I’ve long blamed Jon Dwyer (along with Antonio Brown) and their unnecessary fumble(s) against the Raiders as the moment(s) that started the recent pessimistic swing in Steelers Nation. Both in the weak team showings and critical fan perception. And not that I hate either guy, I love Dwyer as a future bigtime contributor and c’mon, AB was my 2nd round fantasy pick. It’s just nice to see them both come up huge in a divisional win that the team needed.
24-17 Steelers.
Chris Rainey is special.
Ben: 27 of 37 for 278 yards, a TD and a pick. And to think of his 10 incompletions, a lot hit Mike Wallace in the hands. While Andy Dalton led the Bengals on an early TD drive to try and set the pace in the game, Ben quietly did his thing and let his younger counterpart eventually stall out. LOCKED OUT NHL UPDATE: I’m finally starting to not instinctively spell it staal, happy trails Jordan. 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets. Just a solid game.
RBs: Dwyer goes for 122 and Rainey with a nice score at a huge point in the game. I’ve been an admitted critic of the current crop of non-Mendenhall RBs and their output so far this season. Admitted. Notsomuch Rainey, I mean I drafted him in like the next to last round in fantasy to stash him on my bench if his role ever increased, and this concludes 2 fantasy updates so I’ll shut up politely. This game was a great way for the ground game under a few backups to really flourish and find their footing (pun intended I guess) in the 2012 season. 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets.
Defense: WE TOOK THE BALL FROM A TEAM AGAIN! Seriously though, I like how this defense responded. They’ve been probably the biggest disappointment in the young season with their inability to STOP teams. Aside from the early Bengals TD, Cincy was gifted a redzone fumble and got another FG. I mean look at the Bengals’ drives following the fumble that led to Cincy’s 1 play, 8 yard score:
32 yards and 3 points was the most damage after the 2 quick Bengals TDs. Helluva step up game by the defense. 4.5 of 5 motorcycle helmets.
Antonio Brown: 96 yards receiving and 13 on the ground. Very nearly had a passing TD as well. Get the ball in this guy’s hands. He had 7 catches on 8 targets, while Mike Wallace had 8 catches on 15 targets. Not trying to disrespect Mike, who had an odd game to say the least, but Antonio is getting towards Heath-levels of offensive success. 4 of 5 motorcycle helmets.
Redskins at Heinz next week. MORE LIKE ROBERT GRIFFIN THE NERD.
(thanks to Doug for the banner pic)
