Pittsburgh Steelers Lose to Minnesota Vikings 34-27, Recap
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
I figured that the Steelers would come out flat in today’s game versus the Vikings, and they did nothing to prove me wrong.
Minnesota’s offense showed up to play “football” this afternoon Pittsburgh’s defense showed up to play “grabass,” and that is exactly what Pittsburgh’s defenders did when they tried to tackle opposing players this afternoon.
Pittsburgh’s defensive players missed exorbitant amounts of tackles and took poor angles on Minnesota’s two long touchdowns in the first half, and their mistakes really set the tone for the rest of the game. Greg Jennings’ catch and run of 70 yards illustrated how pathetic Pittsburgh’s defensive backs were, while Peterson’s jaunt of 60 yards made Lawrence Timmons, LaMarr Woodley, Ike Taylor, and Ryan Clark look like the fools they are. Clark of course took a horrible angle on the play, and that is just customary at this point.
Down 20-10 at halftime, the Steelers’ offense pulled within 20-17 after Le’Veon Bell scored his second rushing touchdown. The rookie rushed for 57 yards and looks talented enough to earn a bulk of the carries during the rest of the 2013 regular season. Sadly, the defense leaked like a sieve, did not force turnovers, could not stop the run, and did not put adequate pressure on Matt Cassel.
Minnesota scored two touchdowns (another Jennings catch and another Peterson run) in the span of two minutes after Bell cut the lead to three, and Pittsburgh was left playing catch-up the rest of the way. Overall, the Steelers’ defense allowed 140 yards on the ground to Peterson and another 248 to Cassel (16/25 on the day) through the air.
To his credit, Ben Roethlisberger almost brought his team back from the abyss, and did so with one of the most make-shift and pathetic offensive lines in professional football in front of him. Harassed all afternoon long, Roethlisberger was sacked inside Minnesota’s 10 yard-line with less than 20 seconds to go after he helped to close the game to within 34-27.
Final Thoughts
This game disgusted me on so many levels. From Mike Adams’ pathetic play on the blind-side, to the lack of defense put on display Pittsburgh’s supposedly vaunted unit, to the totals of zero turnovers and one sack, to the fact that Ben Roethlisberger ran for his life almost every time he dropped back to pass, the fact that he was careless with the football, etc..
Like it or not, this team deserves to be 0-4. I hope some drastic changes are made during the upcoming bye week. Otherwise, the Steelers will be finishing this season with at least 12 losses.
Stats & Info. Provided By: ESPN.com, Steelers.com and Pro Football Reference
Follow me on Twitter: @DominicDiTolla
Follow & Like “NPC” on Facebook: Nice Pick, Cowher