Steelers MMQB: NFL Week 3 Wrap Up
By Kim Myers
Speaking of a serious lack of a running game the Steelers pulled off a last minute win in Indy thanks to a solid 2-minute drill by Roethlisberger and Mewelde Moore. Shaun Suisham’s 38 yarder with 4 seconds left gave the Steelers the win and a much needed 2-1 record going into Week 4. The Steelers had 3 turnovers in the first half with 2 sack/fumbles by Roethlisberger thanks to an offensive line that could not contain Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis to save their friggin lives. I’m not sure what was more painful to watch; Jonathan Scott getting owned on every play or Rashard Mendenhall’s non-stop dancing and stutter steps. The running game was bascially non-existent Sunday night, save for a 15 yard run by Mendy in the beginning of the 2nd half and a few key plays by Moore in the last few minutes. If Mendy had run the ball the whole game like Moore did in the last drive, this is a completely different game.
A bright shinning light for the Steelers was the play of both Troy Polamalu and James Harrison who combined to force a sack/fumble on Curtis Painter that Polamalu ran back for a g0-ahead TD. Polamalu was all over the field Sunday night and was inches away from swating the ball out of the hand-off between Painter and Adai on a play that tied the game for the Colts. The Colts ran the ball a lot better than I wanted them to, but the defense definitely should have shut up a lot of the “they’re too old” critics with this performance.
The big downside is the offensive line. With the injuries to Jonathan Scott, Doug Legursky, and Marcus Gilbert (who returned to the game in the 4th quarter) the Steelers were using all their TE’s for the line for the final drive. The protection on Ben was not consistent, I give a lot of credit to Freeney and Mathis but the pressure on him plus the stuffing of the running game was a big issue and lead to this game being a lot closer than it should have been. Any 300+ over 6 foot guys in the Western Pennsylvania area should report to the Steelers training facilities and give it a shot. I absolutely love the plays like the 81 yard touchdown from Ben to Wallace in the beginning of the game but the running game needs to at the very least exist for the Steelers to jump out ahead of teams and maintain the lead. For that to happen, the offensive line needs to be more solid and held together with more than a few tight ends and some athletic tape. The Texans are waiting, and with the shoot-out they just had with the Saints, its going to be another tough task for the Steelers defense. Bring it on Week 4!
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