Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

The Steelers’ first playoff opponent has been narrowed down.  The New York Jets’ win over the Indianapolis Colts insured that the Jets will be traveling to New England next week, while the Steelers will face the winner of today’s Ravens/Chiefs game.

The Ravens and Chiefs will square off today at 1:00PM EST, and it’s very likely that Steeler Nation will be keeping a close eye on that game.

As I mentioned in my last article, I would prefer to face the Chiefs rather than the Ravens.  But regardless of which team wins, I believe that the Steelers will defeat them and move on to the AFC Championship game.

I’d love to see the New York Jets knock off the New England Patriots next week.  If that were to happen (assuming the Steelers win their game), then the Jets would have to come to Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship game.  Contrarily, if the Jets lose, the Steelers will have to travel to New England to face the Patriots in the AFC Championship.

The Steelers lost during the regular season to both the Jets and the Patriots.  However, I believe that the Jets are a better opponent for the Steelers.  As mentioned earlier, if the Steelers face the Jets, the game will be played at Heinz Field.  That advantage can’t be ignored.  More importantly, despite the Jets’ victory over the Steelers during the regular season, we all know that the results of that game would have been very different if the Steelers had not allowed the Jets to score a touchdown on the opening kickoff.

The Patriots are always a difficult opponent for the Steelers.  Even when they play at Heinz Field.  So I am praying that Rex Ryan and the New York Jets will find a way to defeat the Pats and assure the Steelers of home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Other NFL news:

In the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks upset the reigning champion New Orleans Saints.  This may ultimately prove to be an advantage for the Steelers.  If the Steelers are able to emerge as the AFC champions, New Orleans was the team that gave me the greatest concern as a possible Super Bowl opponents.  With them eliminated, the Stairway to Seven just got a little easier.

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The Steelers get a bye this weekend.  However, several AFC teams aren’t so lucky.  The Baltimore Ravens will face the Kansas City Chiefs, and the New York Jets will play the Indianapolis Colts in the wildcard playoff games.  Following those games, the Steelers will face either the Ravens, Chiefs, or Colts.  Because of the NFL seeding rules, the Steelers cannot face the Jets.

Given those three teams as potential opponents, I started thinking about which team I’d rather face.  Personally, I think that the Steelers can beat any of them.  So I don’t fear any of these teams.  However, I do have a preference for who I’d like to face.

My least desired opponent would be the Baltimore Ravens.  We all know what to expect from a Steelers-Ravens game.  It will be a physical war.  And while I love watching those battles, I don’t want to see that just yet.

The problem with playing the Ravens is that the game is just too physical.  Big Ben always finds a way to beat the Ravens, so I’m confident that we’d win.  What I’m not confident of is that we’d come out of the game 100% healthy.  When the Steelers face the Ravens, there are usually injuries on both teams.  And the Steelers can’t afford that right now.  So I don’t want to play the Ravens if we don’t have to.

I also don’t want to face the Colts just yet.  I believe the Steelers would beat the Colts.  But the Colts are the team that worries me the most of the 3 possible opponents.

The Reason I don’t want to see the Steelers face the Colts is that Peyton Manning is the quarterback who is most likely to be able to exploit the Steelers’ weakness.  Anyone who has watched the Steelers this season knows that their cornerbacks are their weak link.

Bryant McFadden has made it clear to everyone why the Arizona Cardinals were so willing to let him return to the Steelers.  And while William Gay has made some good plays this year, I don’t think anyone is comfortable with the idea of having him as a starter.  Even Ike Taylor has looked vulnerable this season.  Yeah, the Steelers’ cornerbacks have definitely been their Achilles heel.

Peyton Manning has the talent to execute a game plan similar to what Tom Brady and the Patriots always use against the Steelers.  He can carve up their defense with passes, while practically neglecting the running game.  That formula has worked against the Steelers in the past, and I fear that it will continue to work in the future until the Steelers upgrade their cornerbacks (or until Dick LeBeau stops asking his cornerbacks to give the receivers a 10 yard cushion off the line).

Once again, I don’t fear Manning and the Colts.  I just don’t think that they are the team that gives the Steelers the best chance of winning.  And at this point in the season, it’s all about winning.

The team that I believe gives the Steelers the best chance of winning is the Kansas City Chiefs.  I think they’re an ideal opponent for the Steelers.  The Chiefs are primarily a running team, and we know that the Steelers can stop the run.  Once they’ve done that, I just don’t believe that Matt Cassel can beat the Steelers with his arm.

The Chiefs also beat the Steelers last year during that 5-game losing streak.  I hate to sound petty, but I would like to see the Steelers avenge that loss.

So that’s why I’d choose the Kansas City Chiefs as my preferred opponent for the Steelers.  Of course, we won’t know who they’ll actually face until this weekend is over.  But the Chiefs are the team that I believe give the Steelers the highest odds of moving on to the next round.

What about you readers?  If you had to choose an opponent for the Steelers, which team would you choose and why?

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The Steelers did what they had to do.  What more can we ask of them?

The team was guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.  But they needed more than that.  They needed to beat the Cleveland Browns in order to lock up the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs, and a first round bye.  So beat the Browns they did.

The Steelers jumped on them from the opening bell.  On the second play of the game, Troy Polamalu intercepted a Colt McCoy pass.  One play later, Ben Roethlisberger threw a 56 yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace.  7-0 Steelers.

The Steelers went on to score touchdowns on their first four offensive possessions.  They added a field goal on their 5th possession and ended the first half leading 31-3.

After an equally dominant second half, the Steelers locked up a 41-9 win, and the AFC North crown.

While we’re all happy to have a much needed bye, we have to remember that this is just the beginning.  Now comes the hard part.

The Steelers will play their first playoff game on Saturday January 15th at 4:30PM EST.  They’ll face either Indianapolis, Kansas City, or Baltimore.

The Steelers can definitely use the week off.  They’ve been banged up for a while, and the bye week will give them a chance to get healthy.  Center Maurkice Pouncey suffered a neck stinger during the game, and can use the extra week to heal.  Troy Polamalu is still not completely healed from his injury, and he can also use the extra time.  The Steelers didn’t put Aaron Smith on injured reserve when he got hurt earlier in the year because they hoped that he’d be able to come back for the playoffs.  The extra week off will give Smith more time to make a potential comeback as well.

Other team notes:

• Troy Polamalu’s seventh interception of the season tied a career high.

• The Steelers’ defense ended the season allowing an average of only 62.8 rushing yards per game.  That’s a new team record.

• Wide receiver Mike Wallace had 105 receiving yards.  This was his seventh 100-yard receiving game this season.  That ties the single-season Steelers’ record that was set by John Stallworth in 1984.

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