Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Monday!
The Kickoff
The Pittsburgh Steelers rested yesterday and in the process saw very little change in the AFC North. Baltimore won handily over Denver while Cincinnati did the same against Las Vegas. The Cleveland Browns, fresh off of beating the Ravens, came back to Earth losing to the Chargers. After nine weeks, the division looks like this.
Pittsburgh 6-2
Baltimore 6-3
Cincinnati 4-5
Cleveland 2-7
The Steelers of course will play these three teams twice each over the next nine weeks. Sprinkled in are trips to Washington (7-2) and Philly (6-2) along with the Christmas Day game at home versus the Chiefs who are 7-0 going into tonight. The good news is that the AFC East and AFC South are brutal. The AFC West – whom the Steelers are 3-0 against – is slightly more competitive but… Those wins over the Chargers and Broncos are huge when it comes to tie-breakers. What it all means is this. The Steelers really can’t afford to do worse than 4-5 as finishing 10-7 should get them into the playoffs.
Trade Deadline
Oddly enough, the NFL trade deadline is at 4pmET on Election Day. Make all the jokes you’d like, and there are plenty… I keep coming back to one simple thing as far as Omar Khan and the Steelers. Even if they add another wide receiver, how much of a difference will it really make? Unless they swing some kind of blockbuster none of us see coming I just don’t see an Adam Thielen or Darius Slayton making that big of a splash.
Officiating…
I watched a good deal of the Buffalo and Detroit games yesterday. In the Bills’ game, a player led with his helmet in breaking up a pass down the sideline and was flagged 15 yards for targeting. In the Detroit game, a very similar play occurred and the defensive back was flagged properly for leading with his helmet. In this case however, “New York” contacted the head official and told him the player was to be ejected so he was. Apparently the difference was that in the case of the Lions’ player “New York” felt he had ample time to correct his angle and take his head out of the play. This seems very subjective to me and is another sign of why fans think the league is orchestrating outcomes of games.
Random Reads
I don’t know who the young man is who made the inappropriate comment to now retired NFL center Jason Kelce this past weekend at State College but I hope his parents have seen it. Then again, maybe they condone and that’s why he said what he did. People have zero respect for others these days… I don’t find Washington unbeatable – no one in this league is – but the Giants didn’t have a single passing yard in the first half and still lost by just five… I’m looking forward to the injury report this week. Hoping very much that Zach Frazier and Nick Herbig are back in action… CFB thought for you. The difference between Michigan and programs like Ohio State, Georgia and Bama is that even after championship seasons, they re-load. Michigan didn’t do anything close to that. Not getting a capable QB through the portal was a huge error. Kind of like not finding a WR after you trade one.
Visit our online store at DC4Lcustomtees.com! Brand new Chris Boswell gear today!
Hot Reads is presented by Frank Walker Law.
