The Steelers won.
16-14 Steelers.
I’m gonna be completely honest. My mom came and visited NYC this weekend and stayed at my apartment. I had to take her to the Port Authority bus station for a 4 PM Greyhound yesterday, meaning I had to leave my place in Brooklyn at halftime. Also meaning I missed the 2nd Half of the game being a good son. To anyone unfamiliar with NYC, there is no service on the Subway underground, and the basement bus gates of the Port Authority are a hellhole that renders your phone to the service-getting equivalent of a grapefruit.
So my recap is going to be a 1st Half recap…I’ve been able to piece together what happened in the 2nd Half via highlights, some helpful Twitter replies and mostly, my dad. He sent emails to my phone’s text message inbox, hoping they came through in the brief moments where service would fart through. Here’s the 2nd Half according to Papa PSAMP (timestamps for when messages received, 1st 3 came together):
3:12 PM EST:
“eagles at steelers 15
dad“
3:12 PM EST:
“Eagles td
10-7“
3:12 PM EST:
“Rainey 45 yd kick return
dad“
3:34 PM EST:
“Steelers FG
13-7
dad“
3:47 PM EST:
“Eagles td
Pgh behind 14-13
6:33 left
dad“
3:58 PM EST:
“2:00 warning, down 14-13
pgh on eagles 40
2 timeouts
dad“
4:05 PM EST:
“FG attempt
34 yards
GOOOOOOD!
Steelers win
16-14
dad“
My mom’s bus started boarding right around the 3:58 update and I was nearly crapping myself. She was about 30 or so in line, and was about 3 people from boarding when Dad’s last note came through at 4:05. I gave the most humongous fist pump, not caring that I nearly decapitated a few people with my umbrella. Bigtime Steelers win no matter the circumstance.
Ben: 15 of 25 for 137 in the 1st Half. He also had a lateral pass to Mendy that went for a TD, which was recorded as a run. Don’t think I didn’t see and respect that, Ben. And through 4 games, Ben has 8 TDs and only 1 pick. In yesterday’s 1st Half, Roethlisberger had such little help from his teammates, and was a primary reason for the halftime 10-0 lead. A few holding penalties here, a Marquis Pouncey errant snap there and several solid completions or potential positive plays were snuffed before Ben could do work. Plus that nasty pitch-fake where he kept it and ran is worthy of 1 helmet alone in my rating system. 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets. (Ben ended 21-37 for 207 yard, also directing the game-winning drive).
Mendy: SO GOOD TO HAVE HIM BACK. Mendy has this huge percentage of Steelers nation on his back at all times. Literally just waiting for him to run it into the line and fall, or fumble, or say something silly to stress how much they hate the guy. I am not one of these people. While idiots emphatically stated that they’d rather have Redman or Dwyer starting at different times over the past year or so, I’ve stuck with my guy. He has a game-changing element in his run-style. Yes, I’m still a fan of the other backs on the team. Do I think they help achieve the overall goal this team is looking for? Of course. But Mendy is that starting tailback kinda guy. He racked up a few more rushing yards in the 2nd Half that I didn’t see, so I’m only rating him on what I was able to watch. As soon as he caught that Ben pass in the flat, I yelled at my tv “MAKE HIM MISS!” A disgusting headfake later and I was screaming into my ceiling and high-fiving my mom. And that called-back 20+ yard scamper was better than anything Redman, Dwyer and company put together all season. 4 of 5 helmets. (Rashard ended with 14 carries for 81 yards and that score).
Defense: The defense I watched yielded ZERO points and made Mike Vick cough up 2 fumbles, 1 into the end zone to kill a potential Eagles TD. The other set up a TD drive of our own. Lawrence Timmons finally went into hero-mode as if someone had secretly put a Golf Crotch Hook on him while he wasn’t looking and he was PISSED about it. Had like 4 tackles and a forced fumble in the half, and had 2 or 3 near-sack pressures/hits on Vick. Ryan Clark’s forced fumble was as timely as they come. 5 of 5 helmets. (Definitely a lower rating had I seen them give up 2 scores in the 2nd Half, but this is not a full-game recap. Argue with 0 points given up and 2 takeaways. Shut up).
My dad: See above. 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets.
Steelers at Tennessee this Thursday. So in like 5 minutes. Troy Polamalu popped a calf thinking about the activity.
(thanks to Doug for the banner pic)
