By Bob Smizik | Sunday, 4:55 p.m.
Random thoughts immediately following what might someday -- maybe today -- be remembered as the game that undid the Super Bowl champions:
* The Steelers got a huge break today when the super lowly Oakland Raiders beat the Cincinnati Bengals, who are in first place in the AFC North. But the Steelers may need more than that. Based on the way they’re playing and the way they’ve consistently played down to their level of competition this season, the Steelers, who lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24, have to worry about making the playoffs. They fell to 6-4 with this loss. The Chiefs won for only the third time.
* Although the game was decided in overtime, it was lost on the first play when -- incredibly -- Jamaal Charles returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.
I
t was the fourth time a kickoff has been returned for a touchdown this season. It is almost inexplicable that such a talented team could fail so often in this one phase of the game.
I defended special teams coaches Bob Ligashesky and Amos Jones last week but I won’t do it this week. The players must perform but there is no excuse for such a low level of execution on kickoff coverage. The buck stops with the coaches.
But not just with Ligashesky and Jones. There was so much focus on the kick coverage this week that is had to fall into the domain of Mike Tomlin. That’s what head coaches do when certain aspects of their team are in disarray. They go from being a supervisor to being hands-on.
Tomlin had to be tightly involved with what changes were made this week and the game preparation. That’s his job. Ligashesky and Jones might take the fall for this at the end of the season, but Tomlin had to be extremely involved with all that went on and as much to blame as the assistants.
* Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians didn’t exactly thumb his nose at the clamor for more running plays, but he continues to do plot the offense his way, which means lot and lots of passing.
That plan of attack allowed the Steelers to dominate the Chiefs offensively and Ben Roethlisberger was a large part of that. He completed 32 of 42 passes for 398 yards and three touchdowns.
But there was distinct downside to all that passing. Roethlisberger was intecepted twice, both times by linebacker Andy Studebaker and both led to scores. The first, early in the third quarter, gave the ball to the Chiefs on their own 38, from where they began a seven-play, 62-yard touchdown drive. The second, later in the quarter, was returned 94 yards to the Steelers' 8 and led to a field goal. Studebaker, a graduate of Division III Wheaton, was making his first NFL start.
Rashard Mendenhall carried 21 times for 80 yards, Willie Parker six times for 24 yards. The most crucial carry of the game did not go to Mendenhall or Parker but to Mewelde Moore. On a third and 2 in overtime, with Charlie Batch just in the game to replace Roethlisberger, who suffered an apparent head injury, Arians called Moore’s number and the play went for a 3-yard loss. The Steelers punted and never got the ball back.
* Although the Steelers dominated the Chiefs -- 515 total yards to 282 and 44 minutes of possession to 22 -- they had three chances to win the game in the final minutes and overtime and ended up punting on all three. Just like last week, when it looked like Roethlisberger would pull out another game in the fourth quarter, it again was not to be.
With 4:45 remaining the Steelers had the ball on their own 29. They got one first down but on a third and 7 from the 45, Roethlisberger was sacked.
They got the ball back with 1:47 remaining but again got one first down and had to punt. After Roethlisberger threw to Heath Miller for 5 yards on first down, he threw incomplete and then was sacked again. After not being sacked the entire game, he was sacked twice late in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers won the coin toss in overtime, got two first downs, one on Batch’s first play -- a 17-yard pass to Santonio Holmes. But a screen was incomplete, Mendenhall ran for 8 and Moore lost 3 bringing on another punt.
* It was an ugly afternoon of football but the Steelers are still very much in the playoff hunt. Their four losses put them together with Jacksonville, Denver and Houston, which plays Monday, as four-loss teams. Indianapolis, Cincinnati, New England and San Diego have a better record than the Steelers.
Posted
Nov 22 2009, 04:54 PM
by
Bob Smizik