? That’s a pretty good place to be.

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Antonio Brown vs Jalen Ramsey – Despite “Losing” Brown Showed Why Still NFL’s Best

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Steelers receiver Antonio Brown had five receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers dramatic come-from-behind 20-16 win over the Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on Sunday.

Just another ordinary day for a living legend of a pass-catcher who is considered by many to be the very best in the NFL at his position. In-fact, if we’re being honest, few were even that impressed with No. 84’s day, as he was deemed the “loser” in the one-on-one battle against Jacksonville cornerback Jalen Ramsey–a man who is also considered to be the very best in the league at his position.

Jalen Ramsey certainly frustrated the perennial First-Team All-Pro receiver for most of  the day, limiting him to three receptions on eight targets in-which the two were going head-to-head.

Antonio Brown, Jalen Ramsey, Ramon Foster, Steelers vs Jaguars, Antonio Brown vs Jalen Ramsey

Antonio Brown vs Jalen Ramsey. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

“Losing” seems like such a poor choice of words for a battle in-which Antonio Brown totally schooled Jalen Ramsey at least a few times–including on a double-move early in the game, a play that would have surely gone for a score had quarterback Ben Roethlisberger not been having an almost comically incompetent first half against the Jaguars’ stout pass defense.

  • Ben Roethlisberger threw three interceptions on the day, including two to Ramsey on plays in-which he was covering Brown.

However, better throws  would have likely led to touchdowns on both occasions–and this was especially the case on another play in the first half when Antonio Brown was running free down the seam. Yes, it was a great display of instinct and athleticism when Jalen Ramsey undercut the route and intercepted Roethlisberger’s throw before it could reach Brown. But, the fact of the matter is, a more accurate pass would have led to an easy touchdown for No. 84.

  • Individual battles, aside, Antonio Brown did make two key plays that helped bring the Steelers all the way back.

The first came at the end of the third quarter, two plays after the Jaguars scored a touchdown to take a seemingly insurmountable 16-0 lead.

Ben Roethlisberger dropped back to pass on second down, and his first option appeared to be tight end Vance McDonald, who ran a quick route over the middle. But Vance McDonald was covered, and Ben Roethlisberger decided to hold onto the football, after a quick little pump in his tight end’s direction. As soon as Ben Roethlisberger pumped, a Jaguars safety rushed towards Antonio Brown, who also ran a short route.

But the split-second that the safety jumped up to cover Brown, Antonio Brown instinctively ran by him, down the middle of the field and had nothing but yards and yards of grass surrounding him. Roethlisberger unleashed a bomb that Brown pulled in and took the distance for a 78-yard touchdown that gave Pittsburgh its first points of the day.

  • And with less than a minute remaining and the Steelers trailing, 16-13, Antonio Brown came through yet again.

Facing a third and 10 from the Jacksonville 27, following a drop by running back James Conner that would likely have given the Steelers the game-winning touchdown, the offense needed to come up with something big, or else have to settle for a long field goal attempt from kicker Chris Boswell, who hasn’t been having one of his better seasons.

Fear-not, because despite being covered by Jalen Ramsey, Antonio Brown pulled in a critical pass from Roethlisberger, and not only secured a first down, picked up 25 yards down to the Jaguars’ two-yard line, setting up No. 7’s one-yard dive into the end zone with five second remaining in the game.

  • With 62 receptions for 807 through 10 weeks, Brown is on pace to have one of the least productive years of his career–or so it would seem.

In his first season with Randy Fichtner as his offensive coordinator, Anotnio Brown has 11 touchdowns–including at least one in his past eight games–and is well on his way to smashing his career high of 13. Furthermore, Antoino Brown has continued to have the clutch gene, as Sunday’s heroics, along with his game-winning score against the Bengals, have clearly illustrated.

Let’s face it, teams aren’t going to allow Antonio Brown to dominate statistically this season like he has so many times in the past. And when all is said and done, he might not be anywhere near the league leaders in receptions or yards.

But while Antonio Brown’s statistics have slipped a bit in 2018, his status as the very best wide receiver in the NFL has not.

