Steelers 27, Cardinals 23

The greatest Super Bowl ever!!!!

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! I am still trying to fully comprehend what I just saw! The Steelers and Cardinals played the greatest Super Bowl of them all. It was a wild back-and-forth affair that came down to a last-second touchdown. At the end of all of it, the Pittsburgh Steelers miraculously emerged with their record SIXTH Super Bowl title!!

Never before has a Super Bowl seen so many wild momentum shifts. The Steelers offense came out on fire. Ben Roethlisberger wanted to redeem his poor performance in the previous Super Bowl, and he did just that on the opening two drives. On the first drive, he took the Steelers on a 9 play, 71 yard drive. He found Hines Ward on a 38 yard pass, which was encouraging given Ward's health status. Ben then appeared to cap the drive with a TD run, but the play was challenged. It was deja' vu from his touchdown run in Super Bowl XL, but this time it was overturned. It looked like the right call too, although it could also have been argued that it was inconclusive. So Mike Tomlin decided not to gamble with 4th and goal from the one inch line and sent Jeff Reed out to kick the chip shot field goal. That was a tough call, but Tomlin knows better than anyone how hard 4th and 1 has been this season, so it was probably smart to take the points there.

On the Steelers second drive, Ben continued to light up the Arizona defense. The big play was a 3rd and 10 from the Cardinals 44 yard line. Ben made one of those amazing escape plays and somehow found Heath Miller for the first down. Later in the drive, Gary Russell etched his name in the Super Bowl history book by pounding in a short touchdown run. The Steelers were up 10-0 and had kept the powerful Zona offense off the field for almost the entire first quarter, while the Cardinals defense seemed to have no answer for Ben and company. But the momentum was about to shift big time.

The Arizona offense can only be held in check for so long. Kurt Warner showed what a gifted QB he is by leading his team on a 9 play, 83 yard drive. He also showed that Ben is not the only one capable of making a brilliant play. Down near the goal line, Warner tripped over his center and stumbled backwards, but still somehow heaved a PERFECT pass to TE Ben Patrick in the endzone. Patrick was blanketed by Larry Foote and Warner threw off his back foot, but the pass was so accurate that Foote never had a chance.

Later in the second quarter, Ben tried to fire a pass over the middle but it was batted at the line. The ball popped up into the air and Karlos Dansby had an easy interception. A few plays later, the Cardinals had 1st and goal and the Steelers one yard line. There were only 18 seconds left before halftime, so the best the Steelers were hoping for was to hold them to a game-tying field goal. That's when one of the most improbable plays in Steelers history happened. Warner tried to force a pass to Anquan Boldin in the endzone, but James Harrison stepped in and picked it off. Then Harrison started running. Then he dodged some guys. And kept running. Meanwhile the clock had run out, but no one had tackled Harrison. Larry Fitzgerald finally caught him, but it was too late. Harrison somersaulted into the endzone! It was the longest play in Super Bowl history - a 100 yard interception return. Harrison was the NFL's best defensive player all year, and tonight he made the biggest defensive play of the year. Rather than being tied or trailing by four, the Steelers went into the locker room up 17-7. It was an amazing, unreal play, but shockingly, it was nothing compared to what was to come.

Steelers 23, Ravens 14

Back to the Super Bowl!

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going back to the Super Bowl for the 7th time!! And they got there by beating their most hated rival in the AFC Championship Game! What a tremendous night for the city and its beloved football team.

In the first half, it seemed that Pittsburgh would run away with this game. On the first drive, Ben hit Hines with a big 45 yard pass which set up a field goal. The Steelers then picked off Joe Flacco and appeared to have a first and goal at the one yard line when Ben hit Santonio Holmes with a long pass over the middle. But the refs inexplicably reversed the call even though Holmes clearly had possession of the football. So that drive also eneded in a field goal. But Holmes got his revenge early in the second quarter. Ben made a great play to scramble around. He then found Holmes behind the defense, and Santonio made an electrifying 65 yard dash across the field and into the endzone. It was one of the best plays of the season. Holmes has really found his niche in this year's playoffs. With a 13-0 lead and the defense making big plays (like stopping Baltimore on a 4th and 1 after FWP had fumbled), it looked to be Pittsburgh's night. And then everything started falling apart.

First, Hines Ward left the game with an injury, and apparently took the team's competence with him. The Steelers blew a myriad of opportunities in the second quarter. FWP dropped what would have been a wide open TD pass. Chris Kemoeatu took a stupid personal foul penalty which pinned the Steelers deep in their own territory, and then the Steelers allowed a 45 yard return on the ensuing punt (it wouldn't be a Heinz Field playoff game without a long kick return by the opposing team). A ticky-tack pass interference call on Bryant McFadden got the Ravens to the goal line, and Willis McGahee punched it in from there to make it 13-7. The Steelers still had more chances before halftime. Ben lofted a 50 yard bomb to a WIDE OPEN Limas Sweed, and the rookie dropped it. It was literally the easiest catch in NFL history and Sweed blew it. To make matters worse, he pulled the "I'm hurt and that's why I dropped it" routine, costing the Steelers a critical timeout. Thanks to that play and sloppy clock management, the Steelers ran out of time in the first half with the ball in easy FG range! All of a sudden, it was NOT Pittsburgh's night.

The life was sucked out of the crowd when the second half began. The early excitement turned into total nervousness, as everyone could feel the roof starting to cave in on the 2008 season. Even a clearly desperate attempt to play Renegade failed to get the momentum back for Pittsburgh. It reminded me so much of Super Bowl XL after Ben threw the interception to Kelly Herndon. It was a demoralizing feeling of "we should be up by three scores, but instead we are clinging for dear life", and those scenarios usually do not end well for the good guys. The Steelers couldn't generate much on offense in the 3rd quarter, but they did put together one decent drive that gave Jeff Reed a chance to attempt another long FG, and that time he drilled a 46 yarder. Reed's clutch performance in this game needs to be recognized. Just like in the 2005 AFC Championship Game, he calmly nailed long field goals that were vital at the times they were attempted. In this game, Reed was good from 34, 42, and 46 yards in the cold and wind of the stadium that is usually a nightmare for kickers.

Reed's third FG ended up being really big because Baltimore put together their own drive early in the 4th. They ran a nice double reverse play, and Flacco managed to convert after his team was faced with 1st and 20. Ike Taylor then got flagged for interference at the goal line (this one was legit; Taylor was face-guarding all the way), and McGahee again ran it into the endzone. Baltimore had an interesting strategy in this game. They put a lot more on Flacco's shoulders than most people expected them to. The results were mostly not so good. He ended up going 13-30 for the night and seemed to be running around heaving deep balls like he was playing Madden or something. However, he was brilliant on that drive. The Ravens were down by 2 points, and the Steelers offense responded with run/run/penalty/sack. Baltimore would be getting the ball back with plenty of time on the clock and needing only a field goal to win the game.

This was the moment of truth for the 2008 Steelers defense. They had been so good all year. The stats and #1 rankings were great, but REAL legends are made in moments like this. With the crowd going nuts again and a second playing of Renegade blaring, the defense took the field and prepared to carve their own piece of Steelers history. Flacco converted one first down, but this defense never panics. They sacked him two plays later, setting up 3rd and 13 from the Baltimore 29 yard line, and setting up a moment that will be remembered by The Nation for years to come. Flacco dropped back and fired one to the near side of the field. Troy Polamalu jumped in front of the pass and picked it off. He then took off and raced 40 yard for the touchdown!!!!! It was absolutely surreal. I have been going to Steelers games for 22 seasons, and I'm not sure I ever experienced a moment quite like that. It was joy, relief, and bursting pride in our amazing defense all at the same time. People were jumping on each other and hugging each other and screaming at the top of their lungs. We all knew what had just happened - the Steelers were going to the Super Bowl yet again.

