Perspective Of An Average Steelers Fan: Pittsburgh Flies High Into The Bye

The Pittsburgh Steelers should win this game. The New York Giants are reeling from injuries along their offensive line and defense. The Steelers have won 21 straight Monday Night Football home games. They lost their last game at home on a Monday night to the Giants back in 1991. Pittsburgh is favored by nearly a touchdown. Yet, the nagging fear of the Giants upsetting Pittsburgh tugs at the soul of fans.

The young offensive line will be tested by the Giants, who lead the NFL in quarterback sacks. Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence will line try to get through Ryan McCollum or rookie Mason McCormick. Their edge rushers will seek to exploit Broderick Jones at right tackle.  But if Russell Wilson remains upright, he may burn the Giants secondary, which is missing some key players. Can Najee Harris gain 100 yards rushing for the third time in a row?

Pittsburgh’s defense must bottle up quarterback Daniel Jones, who can run. The New York offensive line has some players who are hurt. Time for T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith to meet at the quarterback for some sacks. The added pressure may give the Steelers’ secondary an opportunity to snag a pass or two.

I’m flying to Los Angeles on Monday. But I’ll land in time to find a Steelers bar to watch the game.

Offense Opens Up

From my perspective, Russell Wilson opens up the offense. Yes, the Steelers settled for three straight field goals, but the opening drive was almost flawless. George Pickens caught a touchdown pass, but it was negated by Broderick Jones grabbing a facemask. Had he grabbed the defender almost anywhere else, I doubt an official throws a flag. A second touchdown was negated when Pickens’ left foot failed to touch the ground after he made a great catch. The defender knocked him backward and the foot just didn’t come down in the end zone.

Najee Harris ran savagely. He may not be a breakaway runner, but I’ll settle for 10- and 20-yard chunk runs.

Defense When it Counts

The defense gave up a lot of rushing yards. The team must resolve this before facing Baltimore in a few weeks. But when it counted, the defense made huge plays. After Russell Wilson coughed up a fumble. T.J. Watt got the ball right back with a strip-sack and fumble recovery.

At times, I did not understand the Steelers defensive strategy. On a third-and-16 play, Jones had the time to connect with a receiver who didn’t have a Steeler defender within five yards for a first down. Then unheralded Tyrone Tracy Jr. runs for a 45-yard touchdown against what is supposed to be a shutdown defense.

But toward the end of game, Beanie Bishop Jr. ended the Giants’ hopes with a victory-clinching interception.

Special Teams

Special teams are an underappreciated facet of the game where one big play can shift momentum or even decide the game winner. The new kickoff rules should test the special team coordinator’s ability to adapt to the changes.

Here is an overview of the special teams play during the game:

KICKOFFS

Danny Smith gambled a bit with Chris Boswell placing the first two kickoffs in front of the goal line. One only reached the 10-yard line. Ihmir  Smith-Marsette returned both. Reaching the 30 and then the 34-yard line on his first two returns. Boswell then began kicking into the end zone for touchbacks. After the Steelers went ahead 23-9, Smith-Marsette returned a kickoff from two yards deep in the end zone. He raced 47 yards before Jonathan Ward brought him down at the Giant’s 45-yard line. That led to the Giants’ fourth-quarter touchdown.

New York played it safe, and Greg Joseph placed all six kickoffs deep in the end zone for touchbacks.  This time caution prevailed over risk taking as the Giants got an average start at their 36-yard line on their three returns.

THE STATS

Advantage Giants.

PUNTING

Corliss Waitman punted three times. Two were relatively short punts, but the coverage team forced the Giants to fair catch both inside the 20. The last one was caught at the 7-yard line in the fourth quarter. Smith-Marsette returned a 55-yard punt, but James Pierre brought him down after gaining just two yards.

Matt Haack punted four times. Calvin Austin III signaled for a fair catch at the 18 on the first. He tried returning the second one, but the Giants tackled him for no gain at the 16-yard line. But after Haack uncorked a 54-yard punt, Austin demonstrated his speed with a 73-yard touchdown return. That broke the string of field goals and gave the Steelers a 16-9 lead.

