Second Half
Wow. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Steelers put the hurt on someone quite like this. The Steelers played so well on both sides that the entire second half was garbage time. Here’s a list of (mostly) things that went right and led to that final score.
- The Steelers got the ball to start the second half and quickly faced a 3rd and 5 in their own territory. Roethlisberger handled it like the veteran he is, finding Ryan Switzer for the easy first down. Conner broke free for 14 across midfield soon after, quickly showing there was no halftime rust to shake off.
- Vance McDonald remains a tank. He can catch too, making a nice fingertip grab in the end zone to extend the rout to 38-14.
- Bud Dupree made an appearance, sacking Newton with about 7 to go in the third.
- Roethlisberger ran for 17 yards, crossing into the red zone on third down and Carolina’s Eric Reid took a late hit penalty and ejection on the tackle. Jesse James caught a touchdown pass shortly thereafter. 45-14, Steelers.
- At the point where this demolition turned into a farce, the Panthers lost the ensuing kickoff after Roosevelt Nix pried the ball loose and Anthony Chickillo pounced on it at Carolina’s 9. The first play on the drive brought a merciful end to the third quarter. Jalyn Samuels dove into the end zone on the first play of the fourth.
- The less than good: James Conner went into concussion protocol, and the Steelers committed their first penalty of the night, a defensive pass interference call which brought the ball to the 1. Who but McCaffrey capitalized on the flag with a rushing touchdown.
It’s a shame the next game is 10 days from now against Jacksonville, because this would be a great start to a traditional Monday-Sunday week where the team buzzsaws through practice a week and brings this momentum to the Jaguars. Still, I’ll take this utterly dominant performance (five sacks!) on a Thursday night.=