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Steelers Report Card for Win over Jaguars – Rewarding Those Who Work to the Bell Edition

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Taken from the grade book of a teacher who is proud of his pupils for working every last second until the bell rings, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the win over the Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, A.J. Bouye, Steelers vs Jaguars

JuJu Smith-Schuster burns A.J. Bouye. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

Quarterback
By his own admission, Ben Roethlisberger had a horrible game. Indeed, Ben Roethlisberger played terrible football until there was 5:06 left in the 4th quarter, then Big Ben began to click. At that point Roethlisberger could do no wrong, and led the Steelers to two touchdown drives. Ben Roethlisberger’s overall performance had its weaknesses, but the results compensated. Grade: B-

Running Backs
James Conner found it to be rough sledding in a week when he officially inherited the Steelers starting running back role from Le’Veon Bell. James Conners only managed 25 yards on 9 carries, and while he did make 6 catches, he dropped a clear game winner late in the game. Grade: DSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Tight Ends
Vance McDonald was clearly out of synch with Ben Roethlisberger early in the game, however for the 2nd week in a row, McDonald found away to come down with another tough touchdown catch. Xavier Grimble had 1 catch for 3 yards. Grade: B

Wide Receivers
Antonio Brown’s target’s to catch ratio this week won’t help his Pro Football Focus raiting, but many of those passes were badly overthrown. As it was Antonio Brown’s touchdown, and his 25 yard reception that got the Steelers to the 2 were game changers. However, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s catches had equal, if not greater impact. On both touchdown drives JuJu Smith-Schuster made tough catches that put the Steelers into scoring position. James Washington had one catch, but Ryan Switzer seems to have a bigger role in this offense at this point. Grade: A

Offensive Line
The Jacksonville Jaguars have one of the better defenses in the league and are led by a group of solid pass rushers. The Steelers offensive line in many respects struggled against the Jaguars, as they failed to open holes for James Conner and Ben Roethlisberger faced much more pressure than normal. Grade: B-

Defensive Line
Tyson Alualu actually led the unit with 7 tackles, while Cam Heyward had the look of a one-man wrecking crew in the second half, blowing up the line for 2 tackles for a loss, 1 quarterback hit and a sack. The Steelers defense shut down the Jaguars offense in the last 20 minutes of the game, and its started up front. Grade: B

Cameron Heyward, Cam Heyward, Blake Bortles, Steelers vs Jaguars

Cam Heyward sacks Blake Bortles. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

Linebackers
Vince Williams led the team in tackles, defensed a pass, had a tackle for a loss, a QB hit and registered a sack, playing like a one-man wrecking crew. T.J. Watt was close behind him, notching two sacks, dropping a ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage and hitting Blake Bortles twice. Jon Bostic had another solid game, as did Bud Dupree while L.J. Fort delivered in spot duty. Grade: B

Secondary
Sean Davis continues to keep the lid of opposing offenses and limited a Leonard Fournette to simply reaching the second level as opposed to exploiting it. Coty Sensabaugh had another strong game with 7 tackles. Terrell Edmunds also quietly had a good day as did Joe Haden. Blake Bortles was 10 of 18 for 104 yards and Jacksonville lost -3 yards on its last 5 possessions, when all it needed was a first down. Grade: A.

Special Teams
Chris Boswell went 3-3 on extra points, while Jordan Berry boomed off several long punts on a day when the Steelers needed to pin the Jaguars deep. Ryan Switzer looked solid as a return man, although the Jaguars did have some reasonable success returning punts. Grade: B-

Coaching
Randy Fichtner went up against one of the NFL’s best defenses, and while the Jaguars clearly tested the Steelers, Fichtner’s offense came up with 3 touchdowns in 16 minutes. Beyond that, the early struggles appeared to be more tied to issues of execution rather than game planning.

  • Keith Butler‘s defense deserves any and all accolades that come its way following this game.

Yes, it is true that the Jaguars appeared to be in the process of imposing their will on the Steelers defense in the first half. But instead of demoralizing the Steelers defense, it energized them, and the Steelers defense went into complete shutdown mode for the game’s final 20 minutes.

To be sure, the Steelers weren’t shutting down the Greatest Show on Turf or the Jimmy Johnson’s Dallas Cowboys of  ‘90’s, or the New Orleans Saints of 2018, but limiting any offense in this day and age to negative yards for a quarter and a half when the only thing the offense needs for victory is a handful of third downs is impressive.

Mike Tomlin, Steelers vs Jaguars

Mike Tomlin on Steelers sidelines. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner

  • Mike Tomlin refused to “Live in his fears.”

