The journey toward Super Bowl LII ended far too prematurely for the Pittsburgh Steelers, sending them into offseason mode before we were ready for it. But we are in it now, and are ready to move on, through the Combine, through free agency, through the draft, into OTAs, and beyond.
We have asked and answered a lot of questions over the years and will continue to do so, and at the moment, there seem to be a ton of questions that need answering. A surprise early exit in the postseason will do that to you though, especially when it happens in the way it did.
You can rest assured that we have the questions, and we will be monitoring developments all throughout the offseason process, all the way down to Latrobe. Pending free agents, possible veteran roster cuts, contract extensions, pre-draft visits, pro days, all of it will have its place when the time arises.
Question: What did you think of last night’s game?
Well, one thing is for sure, defense certainly doesn’t guarantee you win championships anymore. If you are a fan of defensive football, then you might well be justified in thinking last night’s game was awful. There wasn’t a whole lot of defense to speak of for either the New England Patriots or the Philadelphia Eagles. Through the first 50 minutes of the game, there were over 50 points scored, with no sacks, and the only turnover was an interception that came from the receiver batting the ball wildly on a deep pass.
The two teams combined for the most yardage in not just Super Bowl history, but NFL history, with the way that both offenses almost effortlessly moved the ball down the field, the entire game almost absent of all punters.
Tom Brady broke his own NFL record for the most passing yards through in a Super Bowl game and set a Super Bowl record as the only one to have a 500-yard passing game. Rob Gronkowski dominated in the second half when the Patriots actually started to give him the football with quality targets.
There was, at least, some excitement by the end of the game. It still ended up as the second-highest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history the 74 points just one behind the 1994 Super Bowl when the 49ers defeated the Chargers 49-26.
I’m sure Steelers fans feel much better about this game given the way that it ended—that is, with a Patriots loss, and Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl record preserved—than they otherwise would have, but defensively, it was still an ugly game. There was about one defensive play made in the whole game, albeit a big one, a strip sack in scoring position.
Pittsburgh has had two contenders for their throne, the 49ers in 2012 and the Patriots this past season, which is now officially over. Neither of them could win number six on their first opportunity, and so, for at least one more season, Pittsburgh remains peerless in that regard.
