Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

If you haven’t done so already, please contribute to our Steelers vs Cowboys Recap Haiku Contest.  And if you didn’t read our pre-game articles, please see our Steelers-Cowboys Preview and our Key Match-ups.  Lastly, we also wrote an article about Cowboys’ rookie running back Tashard Choice.  Now, onto this week’s recap.

It wasn’t pretty.  In fact, it was downright ugly.  But the only thing that really matters is the final score, and the final score of this game was steelers 20, Cowboys 13.

The most difficult opponent for either team was probably the weather.  The temperatures were below freezing, and the wind was gusty.  In fact, the conditions were so bad that they made punter Mitch Berger look like Paul Ernster.  Gasp!

Neither offense looked particularly good.  For the Cowboys, Tony Romo had a miserable outing.  He was 19/36 passing, was intercepted 3 times, sacked 3 times, and ended up with a passer rating of 44.9 for the game.  I guess entering the game with the highest passer rating in the league didn’t help him very much.  But Philip Rivers could have told him that.

The one offensive player who did have a good showing was Cowboys’ rookie Tashard Choice.  Choice, making his first NFL start, racked up 156 yards of total offense against the Steelers’ defense.  He ended up as the games leading rusher with 88 yards.  Not a bad day for his first NFL start.

The Steelers’ rushers  had no such luck.  Willie Parker was totally ineffective.  By the end of the first quarter, he had me screaming “get him out of the game!!” at my TV.  Parker ended up rushing 12 times for 25 yards.  That’s an average of 2.1 yards per carry.  That’s about the same average that Tony Romo’s girlfriend Jessica Simpson would have gotten had she played in the game.

The Steelers’ coaching staff finally realized that Parker was stinking up the joint and went with Mewelde Moore.  Moore rushed 5 times for 22 yards.  Not many total yards, but a much more respectable 4.4 yard per carry average.

Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did his famous imitation of a tackling dummy again this week.  He was sacked 5 times during the game.  For those of you who are counting, that’s 24 sacks against NFC East teams this year (22 on Big Ben and 2 on Byron Leftwich).  Damn, the NFC East is like Kryptonite to Big Ben!

Fortunately, Big Ben was able to rally the troops when he really needed to.  With 2:10 left in the 4th quarter, Roethlisberger found Heath Miller for a six yard touchdown pass.  Suddenly the game was tied 13-13 with about 2:00 left, and it looked like the game was going to go into overtime.

Fortunately, when the Steelers need them, the defense always seems to step up and deliver a victory.  Today was no different.  On the Cowboys’ final possession, Tony Romo dropped back to pass the ball to tight end Jason Witten.  However, there seemed to be a miscommunication between the two, because Witten zigged when Romo wanted him to zag.  The ball sailed past Witten and right into the waiting arms of Steelers CB Deshea Townsend.  Townsend sprinted towards the endzone and made a final dive to avoid being tackled.  Touchdown Steelers!!!!!  The defense had done it again.

Once again, the defense held their opponent to under 300 yards of total offense.  Once again James Harrison sacked the quarterback.  Once again he forced a fumble while making the sack (I hope nobody tells Harrison that he doesn’t have to force a fumble everytime he sacks the quarterback).  Once again, Troy Polamalu added to his interception total.  The Steelers defense did what it always does.  It saved the offense after the offense delivered another mediocre performance.

I know that the Steelers are winning, and that fans should be happy with any win.  However, I really wish that the offense would start carrying their share of the load.  The Baltimore Ravens have proven that a team can win a Super Bowl strictly on the strength of their defense.  Nevertheless, that’s a tough way to do it, and I sure wish the offense would chip in.

The Steelers are now 10-3, and a pretty much guaranteed a playoff spot.  Now they have to fight to maintain their current position and the important first round bye.  The first step of that journey begins next week in Baltimore.

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Before reading this article, you may want to read our Steelers-Cowboys Preview and our Steelers-Cowboys Key Match-ups.  Also, please read about the Steeler-Cowboys Historical Rivalry.

If you were an NFL rookie running back, and were given a choice of teams to make your first NFL start against, which team would you choose?  The Detroit Lions?  That would probably be a good choice.  The Lions porous defense yields 176.9 rushing yards per game.  Yeah, that might be a good debut.  Or how about the Oakland Raiders?  You’d probably rack up a lot of rushing yards, and your team is almost guaranteed to leave with a win.  Maybe you’d choose the Kansas City Chiefs.  They surrender 163.7 rushing yards per game, and you’d probably get the opportunity to outshine Larry Johnson.  Not a bad first start.

Now, if given the opposite choice, and asked which team you WOULDN’T want to make your first NFL start against, which team would it be.  I think that every rookie running back would make the same choice.  The unanimous pick; the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The Steelers are the #1 defense in the NFL.  They are the #1 scoring defense.  #1 against the pass.  #1 against the run.  They lead the league in sacks.  They have the NFL’s leader in interceptions roaming their secondary.  Going against them is about as much fun as sticking your hand in a meat grinder.  Or cutting your tongue out with a pair of scissors.  Or repeatedly stabbing yourself in the eye with a knitting needle.  Or castrating yourself with a dull steak knife.  Or slicing your throat and watching the beautiful red spray splash happily on the wall.  REDRUM!!!!  Ooop, sorry about that.  I forgot to take my medication today, but I’m back now. 

Anyway, as I was saying, facing the Steelers’ defense wouldn’t be fun.  Just ask LaDainian Tomlinson.  The Steelers held him to 57 yards rushing.  Or ask Joseph Addai.  The Steelers held him to 34 yards rushing.  How about Clinton Portis?  51 yards.  Brandon Jacobs?  47 yards.  Willis McGahee?  42 yards.  Fred Taylor?  19 yards.  Starting to get the picture?

The Steelers’ defense hasn’t let a running back rush for 100 yards since dinosaurs roamed the earth.  So a rookie running back making his NFL debut against the Steelers should expect to rush for 12 yards?  13?  Maybe 20 if he’s lucky?

Well, that is exactly the unfortunate situation that Cowboys’ rookie running back Tashard Choice finds himself in.  The Cowboys have made it official that running back Marion Barber will not make the trip to Pittsburgh.  Backup RB Felix Jones is on the injured reserve list.  So starting duties fall to backup backup (you know, the backup’s backup) Tashard Choice.

Tashard Choice is a 5’10″ rookie RB from Georgia Tech.  He only weighs 208 lbs., but he is a powerful runner.  He’s averaging 4.9 yards per carry.  That’s an impressive number, even for a veteran RB.  His best game came against the Seattle Seahawks, where he gained 57 yards.  Of course, the Seahawks’ defense doesn’t instill fear into anyone.  Against the New York Giants, Choice gained 27 yards.  Yeah, that’s probably the neighborhood he should expect to be in against the Steelers.

All signs indicate that Tashard Choice is a promising young running back.  The Cowboys have high hopes for him.  Unfortunately, he has to make his first NFL start against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Where are the dull steak knives when you need them?

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