Early in the 2nd half, instead of declining a penalty that would have brought up 4th 1, Tomlin accepted it and his defense responded with a strip sack that forced the Jaguars to punt from their end zone. Later, Mike Tomlin managed his timeouts so that his offense had one to for the final drive.

And when the Steelers got into scoring range, Mike Tomlin didn’t hesitate in going for the win instead of the tie. Grade: A

Unsung Hero Award
After the game Mike Tomlin swore that the Steelers hadn’t made any adjustments.

Yet the educated eye could see that the Steelers had made one key change. Daniel McCullers’ Number 93 was not often seen in the second half. Instead, it was replaced by Javon Hargrave’s number 79, who in addition to helping completely shutdown the run, also managed two sacks, two more quarterback hits and defensed a pass and for that Javon Hargrave wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers win over the Jaguars.

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Steelers Report Card for Win over Jaguars – Rewarding Those Who Work to the Bell Edition

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Taken from the grade book of a teacher who is proud of his pupils for working every last second until the bell rings, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the win over the Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, A.J. Bouye, Steelers vs Jaguars

JuJu Smith-Schuster burns A.J. Bouye. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

Quarterback
By his own admission, Ben Roethlisberger had a horrible game. Indeed, Ben Roethlisberger played terrible football until there was 5:06 left in the 4th quarter, then Big Ben began to click. At that point Roethlisberger could do no wrong, and led the Steelers to two touchdown drives. Ben Roethlisberger’s overall performance had its weaknesses, but the results compensated. Grade: B-

Running Backs
James Conner found it to be rough sledding in a week when he officially inherited the Steelers starting running back role from Le’Veon Bell. James Conners only managed 25 yards on 9 carries, and while he did make 6 catches, he dropped a clear game winner late in the game. Grade: DSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Tight Ends
Vance McDonald was clearly out of synch with Ben Roethlisberger early in the game, however for the 2nd week in a row, McDonald found away to come down with another tough touchdown catch. Xavier Grimble had 1 catch for 3 yards. Grade: B

Wide Receivers
Antonio Brown’s target’s to catch ratio this week won’t help his Pro Football Focus raiting, but many of those passes were badly overthrown. As it was Antonio Brown’s touchdown, and his 25 yard reception that got the Steelers to the 2 were game changers. However, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s catches had equal, if not greater impact. On both touchdown drives JuJu Smith-Schuster made tough catches that put the Steelers into scoring position. James Washington had one catch, but Ryan Switzer seems to have a bigger role in this offense at this point. Grade: A

Offensive Line
The Jacksonville Jaguars have one of the better defenses in the league and are led by a group of solid pass rushers. The Steelers offensive line in many respects struggled against the Jaguars, as they failed to open holes for James Conner and Ben Roethlisberger faced much more pressure than normal. Grade: B-

Defensive Line
Tyson Alualu actually led the unit with 7 tackles, while Cam Heyward had the look of a one-man wrecking crew in the second half, blowing up the line for 2 tackles for a loss, 1 quarterback hit and a sack. The Steelers defense shut down the Jaguars offense in the last 20 minutes of the game, and its started up front. Grade: B

Cameron Heyward, Cam Heyward, Blake Bortles, Steelers vs Jaguars

Cam Heyward sacks Blake Bortles. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

Linebackers
Vince Williams led the team in tackles, defensed a pass, had a tackle for a loss, a QB hit and registered a sack, playing like a one-man wrecking crew. T.J. Watt was close behind him, notching two sacks, dropping a ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage and hitting Blake Bortles twice. Jon Bostic had another solid game, as did Bud Dupree while L.J. Fort delivered in spot duty. Grade: B

Secondary
Sean Davis continues to keep the lid of opposing offenses and limited a Leonard Fournette to simply reaching the second level as opposed to exploiting it. Coty Sensabaugh had another strong game with 7 tackles. Terrell Edmunds also quietly had a good day as did Joe Haden. Blake Bortles was 10 of 18 for 104 yards and Jacksonville lost -3 yards on its last 5 possessions, when all it needed was a first down. Grade: A.

