Good Victory Monday to you Steelers’ Fans.
Well…. The Pittsburgh Steelers still have a goose egg in the loss column but yesterday sure was ugly. The Steelers came from ten down to beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-19 and move to 8-0 on the season. As I do each Monday, I give you my thoughts on the ‘good and bad’ from the game so let’s go.
The Good
-This team was listless. It had no energy, no focus, no anything! But it still found a way to win and that continues to be all that matters in the NFL.
-What can you say about Ben Roethlisberger? He missed some throws yesterday and he had plenty of balls dropped too but what a warrior. He gets his left knee folded in half, goes four for four including a touchdown and then hobbles into the locker room. It didn’t look good but he returned and with him so too did the Steelers’ chances.
-Cam Heyward is the hero we don’t deserve but damn do we need him.
-Stephon Tuitt may be headed for a Pro Bowl. He’s been THAT good.
-Congrats to Chris Boswell who set a franchise record for the longest field goal in team history at 59 yards. This came after Cam Heyward was flagged for a false start making the kick five yards longer.
Congrats to rookie Alex Highsmith for getting his first career sack. Hope that’s the first of many!
-Two straight weeks now that Minkah Fitzpatrick has saved the day on the final play of the game. Again, obtaining him continues to be a huge move.
Tweet of the Day… But wait, I thought Pro Football Focus said Big Ben was holding the Steelers back?
That was @_BigBen7's 34th 4th Quarter Comeback breaking a tie with Dan Marino for 5th on the all-time list and tying Johnny Unitas for 4th on the list.
That was also Ben's 45th Game- Winning Drive. He is 5th all-time and just 2 behind Brady and Marino.
— The Steelers n'at (@thesteelersnat) November 9, 2020
The Bad
-Special Teams Coach Danny Smith might have had his worst day as a coach. You know it’s bad when the head coach doesn’t trust your unit enough to kick a short field goal to extend the lead to eight. He had no answer for Tyrone Crawford jumping over his linemen. His punt team was embarrassed as was his kickoff team too.
-Awful performance by the offensive line in the run game. Dallas entered with the worst run defense in the league and yet, Pittsburgh could not run the ball for its’ life. 46 yards on 18 carries is beyond brutal.
-The short yardage offense is brutal. From personnel usage and play-calling to just getting a damn yard. It needs a lot of work.
-Chase Claypool has to catch the ball better. Too many drops yesterday.
-This defense misses Tyson Alualu but it also misses Mike Hilton. Cam Sutton has been adequate but he’s just not the same in support of the run defense. The defense surrendered 144 yards. Not. Good.
-The last two weeks have proven, beyond a doubt, that Randy Fichtner is a place holder as offensive coordinator. In Baltimore and in Dallas, when things were turned over to Ben Roethlisberger the offense got better. Also, if Fichtner is scripting plays to open the game he needs to get rid of that idea. It doesn’t work and it makes him look worse when those established calls are made.
-T.J. Watt was credited with one tackle and a half sack yesterday but I’ll be honest. He didn’t impact the game the way we normally expect him to and this was against a very beat up Dallas offensive line. Bud Dupree didn’t fair much better with just one tackle and one QB hit.
Coming Up…
The Steelers return home after three straight road games (Thanks Titans!) to play division foe Cincinnati. I do not expect this to be easy. While Joe Burrow has been under pressure since taking his first snap, the Bengals can run the ball and that doesn’t bode well for us as we currently exist. Burrow has built good relationships with Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins too.
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Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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