Steelers Fall To .500, Hill Gets Steeper In Standings
Sep 28, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson (83) catches a five yard game winning touchdown pass with seven seconds left against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Bucaneers won 27-24. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered what could be considered one of their toughest losses at Heinz Field outside of the playoffs on Sunday afternoon. An entirely undisciplined squad (but don’t blame Tomlin, right?) racked up over 100 yards in penalties, numerous of which were 15 yard’ers. The offense and Todd Haley’s poor play calling in the 4th quarter could not even get a first down to lock the game up. The defense became more porous in the secondary than an open drain. And, that’s pretty much where this game ended – down the drain. If the Steelers aren’t careful, their season will quickly been down one as well.
The Steelers fell to 2-2 with the loss. There were no divisional games played in the AFC North this week, and so they don’t lose any ground in that respect. But, this loss is a painful one. This is what could be considered the “softer” part of the Steelers schedule. With games against Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, and Browns, the team should have come out 3-0 in that three week span and sitting at 5-1 before facing the surging Texans and a electric Colts team led by a red hot Andrew Luck. At worst the team could have been 5-3 by midseason. The hill just got a little steeper, and after this Sunday’s performance and result – NO team and NO week is safe.
The Ravens and a very angry Steve Smith, Sr. put on a clinic against a reeling Panthers squad. Smith scored 2 TD’s against his former team and was a man possessed the entire game. That win put the Ravens up to 3-1. The Bengals and Brown both had bye weeks this week. Hopefully the early bye’s will work to the Steelers advantage as the season wears on. Typically, teams with early bye weeks have a harder time finishing strong due to injuries and a week off that is a long ways back in the rear view mirror.
There’s no use in looking too far down the road with this team. Until the discipline issues are addressed – sounds like from Mike Tomlin they won’t really – this team will be an up and down roller coaster. Who knows what team will show up each week. Here’s the expanded standings for Week 4.
[table id=17 /]