Special Teams
Chris Boswell went 3-3 on extra points, while Jordan Berry boomed off several long punts on a day when the Steelers needed to pin the Jaguars deep. Ryan Switzer looked solid as a return man, although the Jaguars did have some reasonable success returning punts. Grade: B-

Coaching
Randy Fichtner went up against one of the NFL’s best defenses, and while the Jaguars clearly tested the Steelers, Fichtner’s offense came up with 3 touchdowns in 16 minutes. Beyond that, the early struggles appeared to be more tied to issues of execution rather than game planning.

  • Keith Butler‘s defense deserves any and all accolades that come its way following this game.

Yes, it is true that the Jaguars appeared to be in the process of imposing their will on the Steelers defense in the first half. But instead of demoralizing the Steelers defense, it energized them, and the Steelers defense went into complete shutdown mode for the game’s final 20 minutes.

To be sure, the Steelers weren’t shutting down the Greatest Show on Turf or the Jimmy Johnson’s Dallas Cowboys of  ‘90’s, or the New Orleans Saints of 2018, but limiting any offense in this day and age to negative yards for a quarter and a half when the only thing the offense needs for victory is a handful of third downs is impressive.

Mike Tomlin, Steelers vs Jaguars

Mike Tomlin on Steelers sidelines. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner

  • Mike Tomlin refused to “Live in his fears.”

Early in the 2nd half, instead of declining a penalty that would have brought up 4th 1, Tomlin accepted it and his defense responded with a strip sack that forced the Jaguars to punt from their end zone. Later, Mike Tomlin managed his timeouts so that his offense had one to for the final drive.

And when the Steelers got into scoring range, Mike Tomlin didn’t hesitate in going for the win instead of the tie. Grade: A

Unsung Hero Award
After the game Mike Tomlin swore that the Steelers hadn’t made any adjustments.

Yet the educated eye could see that the Steelers had made one key change. Daniel McCullers’ Number 93 was not often seen in the second half. Instead, it was replaced by Javon Hargrave’s number 79, who in addition to helping completely shutdown the run, also managed two sacks, two more quarterback hits and defensed a pass and for that Javon Hargrave wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers win over the Jaguars.

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Steelers-Jaguars Preview – Time to Measure Pittsburgh’s Progress Since Playoff Disaster

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This is the one Steelers Nation has been waiting for. Today the Steelers face off against the Jaguars in Jacksonville and be honest, when the schedule came out, you saw this game and thought, “Man do I want to see this.”

  • How quickly times change. When the 2017 schedule came out, who gave the Jaguars a second thought?

I certainly didn’t. Yet it was the Jaguars, and not the Patriots, who stopped the Steelers quest to bring home Lombardi Number 7 in 2017. Yet a lot has happened in the 309 days that have passed since the Steelers playoff loss to the Jaguars.

Leonard Fournette, Joe Haden, Steelers vs Jaguars

Leonard Fournette smokes Steelers defense in ’17 playoff upset.

Changes to the Steelers Since the Last Jaguars Game

Perhaps its is appropriate that so many members of the Steelers defense changed numbers during the off season, because a lot has changed.

During the September, not only did it look like these had been insufficient, but that perhaps the Steelers had further regressed. But the Steelers travel to Jacksonville riding a 5 game winning streak, that has seen the Steelers improve week in and week out.

Across the board, whether you’re looking at third down conversions, Red Zone efficiency, or Ben Roethlisberger’s performance, all of the trends Pittsburgh is taking into this big game are pointed the right way.

As Tony Defeo pointed out in taking a shot at the Team Turmoil thesis, it was just two years ago, on November 13, 2016 when the Steelers home loss to the Dallas Cowboys seemed to signal all hope had been lost.

  • Except it wasn’t, and the Steelers have gone 26-6 since then.

But story symmetry can be a tricky thing. While Jacksonville had bested the Steelers at Heinz Field in the regular season – with Ryan Shazier on the field – Ben Roethlisberger had played one of the worst, if not the worst game of his career. Big Ben bounced back to play the best football of his life in the second half of 2017.

Few thought Jacksonville would give the Steelers must of a test last January, but reports that Stephon Tuitt missed practice time due to an arm injury foreshadowed a flatfooted defensive response to Leonard Fournette’s fierce rushing.

  • And, as fate would have it, Stephon Tuitt will miss the rematch against the Jaguars.

So be it. The Jacksonville Jaguars may be on a 5 game losing streak, but this still is the same team that schooled the Patriots early in the year. But they were without Leonard Fournette for most of that stretch. But he will play this afternoon.

