Steelers MMQB: NFL Week 15 Wrap Up
By Kim Myers
What We Learned In Week 15 In The NFL:
- Tebow Time is over…for now
- You can’t spell “Eliminated from the playoffs” without “Eli”
- The Packers were not prepared for the “Trap Game”
- The Chargers remembered it’s December so it’s time to play good
- The stage is set for the Steelers to grab the #1 seed in the AFC with a win tonight
Steeler Nation just went though their second consecutive Sunday without Steelers football. Is everybody ok? I know it was rough. There’s just something unnatural about waking up on a Sunday morning and not getting ready to watch the Steelers. Thankfully there was enough excitement in the day and night’s worth of games to make the anticipation for tonight’s game just a little bit more bearable.
Even though I’ve been thoroughly entertained by the whole “Tebow Mania”, even I got a little sick of the coverage as of late. Although I still was holding out hope that Tebow had enough in him to get past Brady and Belichick. Unfortunately, that was not the case. God must have seen the 3rd fumble in the 2nd quarter and just said, “I’m done.” There was no 4th quarter comeback magic, just some sloppy offense and poor defense. Watching the game I kept thinking, “What happened to this Denver defense I’ve heard so much about?” Leaving the tight ends wide open most of the day, allowing Brady to run in for a score, hell even Ochocinco came out of witness protection and scored a touchdown yesterday. If the defense deserved most of the credit for Denver’s success as late, they deserve much of the blame for that performance yesterday. Tebow didn’t do them any favors by putting the ball on the ground that many times. But allowing Brady to stay on the field as long as he was yesterday will kill you every time.
A team that has been the picture of inconsistency this season has been the New York Giants. Eli turned the ball over 3 times yesterday as the Giants, who are trying to stay even with the Cowboys for the lead in the NFC East, were swept by the Redskins following a 23-10 loss. Now the Giants aren’t completely out of it yet, but their bad habits of poor December play is rearing its ugly head again this season.
Beware of the “Trap Game”. It will get you every time. Well, not every time, but every time you think you’re just so freaking good you can’t possibly lose a game at all. It’s obvious the Packers were all in for the undefeated season, but coming to that critical 15th week has been where so many teams before the Packers have lost their bid for the perfect season. The Chiefs stifled the Packer’s offense and while the Chiefs, behind Kyle Orton, weren’t able to get into the end zone very often in spite of all their trips to the redzone, were able to put up enough points and sack Rodgers enough to get the win. Hand it to interim head coach Romeo Crennel for inspiring the Chiefs into discount double checking the Packers. The Packers failed to secure the #1 seed in the NFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, but with a 49er’s loss tonight, they’ll have another chance to lock down that spot. Attention Cheeseheads: it goes, “Here we go Steelers! Here we go!”
Having Ray Lewis back from his camel toe injury wasn’t enough for the Ratbirds to stop the December-surging Chargers, who may not even have a chance for a playoff berth but are definitely playing like they are trying for one. The Chargers might not get past the 6-game losing streak they had earlier this season to get into the post-season, but remain tied with Oakland at a game behind the AFC Worst leading Broncos. Flacco was sacked five times and was intercepted while the Ravens defense didn’t have enough to stop the Chargers offense. The Ravens have now paved the way for the Steelers to take the #1 seed in the AFC and finish a whole game ahead, basically nullifying the sweep the Ravens hold over the Steelers. Thank you Philip Rivers, you may now go back to sucking and being horribly overrated.
With a win tonight, the Steelers will grab the #1 spot in the AFC, and set themselves up to secure home field advantage, guaranteeing the road to Indy will travel through Pittsburgh. With the Rams and the Browns their last 2 opponents, it couldn’t look any better for the Steelers right now. There’s no reason to look too far ahead, though, the 49ers won’t be an easy opponent to go against, especially with a banged up team. The final injury report shows Pouncey, Carter, and Sanders as “Out”. Roethlisberger and Curtis Brown are listed as “Questionable” and Gilbert, and Polamalu are “Probable”.
The Steelers were able to clinch their spot in the post-season Sunday afternoon thanks to the Titans loss to the Colts. A special congratulations goes out to Indy for earning their first win of the season. The Steelers need to be focused on winning out, even with that spot already clinched. Last word is that Roethlisberger will start tonight, but Batch got plenty of reps with the first team this week to be prepared to play if needed. Woodley will be playing and hopefully will resume his attack of quarterbacks, because getting to Alex Smith and stopping Frank Gore will be the keys to victory against the 49ers. We’re not quite ready to bring on Week 16 because we still have work to do. Go Steelers!
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