Steelers limp into playoffs
The Steelers did what they had to do, by beating the Cleveland Browns 13-9. Unfortunately, neither the Buffalo Bills nor the Cincinnati Bengals gave the Steelers the help that they needed.
The Bills lost to the New England Patriots 49-21, after blowing a 21-0 lead, and the Bengals lost to the Baltimore Ravens. So instead of gaining the #1 or #2 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Steelers will be the #5 seed, and will travel to Denver next week to face the Denver Tebows.
As has been the Steelers habit this season, they played down to the level of their opponent. The Browns, who finished the season with a 4-12 record, gave the Steelers all they could handle. Cleveland actually led 6-3 at halftime. But the Steelers managed a field goal and a touchdown in the second half to pull out the win.
But it was a win that came at a cost. Ben Roethlisberger was already nursing a high ankle sprain, and didn’t look particularly mobile during the game. LaMarr Woodley sat out due to the hamstring injury that he’s been nursing for most of the second half of the season. And now Rashard Mendenhall suffered a torn ACL that might cause him to miss the playoffs. Mendenhall went to the ground without ever being hit. That’s never a good sign.
With Mendenhall out, the Steelers were left with Isaac Redman and John Clay as the only two healthy running backs on the Steelers’ roster. Clay was on the Steelers’ practice squad just two weeks ago. Fortunately, Mewelde Moore may be able to play next week, after missing two games with a sprained knee.
RB Isaac Redman
So the Steelers will limp out to Colorado to face the Denver Broncos, and all of the hype that surrounds their quarterback, Tim Tebow. The game will be played at 4:30pm next Sunday.
In the words of Bart Scott; “Can’t wait!”
Other Steelers News
- Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward caught the five passes that he needed to reach 1,000 catches for his career.
- Heath Miller surpassed Lynn Swann and became the 4th leading receiver in Pittsburgh Steelers history.
- Is it just my imagination, or have the Steelers placed Mike Wallace in the Witness Protection Program? The Steelers seem to have forgotten about Wallace, as Antonio Brown has emerged as Ben Roethlisberger’s favorite target. Hopefully, the Steelers will remember that Wallace is actually on the roster, and try throwing the ball to him during the playoffs.
I was a nervous wreck until near the end when they realized they were playing football….hahaha..a joke! Anyway I do agree about Wallace. I noticed he was being treated like the red headed step child and he was limping also. All in all a win is a win…So we shall see. The Steelers have shown us they can pull it off in the worst times and I have faith this will be one of those times and we will be super bowl bound!!!!
1Well, Mendenhall has a torn ACL. Sucks, but he really wasn’t doing too much other than falling down at the line of scrimmage. We could be fine with Redman, as long as he remembers to hold on to the ball.
Alos: Ryan Clark may be out with his sickle cell thing since it will be at Mile High. That would hurt us more, I think.
2I am a bit nervous about Mendenhall’s injury. He has more breakaway speed than Redman. Redman has always been dependable for the tough, inside yards, but he’s not going to break the long outside runs. Neither is John Clay.
Fortunately, Big Ben would rather throw the ball than run it. So Mendenhall’s injury may be just the excuse that Ben needs to really start tossing the ball around. A 75/25 pass to throw ratio might actually happen. And with our receiving weapons, that actually might be a good thing (unless it’s windy or snowing hard).
3I’d rather have Red’s better odds to top 4 YPC than Mendy’s very occasional long run. Mendy is no Willie Parker in his prime. The problem is we really need 3 backs for the playoffs buy only have Red and Clay who is unproven. The biggest problem, of course, is Ben’ ankle appears to have significantly interferred with his level of play which is far below the first 3/4 of the season. Also, I saw Gilbert get absolutely destroyed on a few plays and Wallace seems to have lost some of his edge. Despite the amazing rise of Antonio Brown, I don’t think this team is playing at the same level as last year’s Steelers.
4I’ve been wondering if Arians is intentionally hiding Wallace to bring him back out for the playoffs. As for Mendy, I agree with Dan. We have enough big play threats in the passing game; in the running game we need consistency. Hopefully, Redman can be as consistent as a feature back as he has been in a backup role. Also, he will hopefully not fumble all the time.
Clark has already been declared out, but I’m interested in what they do with Woodley. He could probably play, but he would also definitely benefit from another week’s rest. You would like to think we have a pretty good chance in Denver without him; do you give him another week to heal and have him back 100% for NE or BAL?
Fortunately for us, the Broncos are fairly beat up too. Vonn Miller hasn’t been the same since he broke his thumb and they’ll be playing without Dawkins in the secondary and one of their better O-linemen.
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