  • And that’s good in at least one sense.

Fournette’s presence means the outcome of today’s Steelers-Jaguars matchup in Jacksonville will still give Steelers Nation a true measure of how far Pittsburgh has come since that playoff defeat or, how far they still need go.

 

 

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Fans East of the Eastern Time Zone Celebrate: NFL Flexes Steelers-Jaguars Game to Afternoon

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When the schedule came out this game seemed like a no-brainer for Prime Time. The Pittsburgh Steelers were scheduled to face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a rematch of the Jaguars January 2018 upset of Pittsburgh at Heinz Field.

  • In the NFL originally scheduled it for the evening of Sunday November 18th.
Leonard Fournette, Joe Haden, Steelers vs Jaguars

Leonard Fournette smokes Steelers defense in ’17 playoff upset.

But, given the resurgence of the Chicago Bears and the consistent play of the Minnesota Vikings, the NFL has decided to shift that game into Prime Time, leaving the Steelers to play at Jacksonville at 1:00 pm. Most Steelers fans will be a tad bit disappointed at this because the Steelers play their best in Prime Time and because there’s no better showcase for such a revenge rematch.

  • But Steelers fans living east of the Eastern Time Zone celebrate this decision.

As alluded to earlier, those of us who live ahead of the Eastern Time Zone wholeheartedly endorsed Art Rooney II’s concern about the Steelers playing too many night games. But our reasons are far more selfish. Before the US changes its clocks in the early fall, Sunday, Monday and Thursday Night games end at around 12:00 midnight. Not ideal, but still workable.

  • But after the US switches its clocks, those of us in Argentina find ourselves 2 hours ahead of Eastern, which means that games end it 1:00 am — or later.

That gets harder as the years go by. It is true that the Steelers do seem to bring a little something extra in Prime Time, but it is also true that the Steelers ability to beat the Jaguars will be determined by Ben Roethlisberger‘s ability to connect with Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Vance McDonald; the offensive line’s ability to open holes for James Conners (and Le’Veon Bell?), and above all the ability of Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave, Vince Williams, and T.J. Watt to contain Leonard Fournette and pressure Blake Borttles (or perhaps Landry Jones?)

 

 

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Recent AFC Trends Suggest Steelers Aren’t Among Conference’s Best

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No matter how people broke things down or what record they may have predicted heading into the 2018 regular season, there’s no question the 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers were considered Super Bowl contenders.

Even after an 0-1-1 start that includes a tie with the Browns and loss to the Chiefs in-which the Steelers defense was totally embarrassed by Patrick Mahomes, it would be foolish to give up on a true Super Bowl contender this early in the year.

  • But that would only be if we’re talking about a true contender, something recent trends suggest the Steelers are not.

Why do I say that? Because the Steelers have lost three straight games–all at home–to teams that are among the best the AFC has to offer.

Ben Roethlisberger, Myles Garret, Steelers vs Browns, Steelers Browns tie

Myles Garrett sacks Ben Roethlisberger in Steelers tie with Browns. Photo Credit: Barry Reger, PennLive.com

The first loss came last December 17, when the Patriots stunned Pittsburgh with a 27-24 victory that many thought was a miscarriage of justice, thanks to the controversial reversal of a Jesse James‘ touchdown with just seconds remaining.

Had Jesse James touchdown stood, it would have likely given the Steelers a 31-27 victory and the inside track to capture the AFC’s top seed. OK, if the reversal of the Jesse James’ touchdown indeed was a miscarriage of justice, how can I hold that against Mike Tomlin and Co.?

Because Mike Tomlin, former offensive coordinator Todd Haley and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger appeared to panic (or at least failed to communicate properly) during the sequence of plays that followed the reversal, and Roethlisberger wound up throwing an ill-advised pass that was deflected and intercepted in the end zone.

  • There’s no way that game should have ended in regulation.

To make things brief, I will just combine the last two games that saw the Steelers defense yield a grand total of 827 yards and 80 points in back-to-back losses to the Jaguars and Chiefs.

The loss to Jacksonville last January 14 came in a playoff game at Heinz Field and put an end to a 2017 campaign in-which the Steelers, who finished 13-3 during the regular season, appeared to be destined for a rematch with New England in the AFC Championship game.

