Steelers MMQB: NFL Week 9 Wrap Up

What We Learned in Week 9 in the NFL:

More from Still Curtain

Remember when Rivers was having an MVP-type season?
Peyton Manning in full post-season form
Jets go from butt fumble to butt touchdown
Eagles enter the Sanchez Zone
Steelers retire Mean Joe Greene’s jersey in the midst of kicking some Ravens ass
Ben throws another six touchdowns, NBD

Remember in the beginning of the season when the Chargers were 5-1 and the “experts” were at it again with their “Philip Rivers is elite” BS? That was fun while it lasted. Now the Chargers are 5-4 and were just handed a donut by the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have turned a potentially season-damaging quarterback controversy from late September when Joe Philbin openly toyed with the notion of turning to backup Matt Moore over Ryan Tannehill into a run that has the Dolphins looking like legit playoff contenders. Tannehill is enjoying the most successful stretch of his career and the Chargers are going into their bye week with the stink of a shutout all over them.

Speaking of the post-season, there’s not a quarterback that can eff it up quite like Peyton Manning can when some kind of title is on the line. Naturally the Brady vs. Manning bowl was hyped up beyond recognition, complete with blizzard shots four hours before the game even kicked off. The Denver Broncos apparently went out and got all these weapons on defense this offseason so they wouldn’t have 43 points scored against them again in embarrassing fashion. I wonder whatever happened to those guys.

Allow me to paint you a picture. The Kansas City Chiefs were at the Jets’ 2-yard line. Chiefs TE Anthony Fasano had missed his block and ended up on his backside. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith’s pass was deflected by Jets LB Calvin Pace into the air and then right into the waiting arms of Fasano, on his butt. And there you have yourself, Jets fans, a butt touchdown given up in the midst of a 24-10 loss and a 1-8 record so far on the year. Well done.

Speaking of the author of the butt fumble, Mark Sanchez stepped in for the injured Nick Foles and led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 31-21 victory over the Houston Texans. Seems like every other player got carted off the field in this game with some type of injury. Nick Foles is believed to have a broken collarbone and could be out for at least a month. The Eagles currently sit atop of the NFC East at 6-2, should be entertaining to see how badly Mark Sanchez can screw that up, right?

The Steelers officially retired the No. 75 jersey for Joe Greene on Sunday night, who spoke to the team before they took the field against the hated division rival Baltimore Ravens. He inspired the team to kick some ass, and while it was a tad slow going at the start, ass is what they kicked on Sunday night to a packed crowd at Heinz Field. There was an offensive series for the Steelers in the first half of the game in which the Ravens, particularly Elvis Dumervil, got a hat trick of three consecutive sacks. The next offensive possession for the Steelers went a bit differently, and the Ravens were actually penalized three times on one play in a different kind of hat trick. It was on from that point on. James Harrison played like a man out of his mind, or like James Harrison circa 2009, and it was more than fun to watch. The Steelers defense played without fear of giving up the big plays to Joe Flacco and harassed him relentlessly, causing three turnovers and sacking Flacco four times for a total loss of 34 yards. Harrison himself had two of the four sacks. Now the Steelers are right behind the Cincinnati Bengals for the lead in the AFC North and are legitimate contenders in the AFC. Also suck it Suggs.

Remember when the Steelers couldn’t get into the end zone and their red-zone offense was putrid? Yeah, me neither. I was asked over the week if Steelers fans were expecting another offensive blowout in this game and I specifically remember saying that we couldn’t realistically expect Ben Roethlisberger to throw for another six touchdowns on Sunday night. And then Ben goes out and throws another six touchdowns on Sunday night becoming the first player in NFL history to throw 12 touchdowns in consecutive games, all without throwing any interceptions. The Ravens defense took away the Steelers run game and forced Ben and the offense to air it out and because of that they were burned for touchdown after touchdown. Antonio Brown was on fire yet again this week with eleven receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown while Martavis Bryant couldn’t possibly not be enjoying his introduction into the NFL, catching touchdown passes in each of his first three games, he caught two on Sunday night. If this offense keeps their foot on the gas pedal there is absolutely no one who can stop them.

Here we go Steelers! Here we go!

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