by Bo Marchionte
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Steelers draw even at 3-3
Pittsburgh – The Steelers head into their bye week at 3-3 after an overtime victory 23-20 against the Seattle Seahawks.
For a team with high expectations and mixed results, this win is the perfect antidote for them both mentality and physically, in preparation for their AFC North showdown with the Cleveland Browns on Halloween.
Jumping out to an early lead over the Russell Wilson-less Seahawks gave the impression that Pittsburgh was going to role towards an easy win. That ended up not being the case as Seattle crept back into the game in the second half and pushed to the Steelers to the brink.
A 14-points halftime lead, dissolved into a three-point margin for Pittsburgh heading into the final quarter of play. Without Seattle’s starting quarterback (Wilson) or running back (Chris Carson) active the game.
A dropped interception by Seattle’s Jamal Adams in the fourth quarter could have been the potential clutch play to secure the win, but as the ball deflected off his helmet into the air and to the ground, gave Pittsburgh the opportunity to pull out the win.
The Steelers triumphed and the win well as well needed as they avoided a 2-4 start.
The Good
A win is a win
No matter how you slice it a victory is exactly that – A victory. As people predict the ultimate demise of this franchise they are simply to functionally sound as an organization to collapse to those depths. It also allows for the illusion they’re better than advertised, but surely never an embarrassment.
Harris is the real deal
He has been everything thing the Steelers envisioned with the 24th overall selection. Harris has been on the field for 86% of all the Steelers offensive snaps after six games. He has already set the single-game record for receptions at his position (14) against Cincinnati. Notching both his first 100-yard rushing and receiving before his first NFL bye week is something sheds light on the versatility of Harris moving forward.
Watt a Game
T.J. Watt proved his worth Sunday night with two sacks, both in overtime, and a forced fumble which enabled the Steelers to line-up on the Seahawks 16-yard line for their game winning field goal. Watt ended up with seven tackles and three passes defensed. He terrorized quarterback Geno Smith all night and will be in the mix for Defensive Player of the Year honors when awards are handed out later this year.
Bud Dupree who?
The defense sort of fell apart last season after Dupree went in IR, and his impending free agency left Pittsburgh with high expectations for second-year linebacker Alex Highsmith. He was a tremendous force in his own right against Seattle, with 1.5 sacks and a whopping four quarterback hurries. The combination of Watt and Highsmith were the winning ingredients for Pittsburgh. A combined 14 tackles and 3.5 sacks wreaked havoc on Seattle’s offense, which eventually led to the Steelers win.
The Bad
345
That was the total net yards gained by Pittsburgh offense. The Seahawks are allowing the most yards per game in the National Football League. No one is worse, with 433 yards on average drop on the legion of no boom, leaves a lot to be desired for the Steelers long-term. A win masks a lot of the ugly that exists, but it should remain a huge concern the offenses ability to put points on the board. Seattle has allowed 24.8 points per game, Pittsburgh managed just 23.
Next Page
On a list of top performers, it is never good to be listed at the bottom of the page with the link to ‘Next Page’, which is where we find Ben Roethlisberger and his well below average 86% passer rating sandwiched in between Tua Tagovailoa (86.7) and Mitchell Trubisky (85.4).
Triple Digits
Seahawk’s back-up running back Alex Collins averaged 5.1 yards per carry (20 carries for 101 yards). How does Collins go triply digits rushing against this perceived unstoppable defense? Disturbing things that are swept under the rug after a win.
And the Ugly
The best outcome
The Seahawks Darrell Taylor defensive end went down with only minutes remaining in the game, then was carted off the field and taken to UPNC hospital after lying motionless on the ground. Thankfully, Taylor avoided any catastrophic affects from the neck injury and is poised to return to action. With a clean bill of health via his MRI and CT scan, Taylor availability for Seattle in Week 7 is an option. Amen…
Frank Hyatt/Photo Credit/College2Pro.com