As for Week 2’s defeat to Kansas City, the performance of the defense was so alarming, it made one absolutely dread the regular season rematch with the Patriots this December at Heinz Field.

  • As I said, it is really early, and the Steelers wouldn’t be the first team to start a season slowly before showing its true championship colors.

However, 2017, one in-which they struggled to defeat some of the more mediocre teams in the NFL on a weekly basis, often needing kicker Chris Boswell to bail them out with game-winning field goals in the final seconds, may have been the true colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers–maybe it just took the top contenders in the AFC to flesh them out.

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Sight of Ryan Shazier Standing with Ben Roethlisberger Offers a Lesson for Steelers Nation

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Even if we admit that Steelers Nation is spoiled (we are) the fact is Steelers fans have had a rough 61 days. But yesterday the news out of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center gave every Black and Gold bleeding Steelers fan something to smile about.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so:

Ryan Shazier, Ben Roethlisberger, Shazier Roethlisberger UPMC, Ryan Shazier UPMC

Ryan Shazier with Ben Roethlisberger at UPMC. Photo Credit: Ryan Shazier Instragram, via the Tribune Review

The sight of Ryan Shazier standing alongside Ben Roethlisberger is a sight for sore eyes. It was just 61 days ago that we watched Ryan Shazier made a seemingly routine tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals only to roll over pointing at his back.

  • Word was, even a few days afterward that Shazier would walk again.

Yet, the inside linebacker has been in a wheelchair in every image relased since then. Until now. Shazier has some sort of brace on his leg, it looks like he’s holding onto something for balance with his right hand and his wheel chair, which he used to leave the hospital, is visible in the background.

  • But Ryan Shazier is standing on his own and you have to stand before you can walk.

And, the image of Ryan Shazier standing upright offers an important lesson for everyone in Steelers Nation:

Complain about Jesse James touchdown/non-touchdown vs the Patriots. Gripe about the spectacle of the Steelers cutting James Harrison, then watching James Harrison sign with the Patriots and help them get to the Super Bowl. Moan about Le’Veon Bell‘s contract talk and his tardiness. Whine about Pittsburgh’s piss poor performance against the Jaguars. Ridicule Randy Fichtner’s reverses to Antonio Brown in the Pro Bowl….

Steelers fans might think they’ve had to “endure” a lot, they might argue that taking Mike Tomlin to task without insisting that Art Rooney II fire him amounts to hollow criticism, but let’s be honest folks, no one in Steelers Nation has had a tougher stretch in these last 61 days than Ryan Shazier. And its not even close.

  • Ryan Shazier standing next to Ben Roethlisberger signals he’s turned an important corner in his recovery.

Perhaps it should also signal to both the franchise and fan base that its time to put a disappointing end to the 2017 season in the past and firmly focus on 2018.

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Why Todd Haley Had to Go from a Non-Haley Hater

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Today Mike Tomlin and his staff will direct the AFC’s Pro Bowl squad and, for the first time since 2012, someone other than Todd Haley will serve as offensive coordinator.

  • For many if not most of Steeler Nation this moment couldn’t come soon enough.

This site’s readers know that Steel Curtain Rising isn’t a Haley Haters Haven and, moreover, has often defended the Steelers now former offensive coordinator, and this article neither offers retractions nor mea culpas.

But this is also one non-Haley hater who thinks that the Steelers braintrust were right to “go in another direction.” Let’s look at why.

Ben Roethlisberger, Todd Haley, Mike Tomlin

Ben Roethlisberger confers with Mike Tomlin & Todd Haley. Photo Credit: Jamie Sabau, Getty Images, via SI.com

Why Stick Up for a Shmuck Like Todd Haley in the First Place?

By all accounts, Todd Haley is abrasive. His flair ups with stars like Kurt Warner are on record. Some sort of off the field distraction seems to follow Haley wherever he goes. The pelvis fracturing incident over the holidays was the latest of many.

  • So why stick up for a guy who brings it on himself?

Because the title “offensive coordinator” is one of the most difficult in the NFL. Arguably, it’s harder to coach defense, but casual fans have a lot more transparency into offensive coaching.

  • Therefore, everyone thinks they can do better than their team’s offensive coordinator.