Steelers 35, Chargers 24

The lone survivor

This was arguably the wildest weekend in the history of the NFL playoffs. By kickoff of the Pittsburgh-San Diego game at 4:45 on Sunday afternoon, three of the top four seeds had been upset at their home field. The Steelers were seemingly up against fate, but they determined not to let home-field advantage take advantage of them. They dominated the red hot, flavor-of-the-month Chargers. In doing so, they advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the fourth time this decade.

One of the patterns this weekend for the teams who were upset at home was that they looked rusty with the two weeks off. The Steelers also looked that way on the game's opening drive. Philip Rivers marched the Chargers right down the field and hit WR Vincent Jackson on a long 41-yard touchdown. This year's Steelers defense has prided themselves on not giving up long plays, so that was a stunner. But after that play, the defense went back into shutdown mode. The only other points for San Diego in the next two quarters would come on a long 2nd quarter field goal, and that only after the Steelers gave the Chargers good field position by failing on a gutsy fake punt. Meanwhile, the special teams tied the game for the Steelers. After being the worst return team in football this year, Santonio Holmes took a punt and dashed 67 yards for a touchdown! I can't remember the last time we returned a punt for a score, much less doing so in the post-season. What a great time for Holmes - who was drafted partially because of his return skills - to break one.

While the defense and special teams played well, the real story of this game was the Steelers offense. After the Chargers took a 10-7 lead late in the 2nd quarter, Ben Roethlisberger went to the no-huddle and brilliantly took the team 66 yards in just 76 seconds. The drive featured some big passes to Hines Ward (who always comes up big in the no-huddle drives) and was capped by a short TD run by FWP.

The Steelers took a 14-10 lead into the second half, and then broke the game WIDE OPEN with this amazing stat: San Diego had possession of the football for exactly ONE play in the 3rd quarter. That's right - the high-powered offense with the league's highest rated quarterback and the media-dubbed Hall of Fame 5'6" running back spent the entire period on the sidelines. The Steelers got the ball first and went on a 13 play, 77 yard drive that ate up half the quarter and ended with a Heath Miller TD catch. The star on that drive was FWP, who had a huge night. Out of all the good things we saw tonight, FWP running for nearly 150 yards had to be the most encouraging. You MUST be able to run the ball to win in the playoffs, and all of a sudden, the Steelers seem to have a running game again. The timing could not have been better. After the touchdown, the Chargers got a long kick return (resurrecting ghosts of Heinz Field playoff past), but on San Diego's first play from scrimmage, Rivers threw a pass that was tipped in the air and intercepted by Larry Foote. The Steelers soon had to punt, but at least they stopped any threat from the kick return. Better yet, Mitch Berger used his super secret weapon - the punt so bad that it bounces oddly and hits an opposing player in the back. I'm amazed at how many times this has happened or almost happened this season. He just sucks so bad that team don't expect the ball to land 8 yard to the side and 10 yards to the front of where a normal punt would land, and then the ball inevitably hits some poor unsuspecting schlub. That happened again tonight when Beger had a punt that clanked off Eric Weddle's helmet and was recovered by the Steelers. When the 3rd quarter ended, the Steelers had not allowed San Diego to even take the field.

On the first play of the 4th quarter, the Steelers had 4th and goal from the 1 yard line. It's been their WORST scenario all season and it has failed time and time again. So what happened tonight, in a game where everything was going right? It failed again. Carey Davis got stuffed on a run. Nonetheless, the Steelers weren't phased. LaMarr Woodley sacked Rivers, the Steelers got the ball back, the Chargers inexplicably felt the need to interfere with Nate Washington, and Pittsburgh scored another touchdown. Regarding the 4th and 1, we have to give credit to Tomlin for making bold calls in this game. The fake punt and the 4th down may have failed, but he cannot be criticized for holding back with the season on the line as Bill Cowher often was in similar situations. Also, after San Diego scored a 4th quarter touchdown to make it an 11-point game (still too close for comfort), Tomlin chose to be aggresive rather than trying to run the clock. That bold move was successful. Ben and FWP drove the offense again and scored a game-icing touchdown. The game was all but over and the Steelers were moving on.

I never thought the offense, which was the lowest ranked of any team coming into the divisional playoff round, would put up 35 points. That was more than the three other home teams scored this weekend combined! That was truly a great performance. If they can keep playing at this level, the sky is the limit. So the Steelers will host yet another AFC Championship Game at home. The opponent will be none other than their biggest rivals - the Baltimore Ravens. My head is exploding at even thinking about that matchup, so I'll save the preview on that one for later this week. The Steelers are one step away from another Super Bowl!! I think that is enough excitement to deal with for one day! Here are the numbers:

• FWP: 27 rushes, 146 yards, 2 TD's
• Ben Roethlisberger: 17-26, 181 yards, 1 TD
• Steelers: advance to 14th conference title game (tied with Dallas for most ever)

Elsewhere in the AFC Playoffs: Baltimore beat Tennessee, Arizona beat Carolina, Philadelphia beat the New York Giants

Final 2008 AFC North Division Standings

Steelers 31, Browns 0

Another humiliating loss for Cleveland

The 2008 season has to go down as one of the most disappointing years ever for the Cleveland Browns, and today it officially ended with an embarassing shutout in Pittsburgh. It's their 11th straight loss in this rivalry and most likely the end of the road for the Romeo Crennel Era.

The Steelers had nothing to play for and rested some of their injured players like James Harrison and Ryan Clark. The starters did play for longer than expected however, and that is sure to be controversial because of what happened right before halftime. Ben Roethlisberger was hit by Willie McGinest and D'Qwell Jackson, and he did not get up. In fact, he laid on the field for about 15 minutes and had to be carted off on a stretcher. Preliminary indications are that it is a concussion, and that he will probably be ok by the time the Steelers play their first playoff game in two weeks. Still, many fans will question why Mike Tomlin still had Ben in the game at that point. Frankly, these meaningless games are no-win situations for head coaches. If they play their starters and suffer a catastrophic injury, then they are vilified for ruining the season over a meaningless game. If they sit everyone and the team gets upset in the playoffs, then they are criticized for taking too much time off and causing rustiness. Personally, I did not have an issue with him playing the starters that long, especially on offense. That unit has been so poor lately that they needed the work, and they made the best of it.

FWP had his best game in ages. He racked up 116 yards and outran the Cleveland defense for a 34-yard touchdown dash. Byron Leftwich played well in relief of Ben and had a TD run himself. As usual, the defense stole the show. They pitched their first shutout of the season by completely shutting down the hapless Cleveland offense. The only player who seemed to care at all was The Drug Dealer, who almost had a 100-yard day (and went over 1,000 for the season), but QB Bruce Gradkowski could do nothing. Tyrone Carter picked him off twice, including one for a touchdown. The Browns broke a 34-year old NFL record by going scoreless on offense for 24 consecutive quarters (and counting) and were also shutout in back to back games for the first time in franchise history. Time for some serious soul searching in Cleveland.

