If you didn’t watch the game and read my first half recap post, you probably would think, ‘Man I missed a killing today.’ Well you would be wrong. In what started off as a dominant performance from the offense and defense this afternoon, evolved (or should I say devolved) into a nail biting carpet pacing affair.
From the Jags opening drive, the Steelers shut down and shutout the Jags for almost two full quarters. The Steelers D held the Jags offense to under 100 total yards in the first two quarters. In fact the scales were tipped heavily in the Steelers’ favor by a difference of 124-32 yards in just the first quarter. As you can see from the first quarter difference, the Steelers offense was having another strong half like they had against the Titans. The Steelers orchestrated some great drives – none better than the six minute drive that saw Ben going 5/5 for 50 yards and Mendenhall going 6 carries for 26 yards and the diving touchdown. With a 17-3 lead at halftime, the Steelers looked like the team we all knew existed in them. Could it be that this ship has finally been righted? Don’t start thinking about Pittsburgh West just yet.
The Steelers got the ball to start the half, but instead of pouring it on, the offense quickly sputtered out. The ground game slowed and Big Ben began having accuracy issues – especially on throws down the field to a wide open Wallace, Sanders and Brown. And those missed opportunities allowed the Jags to stick around leading to 10 unanswered points and pose a threat late in the game. As the game wore on and the Steelers continued to punt the ball, my nerves were getting wracked up. A few key penalties against the Steelers kept the Jags alive, and they scored a TD late in the 3rd. If I had carpet in my living room, I would have worn a path in front of the tv as I paced back and forth. Memories of 2010 and 2009 started to rush through my head – when the Steelers struggled to hold a 4th quarter lead. Luckily the Steelers D had a few good stops left in them and held the Jags to only three more points and a failed last ditch drive.
There were numerous good things that happened in this game that certainly need nods:
– Mendenhall runs for over 100 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry
– Wallace and Big Ben connected again for a touchdown over 40 yards
– Brett Keisel and LaMarr Woodley both had two sacks – all four at key points in a Jags drive
– Farrior came alive and practically owned an entire defensive series late in the game
– Even though the offensive line gave up three sacks, they gave Ben fairly good pocket protection most of the game
– Ward caught three passes for 47 yards to move past Michael Irvin and into 19th place on the yards receiving list
Now for the bad:
– Another lineman goes down – Doug Legursky left with a dislocated toe
– After gaining a massive amount of yards in the first half (300), the offense only gained 70 in the second half
– After going 11/15 in the first half, Big Ben finished the game 1/8 and missed a bunch of open guys
– Ike Taylor allowed a touchdown and almost let another one happen if Gabbert had been more accurate with his throw
– Troy Polamalu suffered from a mild concussion on a great blitz and tackle to stop a drive in the 4th quarter
So, a bunch of good and a bunch of not so good. I’m happy for the win – every one will be huge until the Steelers face off against the Ravens again. But, the lack of a strong finish does not boost confidence at all for me (nor many fans I would suspect). I was really hoping for back to back strong performances before the team headed off to Pittsburgh West. The Cardinals have had their troubles trying to adjust to the addition of Kolb, but they can be dangerous offensively with Larry Fitzgerald on the field. The focus this week certainly needs to be why the hell the offense just completely sputtered out. To Arian’s credit, the Steelers did not go into a complete shell to just run out the clock – they just failed to execute for the most part.
Keep it here this week, as NPC breaks down parts of this game as well as looking ahead to next Sunday against the Cards.
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