While this isn’t new, social media combined with advent of Madden and fantasy football allows every fan to become a Twitter offensive coordinator. So at some level, this site’s sympathy for Todd Haley has been rooted in the understanding that offensive coordinator have it tough, and that all but a sliver of fans who think they could do better, can’t.

  • Which isn’t to say that fan criticism of offensive coordinators is always wrong.

Take the dark days of Ray Sherman and ’98 Steelers. On third and long, in a corner of Baltimore’s legendary Purple Goose Saloon, we’d cry “Weak side pitch to Fred McAfee!” And sure enough, Kordell Stewart would lean left, flip the ball to McAfee who’d get clobbered just shy of the first down.

  • If a few 20 something Iron City swigging Steelers Nation expats in Maryland knew what Ray Sherman was going to call, then the opposing team did too.

Joe Walton’s reign as Steelers offensive coordinator was worse. Despite having Merrill Hoge, Tim Worley, Barry Foster and Louis Lipps at his disposal, Walton built finesse offense around his tight ends (OK, he did have Eric Green.)

  • This finesse offense so enraged Joe Greene that he publicly complained about the impact of Walton’s system on the team’s identity.

Did Todd Haley’s deficiencies ever sink to such lows? No, they did not.

What Haley Did Right — Keeping Roethlisberger Upright

During Bruce Arians’ final 3 seasons as Steelers offensive coordinator, defenders sacked Ben Roethlisberger 122 times, a period which includes his 2010 four game suspension.

  • For comparison’s sake, Ben Roethlisberger been sacked 58 timess in the last three seasons.

Certainly, poor offensive lines offensive lines played their role. (Although if Steel City Insider’s  Jim Wexell is right, Arians opposed beefing up the line.) But Ben Roethlisberger’s penchant for holding on to the ball too long was a bigger factor, and Arians refused to do anything about it.

  • Todd Haley’s first task was to deploy a system that let Ben be Ben without getting himself killed.

On this count, numbers don’t lie:

Ben Roethlisberger, Ben Roethlisberger passing stats, Ben Roethlisberger passing stats by offensive coordinator, Todd Haley, Bruce Arians, Ken Whisenhunt

Ben Roethlisberger’s passing stats, by coordinator

Interestingly enough, these stats they’re almost identical to the numbers run in the spring of 2016, so the trend has confirmed itself. Granted, having blue chip skill players like Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, supported by the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Martavis Bryant has helped.

But, like him or not, Ben Roethlisberger has played his best football under Todd Haley, and he’s taken a lot less punishment in the process.

It Comes Down to Roethlisberger and Results

So Todd Haley wasn’t the disaster at offensive coordinator that many fans portray him as. Nonetheless, there are 2 reasons that explain why the Steelers rightly let him go.

  • First, football is a results driven business.

Gene Collier of the Post-Gazette is largely right when he argues that good play calls are calls that work, bad play calls are ones that don’t. Imagine if David DeCastro had delivered a devastating block that sprung Le’Veon Bell loose on a 50 yard romp on the infamous 4th and 1 pitch, would you have complained about the call?

  • The 2 calls 4th down calls the ended as Ben Roethlisberger touchdown passes were far risker than the pitch, yet no one, save for El Dr. de Acero Gustavo Vallegos, complained about them.

Scoring 42 points in a playoff game is nice, but they weren’t what the Steelers needed. Pittsburgh needed to answer the Jaguar’s opening touchdown with a long drive of their own, instead of a 3 and out. Ditto the series following the blocked punt.

  • If EVER there was a situation where a big special teams play should have fueled a turn around, it was this series.
  • Instead, the Steelers suffered another 3 and out.
Ben Roethlisberger, Todd Haley

Haley & Roethlisberger rarely saw eye to eye. Photo Credit: Karl Walter, Getty Images via BTSC

Take note, one series involved the dreaded empty sets, the other attempted pure smash mouth football. Neither worked. Nor were these isolated incidents. Haley was brilliant at times as Steelers offensive coordinator. Yet at other times, it was almost impossible to escape the feeling that Haley was mailing it in – the 2014 loss to Tampa Bay is a good example.

  • The second reason revolves around Ben Roethlisberger himself.

The Roethlisberger-Haley relationship has been dissected since the day Haley arrived. And while both men have tried to keep everything private, stories of tension between the two never stopped.