So the Steelers ended the season at 12-4, not too shabby for having the HSEP (Hardest Schedule Ever Played). The defense will go down as one of the best statistical defenses ever, finishing the season #1 in overall defense, #1 against the pass, #2 against the rush, and #1 in points allowed. Hines Ward finishes the season with over 1,000 yards receiving. The Steelers complete their first sweep of the AFC North since 2002. All in all, it was a heck of a season. But as always, the stats and record don't mean much unless you deliver in the post-season. So let's all take the next week to reflect back on how great of a regular season it was and how we are so fortunate to be fans of a team who has consistently given us so many great moments (more on that tomorrow on this site), and then we can gear up for the divisional playoffs. I personally cannot wait! Here are the numbers:

• FWP: 23 rushes, 116 yards, 1 TD
• Tyrone Carter: 2 INT, 1 TD

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Baltimore beat Jacksonville and will go to the playoffs as a very dangerous wild card, Cincinnati beat Kansas City

Steelers 14, Titans 31

Let's do this again in January

The Titans are a really good football team. They deserve the #1 seed and the fact that they won this game without their best defensive player is very impressive. That being said, the Steelers looked totally uninspired in this game on both sides of the ball, and I think I speak for the rest of The Nation when I say root for a January rematch, because I think it would be a great game for the NFL.

In the first half of this game, Tennessee made the big plays while Pittsburgh blew opportunities. The first big play of the game came on a 3rd and goal for the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger tried to run for it and take on LB David Thornton. He lost the battle. Thornton popped Ben and knocked the ball loose, and the Steelers left the field with zero points. The Titans defense caused Ben to fumble a second time, and this time it led to a TD. Kerry Collins (Penn State sucks) had a free play after Andre Frazier jumped offsides, and like the smart veteran that he is, he went for broke and found Justin Gage for a 34 yard touchdown. Down 10-0, the Steelers offense woke up. They put together a gritty 80 yard drive that was capped with a beautiful diving TD catch by Santonio Holmes from 31 yard out. Despite the fumbles and other missed opportunities - like Jeff Reed missing a 33 yard FG right before halftime - the Steelers were only down 10-7 at halftime. It was familiar territory as the Steelers have been tied or trailing at halftime in their past four games. The Steelers offense was also in full "we want this one" mode. There were a lot of plays where guys shook tackles or gutted out tough extra yards.

In the 3rd quarter, the Steelers went to a no-huddle offense, and it worked well yet again. Ben found Hines on back-to-back 21 yard pass plays, the second going for 6 points and the lead. Tennessee answered on the next drive. They made a great, gutsy call on 4th and inches, faking a run up the middle and instead pitching the ball back to RB Chris Johnson, who broke free for a 21 yard TD run. Johnson high-stepped it into the endzone and nearly had the ball knocked away by Troy Polamalu. I'm sure Jeff Fisher had a few words for his talented, but very young and inexperienced rookie running back after that one! Nonetheless, the Titans had the lead again, and the Steelers started making more mistakes. Ben threw a bad interception, and after it looked like the defense had held the Titans to a FG attempt, the Steelers got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct before the kick. We never got a good explanation for that one because the ref's microphone didn't work, but regardless, it turned what should have been a 20-14 Tennessee lead into a 24-14 lead because they converted the mistake for a TD. The rest of the game saw the offense continue to stall and fumble and throw a last-second pic-six, while the defense just looked eager to go home.

For the first time all season, an offense went over 300 yards against the Steelers defense. I am really glad it happened like this, because it will sting and this defense will no doubt want a chance to rectify that in a playoff game. The whole team in general looked like crap in the second half, and this is a second half team. I do need to give more credit to the Titans however. Jeff Fisher always manages to get his guys up for games against the Steelers. They executed so well on offense and, unlike the Steelers, they didn't turn the ball over at all. Their defense meanwhile capitalized on mistakes and racked up 5 sacks without Albert Haynesworth. They are the team to beat in the AFC right now, and I think that is fine (as I said in the preview this week, Pittsburgh may be better off as the #2 seed anyway). The Steelers would love another chance to prove themselves against this team - especially after several Tennessee players arrogantly stomped Terrible Towels in the final moments of the game - and I hope we get just that in the AFC title game next month. Here are the numbers:

• James Harrison: 1 sack; set team record with 16 sacks for the season
• Hines Ward: 7 rec, 109 yards, 1 TD

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Baltimore beat Dallas, Cincinnati shut out Cleveland

Steelers 13, Ravens 9

More last second magic!

The 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers have found the following formula for success: the defense holds opponents in check and makes big plays as the offense struggles for most of the game, but then in the final minute, the offense snaps out of their funk and wins the game. That has been the path to victory in five different games this season. It brought them victory #11 today, and more importantly, it gave the Steelers the 2008 AFC North division title and a playoff bye week to go with it.

This game went EXACTLY like everyone thought it would. It was a typical Pittsburgh-Baltimore war of attrition with both defenses trying to one-up each other and both offenses doing their best to make small gains where they could while trying not to screw up too badly. There were several key moments in this tight affair:

• Jim Leonhard returned a punt 46 yards to set up Baltimore's first field goal. Amazingly, Mitch Berger made one of the best plays of the game by making a touchdown-saving tackle to stop Leonhard from going the distance.



• The Steelers put together a nice 14-play, clock-eating drive in the 2nd quarter, but they were held to just three points.



• Joe Flacco and the Baltimore offense immediately responded with a 15-play drive, and it ended with the same result. Despite having 1st down at the Steelers 11 yard line, the defense made an important stand to hold it to a 6-3 lead at halftime.



• In the 3rd quarter, Santonio Holmes coughed up the ball inside the Steelers 20 yard line, which could have been lights out for the Steelers at that point. Again, the defense stood tall and Matt Stover kicked his third FG to make it 9-3 Ravens.



• Holmes fumbled the ball AGAIN, this time on a punt return, but the Steelers got a lucky bounce and Keyaron Fox (who is turning into a special teams stud) returned the ball all the way to the Baltimore 33 yard line. It was just the sort of break the Steelers needed, but on 3rd and 1, the Steelers called a rollout where Ben (I think) tried to stupidly lob a pass to Heath Miller that was picked off by the Ravens, so it was all for not.



• Hines Ward caught some big passes on an early 4th quarter drive that got the Steelers all the way down to the Baltimore 12 yard line. Once again, the Ravens defense showed why they are so good, and the Steelers had to settle for their second field goal to cut it to 9-6.



• The Ravens had a chance to ice the game - or at least go up by more than 3 points - as they drove inside the Steelers 30 yard line in the final 4 minutes of regulation. However, Lawrence Timmons made a huge play to sack Flacco and force a punt.

So the Steelers got the ball at their own 8 yard line, down by 3 with only 3:36 left in the game - time for one last shot. It had been a brutal game of punch / counterpunch by both defenses, and now it was up to the Baltimore defense to make one last stand for their team. It was also up to Ben Roethlisberger to once again redeem his offense and save the day like he has done so many times this season.

Ben hit Ward and Nate Washington with a few passes to get the ball to midfield, then he found Washington again on a 24-yard pass, and Ward again to get the Steelers set up with 1st and goal at the 4 yard line with just over a minute left! This is the exact spot where teams need to take the millions of dollars they invest in coaching and hire someone whose SOLE purpose it is to manage the clock. The Steelers were going to have three plays from the 4 yard line to try to win the game. The clock was now NOT a factor, and if anything, they wanted to let it tick down as much as possible to not allow the Ravens much time to do anything. So what did the Steelers do on 1st down? They freaking spiked the ball!! Unreal! They completely wasted a down, plus they basically said to Baltimore, "Here, you now have more time for after we score, and you didn't even have to burn a timeout to do it." I understand that coaches are busy with play-calling and stuff, but to miss something like this is utterly ridiculous. Mike Tomlin has never been a great clock manager, and in his defense, there are many NFL head coaches who the same can be said of. But someone needed to tell them to run a play there. On 2nd down, Ben threw a quick dart that - depending on your point of view - was either dropped or too high for Matt Spaeth.

