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Steelers-Texans: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Yinzer Crazy • September 28, 2020
Ah, what a wonderful Monday afternoon it is to be a fan of the black and gold football team.
No, not the Iowa Hawkeyes - but your 3-0 Pittsburgh Steelers.
I’d imagine everyone woke up today with a really sore arm from all of that towel twirling on your couch or wherever you watched the showdown with the Texans yesterday.
Get some ice for that arm and read the rest of this article to relive some of the stimulation you felt yesterday the final kneel down yesterday in our The Good, The Bad, and the (not so) Ugly!
The Good
The quest for perfection continues!
That may be a little lofty - but the Steelers are 3-0 after defeating the Houston Texans 28-21 on Sunday at Heinz Field.
Pittsburgh is one of six current NFL teams to own a perfect record.
Double Yoi.
They haven’t been 3-0 since 2010.
That season they finished 12-4, won the AFC North, and eventually went on to lose to the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl.
The Steelers still have four games remaining against regular AFC North bottom-feeders Browns and Bengals in which they should be heavily favored in each.
They also still get to play three contests against the NFC East, including matchups against the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles, who after yesterday have a combined record of 1-4-1.
Long story short, barring a catastrophic injury such as the one last season to Ben, the Steelers are a shoe-in to make the AFC Playoffs because of this hot-start.
They won’t go 16-0 - and that shouldn’t be the expectation. But at this point winning only 10 games may be considered a let-down.
This squad is going to win 11 or 12 games, and you'll have the Steelers to thank for keeping the conversations at the Holiday dinner tables away from politics this winter in the Burgh.
Eric Ebron and Vance McDonald
The reason the Steelers are going to win 11 or 12 games is because their supporting cast surrounding Ben Roethlisberger seems to improve each week.
In Week one against the Giants it was Benny Snell and JuJu Smith-Schuster who were the focal points of the offensive game-plan, both posting over 100 yards and three combined scores.
Week two against Denver saw Diontae Johnson haul in eight passes from Big Ben for 92 yards and a game-clinching touchdown.
And yesterday it was the play of the tight ends, Eric Ebron and Vance McDonald that really stuck out to be the key reason this team was able to advance to 3-0.
In his two previous games against the Giants and Broncos, Ebron had four combined receptions.
Yesterday he hauled in five passes for 52 yards and an incredible touchdown catch where he showed why he can be such a weapon in the red zone, leaping over Texans safety A.J. Moore for the score in the 2nd quarter that cut the Steelers deficit to just four.
The "Vanimal", Vance McDonald had just two catches for six yards in his first two outings.
On Sunday, old McDonald had a game - bringing in three balls for 35 yards.
The Steelers tight-end slander was real leading into this match-up.
But not everyone on the field can produce scintillating fantasy numbers each game.
Roethlisbergers’ flavor of the week this time out just happened to be the safety blankets because the Texans decided to focus their attention more on JuJu.
It shows the Steelers are in fact multiple and can beat you in a variety of ways.
A huge factor for the black and gold moving forward.
Ben Roethlisberger
Alright, I’ve written three of these recaps and have yet to put Ben in one.
That’s how I know he’s back to his old-form.
When the expectations are so high that he goes out and posts a 101.3 Quarterback rating and you almost don’t even think to include him in your high-points of the game.
Ben now carries a 7-1 TD to interception ratio on the season.
He looks like a kid playing in the backyard again - evoking the same emotions I had when I first saw Big Ben take the field for the first time in 2004.
He’s moving faster than a cyclist in a Pittsburgh bike-lane.
When he made his decision to return to the Steelers he said he wanted to win “Lombardi’s”, meaning multiple Super Bowl trophies for this franchise before his exit.
I’m starting to think that isn’t such a ludicrous concept.
The Bad
The Secondary
I’m reaching a bit here. I’ll admit it.
The team is 3-0 and just defeated an incredibly desperate Texans team that was playing to potentially salvage their season after dropping their first two contests.
But there were multiple moments in the first half where Deshaun Watson evaded the vaunted Steelers pass-rush and proceeded to carve up the back-end.
In the first half Watson went 14-18 for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
The Steelers were fortunate that the offense was able to keep them in the game by controlling the clock and scoring two second quarter touchdowns to help create only a four-point halftime deficit that could have been much more daunting.
Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler got to work at half making adjustments.
In the 2nd half the Texans had just 51 yards and two first downs.
But there are legitimate concerns moving forward.
Minkah Fitzpatrick has yet to make a splash play.
Steven Nelson was burnt toast on a Will Fuller touchdown in the first half.
And Joe Haden, although still a great player, has seemed to lose a step or two naturally due to his age.
The reason I've included them in this category is because I could easily see it creeping up again as a significant hindrance.
In the AFC North, the Steelers will have to deal with Ravens QB Lamar Jackson at least twice. Another tremendous quarterback with an escapability factor.
If the Steelers want to get to the Super Bowl they will also likely have to deal with Chiefs QB and defending champion Patrick Mahomes.
Both have better weapons around them than does Watson.
That's why the secondary can't take a half or even a play off. We'll be keeping an eye on it moving forward, and so should you.
The Ugly
Nothing. Move on. Get back to work. Or finish your lunch. Maybe a bathroom break could be good for you.
The Steelers are 3-0.
They will travel to Tennessee this upcoming weekend in an early season showdown of unbeaten AFC teams.
Later today on YinzerCrazy.com we will have a podcast drop with former Safety Robert Golden. Stay tuned for that and much more as we at this point hope to now hold down at least a bookmark on your favorite laptop websites.
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Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Harv Aronson. Contact Harv @ Totalsportsrecall@gmail.com
Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Harv Aronson. Contact Harv @ Totalsportsrecall@gmail.com
Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Harv Aronson. Contact Harv @ Totalsportsrecall@gmail.com
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