Week 3: Patriots 23, Steelers 20 (2-1) (2-0) (0-0)
Whew!
What a nailbiter! We were away for the weekend and watched it after we got back, finishing up around 11:00pm. I wasn’t even close to tired until after midnight after all that adrenaline.
To answer one pending question, yes, they certainly still have heart. But how much longer can heart make up for injuries? Harrison is gone for the season and probably his career. Light is gone for at least six weeks. Rumors are that Faulk (how did he get hurt on that catch, anyways?) will be out for 4-6 weeks. Gay is considered likely to be out for a couple more weeks. Same for Poole. It’s just crazy.
And yet they pulled it out this week. I was encouraged by how they came down the field on the opening drive and was encouraged by the way Dillon banged it in. And then they give it all back in one play. I still think Samuel would have saved the TD if Wilson hadn’t Tebucky’d him off the play. That’s the sort of thing I’m even more worried about with Harrison gone. Then I thought it was all over when Light was carted off and Brady was immediately sacked twice with two rookies on his left. Amazingly, the combination of the rooks settling down and Cowher being too stubborn to do anything as logical as making in-game adjustments fended off the pass rush. Though the running game never really got going, the Pats were moving the ball well (outgained Pittsburgh roughly 450 to 270). But the red zone turnovers. Arrrrgh! Faulk’s fumlbeitis returned, costing us at least 3 and giving Pittsburgh 3. And Brady having bad luck when a pass rusher stuck his arm out at just the right angle to turn a throw from the Pit 8 into an easy pop fly. But Seymour and the DL crew were able to turn it up and crush the Steeler offense. They shut down the running game and held Big Ben to under 50% completion rate while sacking him 4 times. They could have sacked him something like 8 or 10 times if they didn’t miss the tackles. Finally, they were able to pull ahead, ultimately by 7. Time to relax? Nooooo, thanks to the (not so) special teams, allowing close to a 50 yd kickoff return after the Pats went up by 7. Forced to be aggressive against the battered secondary, Pittsburgh was able to move the ball before being forced to 4th-and-11. And then…ARGH. Former Steeler (and maligned by Steelers fans) Chad Scott got baited into a long pass interference penalty setting up an easy TD off play-action. Tied. Amazingly, the special teams provided a boost, with rookie Hobbs returning the kickoff 34 yards to the Pats’ 38. Brady calmly went to work and the rest was history. Speaking of Brady, he was 12-12 for 168yd in the 4th quarter.
I’m feeling a bit better about Dillon. It was pretty clear most of his inability to run was due to the OL’s inability to block (which still isn’t good, mind you). He also seemed to be moving faster and harder. Both his TDs were nice power displays.