So now the Steelers had one last chance on 3rd down. It was either going to be a potential game-winning touchdown, a game-clinching turnover for the Baltimore defense, or an incompletion to send the Steelers and Ravens to overtime for the second time this season. Ben rolled out and couldn't find anyone, so immediately it looked like we were headed for OT. But he kept his feet moving in the pocket and eventually found Santonio "Goat to Hero" Holmes in the endzone for the.... touchdown??? Well, that's not what they said at first. Holmes caught the ball facing away from the endzone. He had his feet down in the endzone but the ball appeared to be right on top of the goal line. It was REALLY close - much like Ben's TD run in the Super Bowl a few years ago - and calls that are really close tend to favor the call on the field, which was that he was down at the one inch line. As the refs reviewed the play, millions of Steelers fans nervously debated whether or not the Steelers should go for the win on 4th and inches if the play were to be reversed. It was a moot point. The NFL rule book states the "a player with the ball in his possession scores a touchdown when the ball is on, above or over the goal line." They determined that Holmes caught the pass right above that white line and had full possession so therefore it was a touchdown!! The game was officially over when the defense fended off a last-second attack from Flacco, and the Steelers had their first win in Baltimore since 2002.

Steelers 20, Cowboys 13

Unbelievable!!!!!

WOW! I cannot believe we won this game!! This was simply one of the most aamzing, dramatic comebacks in recent Steelers history, not just because of the circumstances (two touchdowns in 24 seconds in the final two minutes!), but also because of the context of the game. The Steelers are now 10-3 with a win over the Cowboys, and they did it in thrilling fashion.

The first half was all Steelers. The defense showed why they are the best in football. They picked off Tony Romo twice and recovered two fumbles. They limited Terrell Owens to zero catches. Ike Taylor shadowed Owens and intercepted the only pass Romo dared to throw his way. The Steelers created four turnovers, and what did they have to show for it? Three points! That was it. They only scored three measly points. The offense just couldn't do anything with the opportunities, fumbling twice and not converting on 3rd down. The Dallas defense was also up to the task. When the Cowboys got a field goal right before halftime, it tied the score and rendered all of the turnovers meaningless.

In the 3rd quarter, the Dallas offense finally broke thru. Romo made a great play, scrambling to buy time before hitting T.O. in the back of the endzone for the game's first touchdown. But the real hero for Dallas was RB Tashard Choice, who was making his first career start in place of injured Marion Barber. Choice racked up 88 rushing yards and 78 receiving yards. Thanks to Choice, the Cowboys kicked a field goal to give them a two-score lead, which seemed insurmountable given the way the Steelers offense was playing. Things appeared to be over for good when the Steelers got stuffed on 4th and goal from the 1 yard line YET AGAIN!! The Steelers simply have NO answer for 4th and 1 this season. They tried Gary Russel on this play and he lost 2 yards. It just seemed like another case of blowing opportunities.

The defense wasn't ready to give up though. They forced a punt which Santonio Holmes returned all the way to the Dallas 25 yard line. Holmes played a great game all around, and that may have been the best return of the season. However, the offense once again could not convert, and all they got was another field goal. So it was up to the defense again, and a Travis Kirschke sack enabled another big stop. The offense got the ball back down 13-6 with 5:10 left in the football game. The best thing about Ben Roethlisberger is that no matter how crappy of a game he or the offense has played, if you just give him a chance in the final minutes, he is capable of coming from behind for the win. He has done it so many times already this season - against Baltimore, Jacksonville, San Diego - and now he would do it again against Dallas. Ben hit Big Play Nate Washington three times on the drive for gains of 14, 21, and 16 yards. On the 3rd play, Nate appeared to badly hurt his knee when Ken Hamlin (who you may remember as the whiney little idiot from Super Bowl XL) tackled him by the leg, but instead, Nate bounced back up with force. The other big play on the drive was a 4th and 1 that the Steelers actually CONVERTED for once! (on a Ben sneak up the middle). Heath Miller caught a 6 yard TD pass to tie the game with just 2 minutes left in regulation.

The game now rested on the defense. Some Steelers fans have argued that this 2008 defense is historically good, and this was their time to prove it. The table was set perfectly - late-season cold-weather game against a hated rival from the past with the fans going ballistic and Renegade blaring from the Heinz Field speakers. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Romo threw over the middle and the pass was intercepted by Deshea Townsend, who returned it 26 yards for the GO-AHEAD TOUCHDOWN!!!!! Townsend has been playing for the Steelers for the past 11 seasons, and that may have been the single biggest play of his career! It was simply unbelievable!! All Dallas needed was a field goal. They expected the defense to play prevent, but the defense instead pressed. Romo got pressure on the play from the front seven, and it created confusion. TE Jason Witten apparently ran the wrong pass route, and Townsend had clear sailing to the endzone. The Cowboys still had once more chance, but at that point, the defense had broken their spirit. They went four and out to end the game, giving the Steelers an incredible win.

Steelers 33, Patriots 10

Stretch run off to a great start

If the Steelers are going to make any kind of noise during the final phase of the 2008 NFL season, they will need the defense to keep making plays and the ground game to pick up steam. In other words, they will need a big helping of what they got today. The Steelers went into Foxboro and totally decimated the defending AFC champions in a game that made a big statement about where the Steelers are at this juncture of the season.

The first half was close and somewhat sloppy on both sides. There were dropped passes by both teams, and New England's sole touchdown came when an interception by former Steeler Mike Vrable gave the Patriots the ball deep in Pittsburgh territory. Despite the pic, Ben Roethlisberger continues to pull out of his mini mid-season slump. He led the Steelers on a 63 yard TD drive in the 2nd quarter and capped it with a nice 19-yard endzone pass to Santonio Holmes which tied the game at 10. The Steelers caught a HUGE break at the end of the first half too. Old man Kevin Faulk, who looked like freaking Marshall Faulk in his prime today, helped New England quickly drive deep into Steelers territory, but Randy Moss dropped a touchdown in the endzone and Stephen Gostkowski missed a chip-shot field goal, so the game remained tied at halftime. That would be as close as New England would get to scoring points for the rest of the game.

The Steelers absolutely dominated the second half. The offense put together a time-consuming 14-play drive that only netted a field goal but kept the New England offense, which had been red hot the past few weeks, off the field. On the ensuing kickoff, Matthew Slater badly bobbled the ball and Keyaron Fox pounced on it for the Steelers. Two plays later, Ben found Hines Ward in the endzone, and just like that, the Steelers were up 10. But the defense was not ready to take their foot off the pedal. On the next TWO New England possessions, James Harrison nailed Matt Cassel and forced him to fumble the ball away BOTH times!! If the folks who vote for NFL Defensive Player of the Year were watching that performance, it may have just clinched the award for Harrison. The guy is an absolute beast. He wasted Matt Light like he was tearing thru tackling dummies. After a couple of Jeff Reed FG's, the defense STILL wasn't thru with Cassel. They picked him off twice - the first by Troy Polamalu, who now LEADS THE LEAGUE with 6 interceptions, and the second was by Lawrence Timmons, who raced 89 yards before being pulled down at the one yard line! What a performance by the NFL's best defense. There was concern that they would fade like they did at the end of last season, but if today was any indication, that's simply not going to happen. They caused five turnovers and held Cassel - who came into the game with a streak of consecutive 400-yard games - to just 169 yards thru the air. The Steelers scored 30 unanswered points, the most given up by New England since opening day 2003. The running game also got going for the first time in forever, with FWP and Mewelde Moore combining for 154 yards on the ground. Best of all, they stuck it to that piece of garbage Belichick.

