Christmas comes early for Steelers, surviving Raiders 13-10

‘Twas the night before Christmas and bitter cold at the ‘Sure, but Santa left nothing but coal for #4.

It’s unfortunate that a night meant to honor a legend turned into a memorial when Franco Harris passed on Tuesday evening. Thanks to three Derek Carr INT’s the Steelers made an angel smile tonight.

The Raiders seemed to be more than ready for the elements, stitching together a 14-play, eight-and-a-half minute drive to open the game. If you’re one to look for silver linings, DE Cam Heyward had a sack and MLB Rob Spillane hogtied Josh Jacobs by the neck for a no-gainer. I’m no Bradley Cooper, personally; I say “7-0 LV” and keep it moving.

WR Diontae Johnson caught each of his first three targets for 39 yards. TE Pat Freiermuth got involved on Pittsburgh’s third drive for 8 yards, then WR George Pickens did the same. The FB dive to Derek Watt didn’t work on 3rd&1, but the QB sneak on 4th down is still undefeated for Kenny.

On the other side of the two-minute warning, a wide open Freiermuth dropped what would have converted a 3rd&8. K Chris Boswell hooked his first attempt (a 43-yarder) but tucked this 44-yarder just inside the left upright. 7-3 LV

Darren Waller – one of the best TE’s in football – split S Tre Norwood and S Minkah Fitzpatrick for an explosive gain to put Las Vegas in striking distance just before they half. CB Cam Sutton made a nice play on Davante Adams to bring up 2nd down, then a pair of Carr overthrows brought on a FG attempt.

Halftime score: 10-3 LV

Pittsburgh came out throwing on each of their first five plays of the second half. Four were caught, three for at least 10 yards, two by Freiermuth and one by Pickens…and a partridge in a pear tree. The next time Kenny put the ball in the air, though, it ended in the belly of a Raider linebacker. The Steelers were dominating every statistical category, except the scoreboard.

On the very next snap another high pass from Carr was tipped by his receiver and intercepted right back by CB Arthur Maulet.

Staring down the barrel of another wasted drive, Kenny started to scramble on 3rd&8 but kept his eyes downfield and found Diontae to move the chains with a 14-yard pickup. After feeding Najee three straight plays, they called on Boz again for a 52-yarder. Almost predictably, he missed wide left.

OLB TJ Watt started the next drive out on the right foot with a batted pass to put the Raiders behind the chains. The Raiders overcame that set-back, but the next tipped pass ended in the belly Minkah’s belly for the Steelers’ second INT of the brisk evening.

Again Pittsburgh wasn’t able to do anything with the ball and the boos started hailing (not raining) down as P Presley Harvin came back on the field.

Fortunately the Raiders seemed to be running out of magic. After what seemed like a huge gain was brought back due to penalty, they couldn’t overcome the 1st&25. MLB Devin Bush made a couple nice, physical plays in coverage, then OLB Alex Highsmith recorded a 13 yard loss on 3rd down with his 12th sack of the year.

We’ve seen Najee bust off that hurdle before, but I don’t know we’ve ever seen him get over a dude clean, land it clean, and get the first (and more). Well, now we have.

The Steelers settled for another FG on that drive and trusted their defense to give them a shot. 10-6 LV

That’s exactly what the defense did. Cam Heyward recorded his second sack of the night on 2nd down and Minkah tracked down the catch on 3rd to force the Raiders fourth punt with six minutes to play.

With four-and-a-half minutes left the Steelers punted it right back. It looked like Kenny might have been able to pick it up himself on 3rd down but he put it in the air and got batted down. Fans wanted to keep the offense on the field for 4th&2 but they were too deep in Pittsburgh’s end.

1st down picked up half the required yardage with a run, but Heyward tracked down a 2nd down run for no gain. A 3rd down fade to Adams was well off the mark and Kenny got the ball back with just under three minutes to operate.

After a six-yard check down to Najee on 1st down the Steelers were showing no signs of urgency. On 2nd down Kenny looked left, didn’t like it and rolled right, pulled the trigger on the move and found Freiermuth for 17 yards and a 1st down, almost out to midfield.

Rolling to his right again Kenny fired for Pat at the stick. The first official said incomplete but the guy behind the play said catch. After conference they agreed it was a completion but they stopped play to look at it and make sure. Clean catch, another 1st down.

Najee bailed Kenny out of another high pass that likely would have been picked. Kenny thanked him by going back to him the next two plays for 24 yards. This 2nd&5 was the Steelers’ first Heinz Red Zone play of the night, and predictably went right back to Najee. This ball was dropped, but fortunately so because it was initially ruled a two-yard loss and a loss-of-timeout for Pittsburgh.

