This is gonna be a mostly-abbreviated MMCNY. The Steelers lost but still clinched a playoff spot. The team had opportunities to convert and failed at times. Troy was out, lack of pressure and turnovers were concerning and we got a game in like 4 hours against the Panthers. So excuse me if the final 3 regular-season MMCNYs are less-than-inspired.
22-17 Jets.
I knew there was a critical error in this game as soon as the first 2 Steelers offensive drives made it into Jets territory with zero resulting points. As much faith as I have in Ben late in games, waiting til late to get necessary scores is mind-bogglingly absurd when prospective points are left on the board at seemingly-insignificant times.
Ben: 23 of 44, 264 yards and a score. It’s weird…Ben wasn’t completely on and overthrew quite a few receivers. But he was also good for a few strong drives and looked fantastic in the 2-minute offense while driving for the potential winner. But he ran outta time on that last pass, and needed to get it in the endzone with no real open receiver. 3 of 5 motorcycle helmets. Would love to see the offense work on finding a rhythm that lasts 60 minutes over the next 2 games.
Mendy: 17 totes for 100 on the dot and a score. Only 17 carries in that weather and with that productivity? Head-scratching a little. Mendy was one of the biggest positives in this game. He broke a handful of tackles to extend some runs that really shouldn’t have resulted in anything substantial. 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets.
D: All things considered (injuries, special teams td, offense stalling), the D played well. Missing a spark like Troy was evident, but they were as stout as could be. Mundy played great in relief, batting away that last Jets pass atempt. Giving up 13 points as a unit is still amazing. 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets. 4 out of 5 in my ratings should at least get a win. There were factors out of their control that contributed to the loss.
Cheap Trick: Dream Police is now 8-3 on the season. Can’t ignore that record. But the Jets scored on the opening kickoff while I still had it playing in the background. Played it again prior to the 2nd half and the Steelers marched down for points. Tried it one last time when we were about to start our final drive. We needed points, right? It didn’t come though. 2.5 of 5 helmets. Whatever.
Panthers are in Pittsburgh on Thursday. Yeah, that.
(thanks to Doug for the banner pic)