The Steelers will not have a ton of time to celebrate. The next three games are against three of the better teams in the league, including what will likely be a showdown for the division in Baltimore in two weeks. That being said, this was a huge win. With the Jets going down this afternoon, the Steelers are the only 9-win team in the conference other than Tennessee. They control their own destiny, and if they can keep playing the way they did today, the sky is the limit. Here are the numbers:

• James Harrison: 9 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
• FWP: 16 rushes, 87 yards

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Baltimore beat Cincinnati, Cleveland lost to Indianapolis

Steelers 27, Bengals 10

Taking care of business

The Steelers by no means put on any kind of brilliant performance at Heinz Field on Thursday night. In freezing, snowy weather conditions, they simply took care of business and disposed of a team that is obviously not anywhere near their level. In doing so, they improved to 8-3 overall and 4-0 in the division.

The defense let up an early TD drive to Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bengals, who came out looking feisty. But after that, it was all Steelers. The defense only allowed 6 first downs for the rest of the game and slowly drained Cincinnati's will to want to keep playing. It was appropriate that defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau was honored before the game, because his defense is playing at a seriously high level right now and is the main reason why the Steelers are still a contender.

The offense wasn't shabby either. Ben Roethlisberger had another incredibly efficient game. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 243 yards, no interceptions, and no sacks. That was especially impressive given (a) the conditions and (b) the fact that his receivers dropped at least 4 or 5 of those incompletions. Ben led a scoring drive in the first half that was capped with TD pass to Heath Miller, whose return reminded us fans of how vital he is to the offense, especially now that Bruce Arians seems to be focusing more on shorter passes. The Steelers got another TD in the 3rd quarter thanks to Mewelde Moore and Gary Russell, who both did a tremendous job coming in for an ineffective and injured FWP. I have zero confidence that Parker is going to be much of a factor for the rest of this season so it's good to know that we have depth. Jeff Reed also kicked two FG's in the 38-yard range, which were not easy. I got a good chance to witness how crazy the Heinz Field wind can be when it started snowing in the 2nd quarter. The snowflakes came down from the closed end of the stadium like a pack of mosquitoes. I had never seen snow fall like that before, so Reed being able to drill both of those kicks says so much about his dependability.

The only sore spot for Pittsburgh all night was the special teams. Limas Sweed made a bonehead play in the first half when he touched a bouncing punt and allowed the Bengals to pounce on it. But the real goat of the evening was punter Paul Ernster, who averaged a paltry 28.4 yards on five punts and was roundly booed after each one. That may be his last game as a Steeler.

And speaking of last games, this will probably mark Marvin Lewis' last coaching game in this rivalry, and he went out in style. Down by two scores in the 4th quarter and with his offense inside the Steelers 10 yard line, Lewis inexplicably elected to kick a field goal which resulted in.... (wait for it)... the Bengals STILL being down by two scores!! It really inspired his players too. On the ensuing drive, they laid down and let the Steelers march 73 yards (mostly on predictable clock-killing running plays) for a game-icing touchdown. And this was after Chad Ocho Cinco had to be benched for apparently getting into a fight with his coach the previous day. Ladies and gentlemen, the Marvin Lewis Era!

Anyway, enough about the sorry Bungles. The Steelers now have a 10 days to rest up for what promises to be a grueling December stretch run, one that could see them come away with a playoff bye week, a division title, or quite possibly, neither of those in the very competitive AFC. I received emails from several of you this week essentially all saying the same thing - that you are not sure how to feel about this team, and I agree with that sentiment. They are certainly capable of big things, but they have obvious weaknesses too. Regardless, we'll know a lot more by the time the new year hits. Here are the numbers:

• Ben Roethlisberger: 17-30, 243 yards, 1 TD pass, 1 TD rush
• Santonio Holmes: 5 rec, 84 yards

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Baltimore beat Philadelphia, Cleveland lost to Houston

Steelers 11, Chargers 10

Sloppy game saved in final seconds

This game featured a November snow squall, a messy field, and a fair amount of mistakes by both teams. In the end, it was the Steelers who pulled out a last-second victory. It was a much-needed win after losing their previous two home games, and because of Baltimore's loss earlier in the day, the victory put Pittsburgh back in sole possession of first place in the division.

In the first quarter, the Steelers defense gave up their only touchdown of the day on a short run by Ladainian Tomlinson. Overall the defense played well, making big plays and causing several turnovers. They held Philip Rivers to a season-low 159 yards passing and kept Tomlinson under 60 yards, but part of that was the San Diego offense playing flat and not being able to deal with the Northeast weather conditions. The Steelers offense was much more effective but didn't produce any better results. After two miserable turnover-filled performances in a row at home, Ben Roethlisberger played great. He was incredibly efficient, completing 31 of 41 passes and making plays all day. But it was mostly all for not as the offense just wasn't scoring points.

They had several chances in the first half. Jeff Reed missed his first field goal of the season, a 51-yard attempt that had almost no chance (especially at that point in the game when the field was still covered in snow). The other big chance came when the Steelers had 4th and goal from the one-inch line and very stupidly chose the same Mewelde off-tackle play that got stuffed last week at the goal line. That made everyone in the stadium collectively throw up. There needs to be a solution for short yardage. This has been an issue ever since Jerome Bettis retired. The only consolation was that the Chargers were backed up in their own endzone, and James Harrison made them pay with a safety. Reed added a FG before halftime and we had ourselves an exciting 7-5 game that looked more like a Padres-Pirates score than a Chargers-Steelers score.

Pittsburgh opened the 3rd quarter with a 14-play drive that netted another field goal. FWP came back with a big day and the receivers looked good. The main reason that the Steelers couldn't pull away may have been the fact that they had 13 penalties for 115 yards! It was ridiculous. Most of the penalties came on offense too - all kinds of false starts and holding calls. It was absolutely killing them. The defense meanwhile was busy playing "bend but don't break" with San Diego. They had already ended one Chargers drive with a clutch Harrison interception, and Nate Kaeding missed a 3rd quarter field goal attempt in the always-treacherous open end of Heinz Field. But in the 4th quarter, the Chargers drove again and this time Kaeding connected on 22 yarder with only 6:41 left in the game.

Once again, a game rested on the shoulders of our star quarterback. I said in the preview this week that this team now lives and dies with its QB, and although that may be odd for us Steelers fans, it is reality and it is the reason why games like this actually can be won, even after all the penalties and after the other team takes a late lead. Ben drove the Steelers 73 yards in 13 plays. The clutch part of the drive came when a holding call made it 1st and 20, but three short passes later, the Steelers had another first down. The offense drove all the way down to the 4 yard line and they had the luxury of intentionally letting time tick off so that they could attempt a last-second field goal. The situation was perfect: with 21 seconds left, they would run one last play. If it gets stuffed, then they kick what was basically an extra point. If they get into the endzone, even better, and that's exactly what happened. FWP carried the ball across the goal line, but it was nullified by yet ANOTHER penalty!! (a holding call on Sean McHugh). So now Jeff Reed would have to kick a 32 yard field goal into the open end of the field, where his counterpart Kaeding had missed earlier!!! But thank goodness for Reed, who drilled it right down the middle for the win.

