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Steelers-Rams: Instant Reaction

By Josh Fitzer

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The Steelers went into St. Louis with plenty to be excited about. They had an impressive win against the 49ers last week, Antonio Brown keeps breaking records, and they get Le’Veon Bell back. They were also going against a quickly emerging Rams defense.

1st Quarter:

We got to see the Steelers offense early with Bell back in the fold. There was plenty of #26 involved right out of the gate. On 3rd and 5, Bell caught a short pass and took it 20 yards. Ben got a hot hand early, but the offense stalled on their first drive and settled for 3.

The first quarter ended with Antonio Brown being his normal self. He finished the 1st quarter with 71 receiving yards.

2nd Quarter:

The Steelers offense picked up where they left off. They started going no-huddle a few plays into their second possession. They capped off that drive with a 1 yard TD run by Bell.

As we expected, the offense attempted a two-point conversion, but Ben Roethlisberger’s pass to DarriusHeyward-Bey was incomplete.

The defense was starting to miss tackles. It felt like the Rams were going to score on their second possession, but the defense held and forced a Rams punt.

The third possession for the Steelers offense was one that we’d like to forget about. Beachum got caught for illegal use of hands. Bell rushed up the middle for one yard. Ben threw a pick to Jenkins on a pass intended for Wheaton. 

3rd Quarter:

The Steelers defense got a sack a few plays into the Rams opening second half drive. Arthur Moats got nice penetration and took down Foles.

With 5:35 left in the 3rd quarter, Ben was sacked by safety Mark Barron. Barron hit Big Ben low and Ben’s knees bent in a way they shouldn’t bend. He was carried off the field and immediately carted to the locker room. Here a few tweets as his injury happened:

We have yet to hear what the official injury will be, but I imagine Ben missing quite a bit of time if not the rest of the season. Michael Vick came in for relief of Ben and hit Bell for a 20 yard gain on their second possession.

4th Quarter: Vick coughed up the ball after being sacked by DE Robert Quinn, but the Steelers recovered. Vick was sacked again by Alec Ogletree on the following play. The Rams added a field goal to cut the score to 9-6. On their next drive, the Vick led offense continued to stall.

The Rams got the ball back with 3:02 left in the game. SS Will Allen picked off Foles and ran it back 20 yards. Scobee would add to the Steelers lead with a 41 yard field goal. Just when it looked like the Rams would go down the field and win this game, a pass intended for WR Kenny Britt was ruled incomplete upon further review.

This sealed the game for the Steelers and they walked out of St. Louis with the win and a 2-1 record.

Big Ben’s injury:  When I heard about Ben going down my heart sank. They were so many hopes for the offense this season and it seems that all of it has gone out the window. I try to be optimistic when things like this happen, so that’s what I’ll continue to do.

A word to Steeler Nation, let’s take our collective hands away from the panic button. This season isn’t over yet, so let’s stop acting like the sky is falling. Obviously Ben’s injury is a HUGE blow not only to the offense but also to the entire organization.

Ben’s influence and leadership is all over the Steelers franchise, but acting like the season is already over isn’t helping anything. We are Steeler Nation. So lets wave our Terrible Towels, put on our favorite jersey and cheer our guts out for this Steelers team, our Steelers team.

Here we go, Steelers! Here we go!

Next: Steelers vs. Rams: Big Ben out with injury

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