The
Steelers win their first road win in the playoffs in the Cowher-era.� You�ll hear it all week, how with Palmer out,
who knows the outcome of the game, blah blah�
Admittedly, with Palmer out, it turned into a game that the Stillers are
supposed to win, and they DID, which is saying something considering their past
track record in the playoffs.
Let�s break
it down a little �
---The
Stillers scored 27, 31, and 31 points in their 3 matchups
with Cinci this year.�
They could have scored more in the first game as it was a blowout.� They arguably could have scored more last
night if they needed to, but they also got 3 points off of a Kitna INT.� They
scored 31 points when they were in a shootout when they lost. Let�s say the 3
points offset the potential for more points in the 4th quarter, and
also based on previous experience�.the Stillers would have scored 31 points,
possibly 34-38 if it was a shootout, but I�ll stick with 31.
---The Bengals got some good output from Kitna
in the 1st half, but lets assume that
Palmer would have hit TJ House on a tough throw on their first drive that Kitna missed� so they would have had at least 4 more points
in the 1st half.�
---In the 2nd
half, it�s tougher to determine what would have happened as Kitna�s
performance dropped off, but the Steelers also played better pass defense.� We will never know, but you can say that
Palmer probably would have scored 7-14 points in the 2nd half.� I would guess 10 points, which would have
ended up 31-31�.
Bottom line
is that with the sorry state of the Steeler pass
rush, this game would have been very close with Palmer in there.� However, one major difference in this game
compared to the when the Stiller loss is that the Steelers had NO turnovers, so
I think they still would have won.
*********A
note to the Bengals:�
When your QB goes down, try and rally around your team and your backup
QB.� After Palmer went down, they showed
Chad Johnson and TJ House sitting, alone, on the sidelines with looks on their
faces like their friggin mother just died.� Get up, be positive and be a team leader and
encourage your team and especially your backup QB.� This was one instance where the Bengals showed their playoff inexperience.
****
---A word about Bettis � He ran pretty well, and had a some big holes to get
that 277.85 pounds going (that�s a guess ).� But that 5 yard TD run was the highlight,
bowling over a couple of defenders while maintaining his balance.� He also got a couple of key first downs from
short yardage.� I really think if you
keep his carries to about 10 per game, he could go one more year.� Although Parker didn�t have a good YPC
average, he ran well as the Bungles stacked the box� and caught 3 nice screens,
one for a TD.�� It was great to see the Steeler put Parker in the screen game when the run wasn�t
working.
---Ben
played as well as possible, with maybe one wobbler
and one dangerous screen pass, but everything else looked great, especially the
bullet to Ward for the TD.� This is the
story of the week for me based on his playoff performance last January.� If Ben continues to play this well against
Indy, we will have at least a chance to beat Indy next weekend.� Ben was also able to go deep several times,
which opened the run back up and perhaps sent a message that the Steelers can
still perform even if you shut down the run.
---What I
saw from the defense yesterday is that none of our Linebackers should be
counted on to cover, which hurts us in the blitz game.� Couple that with our weak-ass pass rush and I
say again, we need a stud LB in the draft next year, one that can speed
rush/cover/both, etc.
Nice job on
special teams coverage, despite some short Kickoffs.
The Indy
Colts are picked at 9.5 point favorites and who can blame the odds makers after
that dismal game we had against them in Week 12.� We will have the play a near perfect game to
have a chance, but we do have a chance, especially if the offense can keep up
the solid play.
Go
Steelers!