It wasn't pretty right down to the very end, but all that matters is that the Steelers won. San Diego's playoff hopes are now in very serious jeopardy. It's hard to believe that team has a 4-6 record, but then again, so would most teams who hire Norv Turner to be their head coach. The Steelers and Chargers got to make history too. It was the first 11-10 final in NFL history. That was kind of cool. No game had ever ended with that score - EVER. Hard to believe, right? Anyway, the Steelers have certainly had their share of difficulties in the past month, but if they can take care of business this Thursday against the Bungles, they will actually be in pretty good shape heading into the stretch run. Here are the numbers:

• Ben Roethlisberger: 31-41, 308 yards
• FWP: 25 rushes, 115 yards
• James Harrison: 1 INT, 1 safety

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Baltimore lost to New York Giants, Cincinnati and Philadelphia tied, Cleveland beat Buffalo on Monday night

Steelers 20, Colts 24

Another sickening home loss

Just when you thought you wouldn't see anything more sickening than the blown 4th quarter lead against one Manning brother at home two weeks ago, the Steelers topped that with an even worse blown 4th quarter lead against the other Manning brother this week. In the process, they fell back to the growing pack of 6-3 AFC teams, including Baltimore, who is now tied for first place with Pittsburgh in the division.

The Steelers opened the game by marching down the field on an impressive TD drive. Ben Roethlisberger, who was questionable all week to even play, was incredibly sharp on the drive. But the Colts came right back with a lucky 65 yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne. Ike Taylor had great coverage on the play and tipped the pass, but he tipped it right into the hands of Wayne! And this actually happened later in the game as well, albeit not for a touchdown. Before you bemoan that stroke of bad luck, keep in mind that the Steelers caught a few breaks from the Colts receivers, who dropped some wide open passes. Anyway, the Steelers again took control, driving for a touchdown and a field goal in the second quarter. The offense was trying to run down the clock and take their 10 point lead into halftime when Ben threw an AWFUL interception deep in his own territory. That led to a Manning TD pass and all of a sudden, the Colts were right back in the game.

After an Adam Vinatieri FG tied things up in the 3rd quarter, the Steelers went on a long 8 minute drive which should have been the big moment that won the game for Pittsburgh. But instead the Colts defense stuffed the Steelers twice at the one yard line (on two running plays to Mewelde Moore which will no doubt be calls that get much scrutiny from the fans this week). Instead of going up by seven, the Steelers were only able to go up by three. The defense was still making plays though, and they gave the offense the ball back with about 5 minutes left and a chance to make a few first downs to try to wrap things up. Just like two weeks ago, disaster struck. Ben threw ANOTHER COSTLY INTERCEPTION deep in his own territory. Manning AGAIN responded with a touchdown, and this time it gave Indy their first lead of the game. The Steelers tried to put together a game-winning drive, but the o-line broke down (surprise) with a holding call and a sack. Eventually the offense ran out of time and had to heave a hail mary that didn't work.

I really want to throw up right now. That is two kick-in-the-gut losses in the past two home games. The Steelers are really sticking it to the fans who sit there for these stupid night games and scream their heads off, only to make some ridiculous mistake to blow it at the end. Ugh... this is NOT the mark of a championship football team. You can't keep losing games like this and expect to get far. We'll see what happens next week when the Steelers face another AFC team who is just as desperate as Indianapolis to claw their way back into the playoff race, but for now, what else can you say other than this REALLY sucks. Here are the numbers:

• Mewelde Moore: 24 rushes, 57 yards, 2 TD
• Hines Ward: 9 rec, 116 yards

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Cleveland lost to Denver, Baltimore beat Houston, Cincinnati has a mercy bye

Steelers 23, Redskins 6

Defense and unsung players lead the way

If you like defense, then you have to be loving these recent Steelers games. And if you don't think depth is important, think again. The Steelers once again got a big contribution from a backup player, and their defense rolled the Washington Redskins for the team's most impressive victory of the season.

The game started off badly for the Steelers. They opened it up with a gutsy surprise onside kick. Unfortunately, it didn't work and Washington got a FG out of it. On their first offensive possession, the Redskins pressured Ben Roethlisberger, resulting in a batted pass interception. That also resulted in a Washington field goal. So the Redskins got 6 points without even having to make a first down! But those points would prove to be all that Washington would muster as the Steelers buckeled down on defense. Pittsburgh got a FG thanks to a long pass interference call, then caught another break when Carlos Rogers dropped what should have been a pic six. The game turned into old-fashioned war. It went three-and-out, punt, three-and-out, punt, and so on. Finally someone made a big play. LB Andre Frazier blocked a Ryan Plackemeier punt deep in Redskins territory, which led to a Ben QB sneak touchdown. After a first half which saw Roethlisberger go 5 for 17 and the offense look anemic, the Steelers held a 10-6 lead thanks to their defense and special teams.

When the second half opened, Ben was out with a shoulder injury. It was only a matter of time before getting beaten up on every other play caught up to him. He was awful in the first half and clearly was not able to go any further. So Byron Leftwich came into the game, and was nothing short of brilliant! He promptly led the Steelers on a long TD drive. The big play was a 50 yard bomb to Jerry Rice -- er, Nate Washington. That was an amazing play because the Redskins were coming full speed at Leftwich and he bravely stood right in the pocket and fired a pretty deep ball to Nate. FWP, who was back tonight and looked fresh, took it into the endzone a few plays later for the score. Later in the half, Leftwich led the Steelers on a 12 play, 77 yard scoring drive. It was capped with a short TD pass to Santonio Holmes on a good read by Leftwich (on a called run where he smartly realized that the corner was giving Holmes way too much space). Give credit to Leftwich. The D.C. native was brimming with confidence tonight, and he gives hope to those of us who realize that Ben isn't going to stay healthy all season. A good backup QB is vital for any team (see 2008 Dallas Cowboys), and the Steelers made a smart move signing him.

Meanwhile, the Steelers defense continued to dominate. They were ALL OVER Jason Campbell, sacking him multiple times. The Redskins put together two decent drives, but both times the defense stopped them from getting any points. The first drive ended with a Deshea Townsend interception, breaking Campbell's perfection streak (he had not thrown a pic since last December). The second drive came down to a 4th and goal at the 1 which the Steelers stuffed (and the Skins were only in that position because of a b.s. roughing the passer call on James Farrior). Campbell, Clinton Portis, and the rest of Jim Zorn's normally impressive offense didn't have a chance.

You have to love the resiliency of this 2008 team. A tough loss last week? Not an issue. Problems beating the NFC East? Not an issue. A tough road environment? A terrible start? No Ben? Not an issue. When players like Frazier and Leftwich can step up to help your team beat the team with one of the best records in football, you have to feel pretty good about things. While the unsung players came through, the real story - as it has been all season - was the defense. They essentially had a shutout tonight as Washington's only points came off of Steelers miscues. The first half of the season saw some tough, physical opponents. The second half may be even tougher with road games at Tennnessee and Baltimore. Not to mention that November and December typically bring more grind-it-out type of games as the weather worsens. If the Steelers defense can keep playing at the same high level, this team will be playing more than one game in January.

One more note: how about the HUGE turnout from the Steelers fans?? ESPN kept commenting all night about how blown away they were by the noise that the Terrible Towel-waving crowd was making. When I was in Cincinnati a few weeks ago, the large Pittsburgh contingent was expected. After all, the Bengals are losers/frauds/criminals, and their fans wanted to give up. But the Redskins actually have a great fan following, and for that stadium to be overrun by Steelers fans the way it was tonight, it just shows that we have the best fans in the world. Here are the numbers:

• Defense: 7 sacks, 2 INT
• Byron Leftwich: 7/10, 129 yards, 1 TD

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Baltimore beat Cleveland; Cincinnati wins! Cincinnati wins!! The Bengals got their first victory of the season by beating Jacksonville

Steelers 14, Giants 21

Good game, bad result

This game certianly lived up to the hype. Two of the best teams in the league slugged it out for 60 minutes, with each defense playing great football. But in the end, the Giants stepped it up and stole the win away. In the process, they proved why they are defending world champions.