3rd&5 from the 19: a quick out to Freiermuth just short of the stick. Tomlin called his second TO to discuss their options for 4th&1. QB sneak to Kenny…STILL UNDEFEATED on 4th&1.

:50 to play from the 14-yard-line. 1st&10, spread out: GEORGE PICKENS ON A QUICK SLANT, SPLITS THE CORNER AND SAFETY FOR A TD! Steelers take their first lead of the night. 13-10 PIT

The Raiders had :40 and all three timeouts. 1st down they looked for Adams deep down the right sideline but Minkah did a great job to push him out of bounds. 2nd&10: looking for Hunter Renfrow, overthrown and PICKED OFF, CAM SUTTON, GO AHEAD AND CALL GAME!

But not quite yet. Vegas still had those timeouts. They used one after an unsuccessful Najee run, but Matt Canada surprised them with the jet sweep from TE Connor Heyward to move the chains and seal the victory. On a night like tonight, how sweet it is.

FINAL SCORE: 13-10 PIT

Steelers snag Panthers in their own trap

QB Mitch Trubisky got his fifth start of the year – his second in relief of an injured Kenny Pickett – and the Steelers dismantled the post-Baker Panthers 24-16.

The Steelers – out-rushed by Baltimore by exactly 150 yards last week – clearly came into this game with a bruised ego. 16 of their first 22 plays (two QB sneaks) were runs that netted 74 yards and a TD each for HB’s Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.

Meanwhile, the Panthers had nine rushes for 12 yards. DT Larry Ogunjobi recorded a TFL in each of Carolina’s first two possessions. MLB Devin Bush flashed…I was going to say shades of his former self but this is a gradient I don’t know we’ve EVER seen from him.

Both offenses had the passing game clicking. The Panthers had a 40-yarder completed in front of CB James Pierre but it’s a boring watch, as is the TD they threw soon after. Check out this one instead: WR George Pickens just does this every week and I’ll never get tired of it.

14-7 PIT

Just before halftime this tasty little gem happened. Warren is all of 5’8″ – a veritable three apples high. In his mind he’s as tall as the 6’12” Zach Gentry. Pittsburgh squandered the late-half opportunity but the levity is almost worth it.

Halftime Score: 14-7 PIT

The running dominance continued into the second half for Pittsburgh. Mitch stitched together (read: “managed”) a 21-play, 91-yard drive using 14 rushes and six passes to WR Diontae Johnson. Diontae took a taunting penalty after converting his third first down of the drive. Pittsburgh overcame, got to the goal line and two straight QB sneaks later (Ben in Tennessee last year) had their third rushing TD of the afternoon. 21-7 PIT

OLB TJ Watt had a sack in the first half literally seconds after Greg Gumbel announced he had been having a quiet day. OLB Alex Highsmith and DE Cam Heyward added two more to slam the door on a promising Panthers drive…

…or so it seemed. When we got back from commercial for a 4th&27 they announced ST’er Marcus Allen did something during the break to give Carolina an automatic first down. At the risk of editorializing, that’s absolutely ridiculous. Stuff that happens while the cameras aren’t rolling can be settled without laundry. I got angry and missed a FG. 21-10 PIT

Carolina had all the momentum after a sack forced a three-and-out. They were granted 1st&Goal at the 1 after a chippy pass interference call on CB Cam Sutton in the end zone. On 1st down Ogunjobi won a fantastic release to chase down a stretch run. On 2nd down Highsmith forced a fumble on a TFL (Carolina recovered). Then came the ol’ 3rd down special: a sack split by TJ and Cam. The Panthers settled for another FG and cut it to a one-score game. 21-13 PIT

With the chance to salt the game away, Pittsburgh was staring down the barrel of another three-and-out. The rookie Pickens flinched when Carolina cocked the shotgun, making a 3rd&9 a 3rd&14. The veteran Diontae was the hero going over the middle and pirouetting back the other way to add a couple extra on the end, netting 19. Three plays later he curled back the left sideline for nine yards on 3rd&6. Three (more) plays later it was 3rd&1: Mitch picked this one up himself the sneaky way. Najee wasn’t so lucky the next 3rd&6, but the Wizard of Boz from 50 is about as fore-gone a conclusion as they have going. 24-13 PIT

“Here we go, Steelers, here we go!” chants could be heard echoing around Bank of America Stadium but the Panthers were still trying to maneuver, unaware the cat had already dealt the lethal blow. They did the old “take the FG, hope for the on-side kick” routine. The first leg (pun intended) went as planned, converting from 53 yards out.

The second leg (that one was an accident) didn’t. With :30 left the Panthers needed to fall on a loose ball to stay alive, but Pickens walked out of the cloud of dust holding the ball. Victory Formation took the field.

FINAL SCORE: 24-16 PIT

Steelers fall to storied rival Ravens

The Acrisure pigeons never showed up for this aviary arch-rivalry and the Steelers came up short this afternoon, 16-14.

