Bam and I were split on how this game was going to turn out. I thought it was going to be a complete blowout from the start by the Steelers and they would never turn back. Bam thought it was going to be a close game with the Steelers giving it up at the end. When the Steelers jumped out to a 13-0 lead, it looked like I would be right. The Stees were just marching at will on the Bengals. They were stopping everything the Bengals were giving them. They had their running game going for the first time this season. It looked over.
Then the second half started.
The teams looked like they switched positions. The Steelers only had one drive of more than 10 yards in the second half. The Steelers defense was picked apart again. The last two Bengals drives of the game, each resulting in touchdowns, were 85 and 71 yards, respectively.
There will be so many fingers pointed after this game, especially since this is the first time they’ve lost back to back games since 2007, and it’s the first time they’ve lost to the Bengals in forever. I’m sure you’ll hear “Super Bowl hangover” more than once in the upcoming week. But there’s no reason to give up all hope just yet, there’s still a lot of season left to play.
On to the grades…
Grades
Fast Willie – A
Easily his best game so far. He broke off some long runs, and was 7 yards shy of 100. I’m really confused by people who continuously try to write him off as done.
Chad Ochocinco – C –
Even though he was the leading receiver for the Bengals, he really wasn’t the reason they won. Most of his catches were in the first half when the Bengals did nothing, and he only had one catch in the fourth quarter.
Jeff Reed – D
Unlike what Meat Loaf, 2 out of 3 is bad. Losing by those 3 points is killer. His miss might have been long, but not out of his range.
Steelers Offensive Line – C+
They only gave up one sack and gave Willie some decent lanes to run, but they still let too much consistent pressure on Ben.
Santonio Holmes – D
This was his lowest total yards receiving (18) since December 2007. He was targeted six times. He hasn’t been himself after the first two games.
Mike Wallace – A+
What a game by this kid. This might cement his place as number three receiver over Limas. He caught every ball thrown his way. I think we’ve just seen the beginning from him.
Steelers D – C
Their stats looked good, but this is back-to-back games that they’ve allowed a long game-winning drive.
WTF moment of the game
Bengals ball, 4th and 10 with 36 seconds left on the Pittsburgh 15. Carson hits what has to be the last option in Brian Leonard, who outruns Farrior to the first down. Once that happened, you knew the game was over.
Guy we’d like to see in a Steelers uniform
Cedric Benson. This guy has been on a tear in the 2009 season. He finally seems to have found his game that everyone’s been waiting for.
Game Ball
Carson Palmer. As stated before, he had two long touchdown drives at the end of the game against one the best defenses in the league. We still aren’t convinced he is the same player he was before his injury to Kimo, but he’s definitely getting back there.
The final word
Some fans thought that if it was any time for Troy to get injured, it was during this stretch of “weak” opponents. But with the Steelers losing their last two, and playing a tough Chargers team on Sunday night football next week, it’s an easy possibility they could start off 1-3. No time is a good time for Troy to get injured.