THE STATS

Advantage Steelers.

FIELD GOALS AND EXTRA POINTS

Chris Boswell kicked four field goals and two extra points. He remains tied for the lead in the NFL with 23 field goals. Boswell needs only one extra point to tie Roy Gerela for third place in franchise history.

Greg Joseph also kicked four field goals. But after scoring a touchdown to cut the Steelers lead to 23-15, Brian Daboll opted to attempt a two-point conversion. Daniel Jones swung a pass wide, but Alex Highsmith eluded a wall of blockers to break up the attempt.

THE STATS

Advantage Steelers

The Banter Bar

I flew to Los Angeles for work on Monday. We landed about two hours before kickoff. By the time I reached my hotel just 90 minutes remained. Luckily, a Steelers bar was located just 15 minutes away in Culver City. I arrived at the Banter Bar with 20 minutes to spare.

Mariam was the hostess, and her fandom stems from being a cousin of Dewayne Washington, a defensive back for the Black and Gold from 1998-2003. There was a great collection of Steelers fans. And even though I was meeting these folks for the first time, they made me feel right at home. Of course, the World Series was going on, and L.A. is a baseball town. So, half the monitors covered the Dodgers and the other half the Steelers game. The bar erupted into constant cheers as either the Dodgers or the Steelers produced big plays. It was a raucous display of excitement that included some fretful moments when the Giants kept hanging around. But Beanie Bishop Jr.’s interception got the whole place rolling.

The Banter Bar has been a Steelers hangout for a few decades. If you ever find yourself in L.A. on a Steelers gameday, check it out. Many thanks to all for their hospitality.

YOUR HOT TAKES DURING THE GAME

Thank you, Ross McCorkle, for keeping us up to date on the game’s Live Update and Discussion Threads. Steelers Depot respondents contributed 1,060 first-half comments. Respondents added 1,256 second-half comments. Here are the top three comments from each half. I don’t know the algorithm used by Disqus but here is how they stacked it up:

The top first-half comments lamented what could have been and what would be:

1. First, Greg Payne urged Broderick Jones to forget the penalty that prevented the perfect drive: “Okay – Bro Jo – leave it behind and go do your job. Dang, that was so close to being a perfect opening drive.”
2. Then Nelsonator762 was frustrated by two negated touchdowns but outlined the key to success: “People, I know we should really be up 14-0, but the way we are running the ball is awesome and if they keep it up the defense needs to get just a few stops for us to win”
3. And finally, Chad Sanborn identified an issue that started to be addressed: “Washington is a big man that is sorely underused.” Will Mount Washington see increased targets after the bye week?

The top second-half comments captured the ups and downs of a game:

1. CoachCot expressed the frustration of many Steelers fans with the defense: “That is beyond frustrating. Chance to put the game away and you get really soft on 3rd and 16 and then pay for it later. Unreal.”
2. On the previous drive, CoachCot admired Van Jefferson’s catch: “Good snag. This drive needs to end with a TD. Really put the pressure on NYG to abandon the run. Let TJ and Alex pin their ears back.” Russell Wilson connected with Austin for the touchdown to cap this drive.
3. The Chin was disappointed with a particular lineman: “Broderick Jones is as bad as I hoped he wasn’t.”

We easily met the 1,000-comment standard in both halves. Hope you all enjoy.

CONCLUSION

Pittsburgh took care of business Monday night. It is 6-2 going into the bye week. Several players, like Zach Frazier and Nick Herbig, are due back. Cam Sutton’s suspension will soon be over. The Steelers will need all the help they can get with the brutal second half of their schedule coming up.

But I am encouraged by the untapped potential of this team. Let’s tap it!

Your Song Selection

I always like to include a bit of music. I got into town about two hours before kickoff. Took a moment to see which way the wind blows. I was all alone. But I found a place. It wasn’t in a Hollywood bungalow, but a Culver City Banter Bar. There were Black and Gold fans with their mojo rising. Here we go. Here is L.A. Woman performed by The Doors.