QB Kenny Pickett moved the chains with a couple scrambles but didn’t attempt a pass on the Steelers’ opening drive. He was evaluated for concussion after being slammed head-first to the turf on third down but by the time Justin Tucker knocked through his first FG of the day he was back on the field. 3-0 BAL

Pittsburgh bottled up JK Dobbins and the Ravens offense for two drives. Following a 17-yard punt from Presley Harvin III Dobbins broke through the first layer and didn’t meet resistance until FS Minkah Fitzpatrick rode him out of bounds inside the five. He punched it in one snap later. 10-0 BAL

After leading another three-and-out, Pickett was reportedly “re-evaluated” and medically removed from the game. In his four drop-backs he had a sack, an incompletion and two scrambles for 16 yards. If you can’t do that math, he finished 0/1 passing.

For the second time in a home game this season, the veteran QB Mitch Trubisky relieved his rookie teammate (Buccaneers). After a dropped first down (TE Zach Gentry) and a failed run from HB Najee Harris, on consecutive plays:

  • First down to TE Pat Freiermuth crossing the field
  • 42-yard explosion to WR George Pickens working on Marlon Humphreys down the left sideline
  • DPI on a fade to Pickens in the end zone, again picking on Humphreys
  • Went back to the slider, with Najee going over the top. 10-7 BAL

Baltimore converted a 4th&1 in their own territory on their opening drive. This time they tried it from the Steelers’ 34: I thought I was flashing back to last year’s game in Baltimore when Huntley fumbled the snap and was swallowed up for a loss on the aborted play.

Mitch had the Ravens off-balance and the Steelers clicking again, with the help of 5 touches for 25 yards from Najee. He even instigated two neutral zone infraction penalties with a hard count but it all came to a screeching halt when Roquan Smith turned a pass over the middle back the other way.

Pittsburgh’s defense was able to keep Tyler Huntley out of the end zone but they couldn’t keep Baltimore out of Justin Tucker range. 13-7 BAL

Once again, Trubisky had the Steelers marching, thanks to George Pickens. But again he was staring down his receivers over the middle of the field and Patrick Queen read his eyes and pulled in the Ravens’ second INT of the day. The Steelers retreated to the locker room to a smattering of boos.

Tyler Huntley left the game after a heavy, legal hit from FS Minkah Fitzpatrick that left the Ravens with three yards on a 3rd&4. Baltimore once again called on Penn State product Jordan Stout to punt it away.

Mitch appeared to find a groove on the Steelers’ next drive. Wedged in among two unsuccessful runs were passes of 10+ yards to WR Steven Sims (2), Diontae and Najee. But instantly after crossing into Baltimore territory Mitch over-threw a double-covered Diontae in the end zone which turned into his third interception of the afternoon.

The Ravens took possession at their own one yard-line but JK Dobbins quickly afforded them some breathing room. LB TJ Watt forced a fumble and established mutual possession with an offensive player, but in football (as in baseball) a tie goes to the runner. Baltimore maintained possession.

…at least long enough for the reigning defensive player of the year to slam the door shut on 3rd down. He recorded his first sack since the Steelers’ loss against Cincinnati and his first full sack since the season opener at Cincinnati. You knew they couldn’t keep him quiet for long.

Trubisky again marched his boys down into Baltimore territory and stalled out taking a safe, aggressive shot to Diontae, putting the ball where only his guy could get it. Unfortunately the 6’8″ Calais Campbell got into the path of the FG attempt in K Chris Boswell’s return from IR and Pittsburgh again came up empty.

Building on that momentum, the Ravens offense broke off a 13-play, nearly eight-minute drive. They made it to the red zone before the Steelers dug in their heels. It started with a 1st down TFL from MLB Devin Bush and ended with a 3rd down stuff from MLB Robert Spillane. After a scoreless 3rd quarter, another Tucker FG gave the Ravens a two-score lead.

In response Trubisky led a five-play, 75 yard drive in just under a minute that included fantastic catches from Diontae (37 yards), TE Connor Heyward (13 yards) and this 10-yard score to Freiermuth:

I was dubious of Coach Tomlin’s decision to kick it deep with two-and-a-half minutes to play, considering how his defense was getting gashed by the run. DT Cam Heyward got involved in tackles on 1st and 2nd downs (assisting S Terrell Edmunds and DT Montravius Adams Sr) to set up a 3rd&3 but Gus Edwards slipped through for the last first down that mattered.

I should mention that DE Chris Wormley left this game with a knee injury. He walked off under his own power and the team tweeted he was OUT for the game awfully quickly…unfortunately that smells like ACL to me. He’s had at least half a sack in each of the last three games he’s played against his former employer.

FINAL SCORE: 16-14 BAL