This game was indeed all about defense. The Steelers D was downright awesome. They played a great "bend but don't break" football game. The Giants offense marched into the red zone five times. Most of those trips were off of turnovers, long punt returns, etc. Regardless, the defense only allowed 12 points in those five trips. The biggest stop came in the 2nd quarter when the defense stuffed the Giants on 4 straight plays from inside the 2 yard line.

The Giants defense was equally impressive. They really shut down the Steelers offense. Check out some of these stats: they picked off Ben Roethlisberger 4 times. They tallied 5 sacks. And most importantly, they held the Steelers to a paltry 1 of 14 of 3rd and 4th down conversions. If you like defense, you had to love this game. The Steelers however had a 4th quarter lead thanks to two big plays - a 32 yard TD run by Mewelde Moore (who continues to impress) and a 65 yard TD pass to the suddenly unstoppable Nate Washington. The Steelers blew so many other chances - the worst of which came when a Willie Colon holding penalty negated another Nate bomb TD - but they clung to a 14-12 lead in the waning moments of the 4th quarter.

If you don't know who Greg Warren is, don't feel bad. Most people have no clue who he is. Warren is the long-snapper for the Steelers, a job with seemingly no impact on a game. However, he went down with an injury late in the game, and it ended up costing the Steelers the lead. We watched as they held quick auditions on the sidelines for a replacement. It looked like Darnell Stapleton went first, but he didn't do very well. Then James Harrison got the call and seemed capable until he actually had to snap a punt back to Mitch Berger late in the 4th quarter. Harrison snapped it over Berger's head for a safety which tied the game. The Steelers defense still had the chance to stop New York from taking the lead, but after stopping them so many times without getting ANY support from the offense or special teams, it was just too much. Eli Manning made a clutch play hitting Steve Smith on a 25 yard pass on 3rd down. A few plays later, Manning found Kevin Boss in the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown. The Steelers were done at that point. New York's defense had clamped down to the point where Ben couldn't even move the ball forward. Like they did in last year's Super Bowl, the Giants took it to another level when it counted the most, and they deserved to win this hard-fought game.

After the game, Steelers fans were really ticked off. I witnessed two people almost getting mowed down by a car, lots of traffic jam road rage, and a masive verbal altercation in the parking lot that may or may not have turned into a physical altercation (we didn't stick around long enough to find out). It was just one of those game where you really wanted the your team win. It would have been quite the statement, especially for the defense. But you can't lose the turnover, sack, and time of possession battle as badly as the Steelers did and expect to come out on top. If there is any consolation, it's the hope that maybe - just maybe - we might be blessed with a rematch in February. Here are the numbers:

• Mewelde Moore: 19 rushes, 84 yards, 1 TD

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Baltimore beat Oakland, Cleveland beat Jacksonville, Cincinnati lost to Houston

Steelers 38, Bengals 10

Same old story in Cincinnati

For the 8th straight time, the Steelers came out of Paul Brown Stadium with a win. The winless Bengals showed some spunk, but they couldn't keep up with Pittsburgh.

Steelers 26, Jaguars 21

Clutch win finally defeats Jacksonville

The ending was similar to last week, but the way the Steelers got there was very different. Rather than being dominated for the first two quarters, Pittsburgh became the dominator, but they still needed a last-minute comeback to pull out a tough road win against the team who has given them massive fits over the last few years.

Steelers 23, Ravens 20 (OT)

Steelers work hard for gutsy win

It was the middle of the 3rd quarter. The Steelers trailed by 10 and had now gone 8 straight quarters without a touchdown. Just like last week, their offense was getting pushed around by a good defense. They were down to their 4th running back. The 60,000+ at Heinz Field began booing because every offensive possession ended in misery. Pittsburgh was in danger of dropping behind Baltimore in the AFC North with only tougher games to come. Then Ravens LB Jarret Johnson, an otherwise smart veteran who had never committed a personal foul in his entire six-year career, got visibly flustered by something that Hines Ward said or did. Johnson started shoving people after yet another hapless Steelers offensive play (the always scary Nate Washington reverse) and took a bad 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty. And it turned the game - and perhaps the race for the 2008 AFC North title - COMPLETELY around.

Let's back up to the first half, when the Steelers offense went from awful to putrid in the span of 30 minutes. The line was bad. More breakdowns allowed the Ravens to ring up 3 sacks (although that was a HUGE improvement over last week). Ben was bad. I don't know if he is hurt or just scared. Maybe a little bit of both, but either way he is clearly not 100% himself. At one point he threw a bad interception on a play where it looked like he was unable to get a grip on the ball with his bad hand. The coaching was bad. How about the call where they ran a spread shotgun formation on 3rd and inches?!? Meanwhile Joe Flacco, the rookie QB whom everyone thought would be intimidated, looked sharp. He sprung his team out to a 13-3 lead, and with the Baltimore defense playing at its best, it seemed like we were doomed.

Then the Johnson penalty happened. The Steelers offense quickly went into no huddle mode in an attempt to surprise the Ravens (a tactic leftover from the Ken Wisenhunt days), and it worked. Three plays after the penalty, Ben hit Santonio Holmes over the middle, and Holmes made some nice moves on his his way to the endzone for a 38 yard touchdown. At that point the Heinz Field sound guy decided to take a chance and crank up Renegade. It was an early time to play it, but the Steelers needed a defensive stand. Not only did they make a stand, but they also got the lead. On the first play of the ensuing drive, James Harrison nailed Flacco. He fumbled the ball and it was scooped up and carried into the endzone by Lamar Woodley. With 4:10 left in the 3rd quarter, the Steelers were down by 10. Just 16 seconds later, they were up by 4! Flacco was completely rattled after hearing Renegade -- er, after the fumble.

In the 4th quarter, Ben made an amazing play where he evaded a sure-fire sack to hit a wide open Hines Ward for a huge 49 yard gain. It was vintage Ben. For all the griping we all sometimes do about how he holds the ball too long, plays like that remind us of how the payoff from his style of play far outweighs the negatives. The Ward play led to a FG that put the Steelers up by 7. Unfortunately the FG was all that the Steelers could muster. Their running game, which was already hurting by the loss of FWP, was devasted in this game. Rashard Mendenhall and Carey Davis both left the game hurt, and for Mendenhall, his rookie season is over. That meant the Steelers were down to using Mewelde Moore, and he couldn't punch the ball into the endzone against a tough Ravens goal line defense. That meant that Baltimore still had a chance to tie the game, and their offense responded. Flacco led a 76 yard drive. Steeler-Killer Derrick Mason came thru with multiple big catches on the drive, and the Ravens tied the game at 20. For the 3rd time in the past 6 seasons, a Steelers-Ravens game was about to head into overtime.

Baltimore won the coin toss in OT but the Steelers defense did its job, forcing a three and out which resulted in good field position. It was almost better that the Steelers lost the toss because of that. ESPN's Ron Jaworski stated that the team who won the toss should kick in this game, which sounded silly at the time, but Jaws may have had a good point. Rather than getting the ball deep in your own territory and having the pressure to make yards, you could let your defense make a stop and get you the ball closer to midfeild. After the Steelers got the punt, Moore made the big play, catching a 3rd down pass and dodging defenders on his way to a 24 yard reception. That set up a game-winning 46-yard FG attempt for Jeff Reed, and he hit it to give the Steelers a 23-20 victory!