For as well as Ben Roethlisberger played under Todd Haley, the two appeared to struggle to stay on the same page. And player and coaches staying on the same page is often what distinguishes success from failure in fire-drill type situations like the end of the Patriots game.

Finally there’s the issue keeping Ben happy. Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported that at least someone on the South Side feels that friction between Roethlisberger and Haley drove Ben to muse about retirement last year. That was then, this is now.

Steelers fans might want to accept it, but the Steelers Super Bowl window might already be shut thanks to Ryan Shazier’s injury. A Le’Veon Bell free agent departure would  tip the scales. Time will tell.

But had Ben Roethlisberger opted to start his “Life’s Work” after the Jacksonville loss, he would have slammed the Steelers Super Bowl window shut in a single swoop. And if sending Todd Haley packing for Cleveland was necessary to keep Ben Roethlisberger playing, then the move was a non-brainer.

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Steelers Fans Have a Right to Be Angry about the Loss to the Jaguars

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Last spring and summer were pretty annoying for me, a huge Steelers fan.

Why? Because I spent the majority of my time arguing with fellow fans about how unsatisfying the end of the 2016 season was, after Pittsburgh got trounced by the Patriots, 36-17, in the AFC Championship Game.

  • For my money, the 2016 campaign was the finishing touches of a masterful rebuild that begin in 2012, only included two playoff-less years and didn’t contain one single losing season.

As a matter of fact, I am of the opinion–perhaps naively–that had quarterback Ben Roethlisberger not suffered a torn meniscus right before the regular season match-up against New England, and had star defensive end Cam Heyward not suffered a season ending torn pectoral muscle against the Cowboys in November, Pittsburgh would have finished with a much better record than 11-5 and, at the very least, reached the Super Bowl.

Yannick Ngakoue, Ben Roethlisberger, Ngakoue Roethlisberger sack, Steelers vs Jaguars, Steelers Jaguars Playoffs

Yannick Ngakoue sacks Ben Roethlisberger. Photo Credit: Steelers.com, Karl Roser

OK, so the Steelers didn’t make it to the Super Bowl last year, but, since returning to the postseason in 2014, their playoff trajectory had seen them lose in the wild-card round (2014), the divisional round (2015) and the AFC title game round (2016).

  • Given how superbly talented the 2017 Steelers seemed to be, it only seemed like the next logical step was the Super Bowl.
  • But not before having that AFC title rematch with those nasty Patriots.

And, as far as the rest of the country was concerned, the two AFC powerhouses appeared on a postseason collision course from the very moment the 2017 season kicked off on September 7.

Both teams did their parts, with matching 13-3 regular season records; when the postseason began, the Patriots had the top seed, and Pittsburgh had the second seed.

As you know, unfortunately, the Steelers won’t be joining New England this Sunday in the AFC title game at Gillette Stadium, not after getting their doors mostly blown off in the divisional round by an upstart Jaguars team.

In-fact, in their 45-42 victory that really wasn’t as close as the score appeared, the Jaguars did to the Steelers exactly what they did to them in Week 5, when they came into Heinz Field and had their way in a 30-9, 5 Roethlisberger interception beatdown.

Of course, not even the professional bettors, who quickly installed Pittsburgh as a 7.5 point home favorite, thought the Jaguars would be able to do what they did the first time, which was come up with key takeaways and run the ball at will.

But after coming up with five interceptions–including two that were returned for scores–and rushing for over 200 yards in the regular season contest, Jacksonville forced two turnovers on Sunday–one leading directly to a touchdown, and the other one setting up a touchdown–and pounded the ball for 164 yards.

In-fact, rookie running back Leonard Fournette eclipsed the 100-yard mark a second straight time against Pittsburgh this season, and scored three times, giving him a total of five touchdowns in two games at Heinz Field.

I’m not the first one to say it, but it needs to be repeated:

  • The Steelers knew exactly what the Jaguars were going to do, and they let them do it anyway.

Yes, you have to give Jacksonville credit, but that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to be angry at the Steelers.

After anticipating a re-match with your biggest foe–the proverbial monkey that’s been sitting on your back since January of 2002, when it walked out of Heinz Field with the first of three AFC titles at your expense–you couldn’t even make it back to the party to see if, just once, you had it in you to shake that thing off.

So, yes, I’m still a little miffed about how the Pittsburgh Steelers 2017 season ended, and I don’t blame you if you’re feeling the same way.

 

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