Sunday, November 15, 2009

Taking the Super Bowl XL Route: Steelers Lose

Remember that feeling when you bring a new puppy home and it pees all over your shit? You're still kinda happy, but kinda pissed at it at the same time.

That's pretty much how Steelers fans feel after this game. We're 2 games out of the division race, got swept by the Bungles for the first time since 1998, had one of the worst offensive displays in Steelers history, and after all that, we still control our own destiny to make the playoffs as a wild card.

For now, we'll call it "Taking the Super Bowl XL Route."

As you know, we're not about to go throw ourselves off the West End Bridge just because the Bungles came in here and beat us.

We're still okay. Obviously, we're not in an ideal position, but the other teams in the conference aren't exactly the models of perfection either. Rather than dwell on this game and lick our wounds, here's what the playoff picture looks like:
  • The Jets lost to the Jaguars today, dropping them to 4-5 and improving the Jags to 5-4.
  • Houston had a bye and is also 5-4.
  • Baltimore will beat Cleveland tomorrow night to move to 5-4.
  • Denver continues on their '08 Redskins-like path by self-destructing after losing to the Steelers on Monday night. Denver and San Diego are now tied atop the West with 6-3 records. Since the Steelers beat both of them head-to-head, we'll have the tiebreaker advantage on them come playoff time.
See? Things aren't so bad. We're sitting at 6-3. Really, you can't say enough about the job the defense did, even without Troy in there. Ryan Clark dropped a bit interception. The Steelers are 0-3 in games where the Defense doesn't create a turnover. However, Cincy wasn't very effective throwing the ball. They were able to run the ball moderately well, and didn't abandon it like the Steelers did.

Over the last two possessions, the Steelers threw 7 passes and had only 1 completion for 7 yards. Ben took 2 shots down the field that were essentially wasted plays. To be honest, this is the worst our offense has looked since the Baltimore game in Cowher's last year.

Ben had 40 pass attempts today and only 175 yards. He also got sacked 4 times. Probably the worst game of his career since the Monday night game in Jacksonville when we lost 9-0. Really, this game was just full of disgustingness.

You could probably have had a more enjoyable time watching your dog take a dump than watching our offense today.

That's just how it goes. Now we have two road games that are must-wins. At least the first is against Kansas City. We have to win in Baltimore on Sunday night. That's all there is to it. Every game from here on out is a must-win.

Just remember, from here on out, it's the "Super Bowl XL Route."

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