Before we talk about what an amazing effort this was, it has to be noted that the injuries continue to pile up. In addition to Mendenhall being out for the year, Kendall Simmon also left the game with a torn Achilles tendon, and he is out for the year! That is going to be REALLY tough for an already messed up O-line to handle. Darnell Stapleton will have a lot of pressure on him as the replacement. On the other side of the ball, the D-line was clearly worn out by the end of the game seeing as how they were depleted to begin with. This is starting to get serious. Who is going to start at RB next week in Jacksonville? How are we going to make it thru an entire season at this pace?

That being said, the way the Steelers pulled together tonight makes you think they are capable of overcoming any odds. Give Joe Flacco lots of credit. He made plays all night and allowed his team to play typical clock-control Ravens football. It had to be satisfying for him too given the bitter history he has had in Pittsburgh. But in the end it wasn't enough to stop the Steelers from pulling out a great win. Talk about digging deep. If this team can survive the barrage of injuries, we may look back on this game as the defining moment for the season. All hope was lost in this one and everyone was getting ready to make their "Fire Tomlin" signs, but the Steelers would not give up. Although the road ahead is still incredibly rocky, this was a win to really appreciate. Here are the numbers:

• Ben Roethlisberger: 14/24, 191 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Jeff Reed: 3 FG (49, 19, 46-GW)

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Cincinnati lost to Cleveland

Steelers 6, Eagles 15

Reality check

After the first two games, we felt pretty good about the Steelers. It seemed as if they had fixed their offensive line woes and were about to embark on a pretty successful run. That may still be the case, but they were more than humbled today courtesy of an absolute butt-kicking at the hands of the Philly defense.

Give credit to Jim Johnson and his defense. Check out these numbers: NINE sacks, three forced turnovers, and two points. The sack total is the number that really stands out. The all-time Steelers record for sacks allowed is 12 (set in 1966 by Dallas), and the ONLY reason that record was not broken is because if a QB steps up far enough in the pocket to make it back to the line of scrimmage or just barely beyond it, that doesn't count as a sack. Ben did that 4 times, and the furthest he ever got was 2 yards past the line, so technically there should have been 13 sacks. Roethlisberger played a horrible game. He fumbled twice and threw one of his "I'm frustrated so I'm going to heave it deep into double coverage" interceptions. He also held onto the ball WAY TOO LONG and looked jumpy most of the day. All that being said, I don't know if Johnny Unitas could have had a good day with that complete lack of protection. The o-line was at its worst in years today. While the Eagles are a physical team, they weren't overpowering our guys. They were just fooling them with cleverly disguised blitzes. On many plays you could see Simmons or Colon or Kemoeatu standing around with the "oh, was that MY guy?" look on their faces. The offense also took a crapload of penalties and threw the ball to Nate Washington way more times than warranted (i.e. more than once). By the end of the night Ben was limping off the field and the Steelers had to send in Byron Leftwich to get killed too. The Eagles should show the tape to anyone they draft next year as a training video for how to put on a clinic against an opposing team.

Steelers 10, Browns 6

Perfect ten

In the history of this storied rivalry, there have been plenty of blue-collar, hard-fought games. Tonight was another one of those affairs. The Steelers and Browns battled each other for 60 minutes, and in the end the Steelers only needed ten points to do what they have now done to the Browns ten consecutive times - defeat them.

The effects of Hurricane Ike were evident in Cleveland tonight. There was plenty of swirling wind and rain, and as a result, neither team moved the ball too much until the end of the first half. The most interesting thing that happened was John Madden revealing that the Browns helmet is his favorite because it has no logo. The Steelers finally put together one of their typical Pittsburgh Steeler long scoring drives. The big play was a 4th and 1 gamble that was converted by FWP. Ben Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward later in the drive for the game's first touchdown. That was good to see because Ward had dropped two passes prior to that, including one in the endzone. The Browns came right back with a good drive of their own, but they capped it with one of their typical Cleveland Brown "screw-up a good thing" sequence of events. They absolutely botched the clock management to the point where they were forced to waste their final timeout, and then after deciding that chipshot field goals - especially in a tight defensive struggle where every point matters - were beneath them, Derek Anderson threw a bad interception into the hands of Troy Polamalu.

In the 3rd quarter, both teams traded field goals. The game continued along as an old school battle of defense. The Browns then had yet another long drive (14 plays, 60 yards, 7 minutes) which saw them convert quite a few big 3rd down plays. This was their best chance to tie the game, but with 1st and 10 at the Pittsburgh 23, the Browns handed off twice to the Drug Dealer and threw incomplete on 3rd down. It was a curious set of play calls to say the least, especially after the passing game had been clicking at its best on that drive. Cleveland then ENRAGED the home fans by electing to kick a field goal on 4th down. That made the game 10-6, which meant that the Browns STILL needed a touchdown no matter what, and there was only 3:21 left in regulation. The idea behind that call was that Cleveland had all three of their timeouts and could get the ball back. The problem with that idea was (a) they couldn't make the Steelers punt it back to them and (b) they absolutely botched their timeouts. The Steelers made a bold call by allowing Ben to roll out and complete a 19 yard pass to Heath Miller. I love that about the Steelers of the Ben Era - they are not afraid to play for the win unlike Steelers teams before them. FWP also picked up a first down on that drive, and thanks to the Browns calling timeout at the wrong time, the Steelers were essentially able to run out the remainder of the clock. What a joke. I will be shocked if Romeo Crennel survives this season unless things really pick up. How can you mess up at the end of the first half and then repeat the same debacle at the end of the second half as well? See, this is why Cleveland never wins anything.

Anyway, give credit to the Steelers. It wasn't like last week where they dominated, but this was better in some ways. They were on the road in the bad weather against a key division rival, and they came out with a win. While this game was close all the way, the Steelers never looked rattled. They were full of swagger and confidence. The Browns on the other hand were exactly the opposite, and that is all you need to know about the difference separating these two teams from each other right now. Here are the numbers:

• FWP: 28 rushes, 105 yards
• Ben Roethlisberger: 12-19, 186 yards, 1 TD

Elsewhere in the AFC North: Cincinnati lost to Tennessee, the Baltimore-Houston game was post-poned due to Hurricane Ike

Steelers 38, Texans 17

Steelers manhandle Houston

Sometimes you can tell a lot from a game - or even from a season - by what happens on the first possession. It certainly spoke volumes in the Steelers-Texans 2008 NFL opener. Houston had received the opening kickoff and was moving the ball quite well against the Steelers defense, but once they got to about midfield, they were faced with a 4th and 1. Houston head coach Gary Kubiak boldly decided to go for it. After all, it was one of those moments that could propel an "almost ready to be competitive in the AFC" team like the Texans - going on the road and overpowering a physical team like the Steelers for a small but very significant yard. Unfortunately for Kubiak, the gamble backfired when QB Matt Schaub's sneak got stuffed, and although it was still 0-0, Houston was done.

The Steelers offense dominated the Texans on all fronts. FWP had a career day with three touchdowns, one more than he had all of last season! (thanks a lot Willie, seeing as how I had you on my fantasy team last year). The first one came on the ensuing drive after the aforementioned 4th and 1 disaster. The Steelers drove 52 yards in 8 plays before FWP capped the drive. Their next possession was equally effective (11 plays, 76 yards) and also ended with an FWP touchdown run. Ben Roethlisberger played one of those games where he didn't have to throw too many passes, but he was a model of efficiency when he did have to throw. Ben only threw ONE incompletion the entire game, and that was on a throw-away. He also hit Hines Ward for a TD later in the first half to make it 21-0 Pittsburgh. Ben was great, but the real story was Parker and the holes that the offensive line opened for him against a pretty solid Houston front seven. That was great to see. No Alan Faneca for the first time since 1997, all the problems from last year, all the question marks at center and guard - and the o-line came thru brilliantly.