In the history of the National Football League entering Sunday there had never been an 11-10 final score. Until now. And it wasn’t pretty by any means, but for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they will gladly walk out of Hinez Field with a 7-3 mark after a rather ugly 11-10 win over the San Diego Chargers. The Steelers offense was three Jeff Reed field goals, the last one with 11 seconds left, and a second quarter safety.
The now 4-6 Chargers had their chances, but the Steelers D answered the call each and every time, and at the end of the day, they were able to score just one TD and a field goal that gave them a 10-8 lead with 6:41 to go. They had 216 yards of offense against the number one ranked defense and 15 first downs, but were not able to get much going with QB Philip Rivers throwing for 162 yards and two interceptions.
Ben Roethlisberger, who went through a tough week after a bad outing vs the Colts that cost the team the game last Sunday, was much better vs the Chargers, going 31-for-41 for 308 yards. He led the teams final drive even after a couple of bad penalties and got the team close enough for Reed to hit the chip-shot 32-yard field goal to seal the one-point win.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was so irate after the game that he refused to talk about the refs, who called a whopping 13 penalties on the Steelers for 115 yards, and flagged the Chargers just once for five yards. There was a report that he even had a bit of a tantrum in the hallway after the game as he yelled at the refs for the lopsided calls and they also took away a last play Steelers TD as they called the Chargers for an illegal forward pass, when it appeared just the other way as the Steelers Troy Polamalu took what was a loose ball for a score on the games last play.
The Steelers D did a great job on LaDainian Tomlinson, who did have the games only TD in the first quarter, but otherwise had just 57 yards on 18 carries (3.2 per carry). Willie Parker on the Steelers side played hard despite coming off an injured shoulder and had 115 yards on 25 carries. Hines Ward led the Steelers with 11 catches for 124 yards, including a few big ones on the game-winning drive.
The win gives the Steelers a one-game lead in the AFC North after the Ravens lost to the Giants Sunday, and they can extend that lead with a win Thursday night against the 1-8-1 Bengals at home.
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Beetle Bailey
November 16, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Tomlin had all the right in the world to be PO at the refs. There were a lot of ticky tack and phantom calls against the Steelers. There was blantent holding by SD on many pass plays that went uncalled along with a SD receiver running right into the corner who had position in the first qtr which gave SD the ball on the 1yd line. But as Steeler fans we should be used to getting screwed by the refs it is like a tradition now.
Josh
November 16, 2008 at 8:33 pm
That game was fixed to beat the spread. Please tell me i’m not crazy, that was bullshit. The refs made sure that sd stayed within the spread on multiple plays. I only had 5 dollars on the game and i’m pissed. I’m sure there are a lot of other gamblers with more money than me that took a hit hear. Let your voices be heard.
Josh
November 16, 2008 at 8:35 pm
ps this game should be reviewed to expose this crap.
mike
November 16, 2008 at 8:38 pm
I hate to be that fan that complains about play calling but give me a break. 41 passes vs. 28 runs. FWP was running great and Arians refused to feed him the ball. He had 25 carries but he should have closer to 35. I am not in the meetings obviously but if that is the best gameplan our offensive coaching staff can come up with, this football team is going to limp through December and if they are fortunate enough to make the post-season, be one and done again. I wonder if LeBeau makes fun of Arians under his breath? OUr defense is dominating teams every week and every week our offense has a terrible game plan with zero attention to detail.
Tim
November 16, 2008 at 8:49 pm
That had to be one of the WORST officiated games I have seen in a long time! The officials did everything they could to give San Diego every chance imaginable to win the game.
I’m not going to hold my breath but I would hope Dan Rooney files a formal complaint with the NFL head office!
I’m glad the Steelers won the game but I don’t know how happy I should be over an 11-10 win. At least they came from behind and Ben moved them right down the field in the final game winning drive.
Let’s air it out Thursday night against the Bengals. Nothing would make me feel better than a final score of Pittsburgh 45 Cincinnati 0 – Ha Ha!
mark
November 16, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Guys, I have to say that anyone who does NOT believe that football games are rigged is living in a fantasy world! That was blatently a fixed game! 13 penalties to 1 and an absolutely atrocious call on the last play that kept the Steelers from covering a 5 point spread! c’mon people the powers that be could not let the Steelers cover. That spread went from 3 to 4 to 5 in the last 3 days and up to that point the Chargers were going to cover. Now, enter Polamalu’s hustle and the refs were left with “how do we make this work in Vegas’ favor”? This was as bad as Phil Luckett’s coing toss 10 years ago in Detroit. I am so sick of 60 year old, 150 lb refs controlling the pace and scores of these games. Please tell me I am not alone on this web site that feels this way? Its one thing to blow a call, but 13 penalties to 1, at home,and then taking away a clear TD that would blow the spread? Enough is enough.As a Steeler fan, you take the win, but Im begging everyone to please make a stink about this and I am talking about ALL fans. I was on vacation this summer with a Pro football ref that I will NOT name. I wish I had the SAC to have actually asked him more intense questions about things like this. I am sure he would not have been truthful with his answers. He was a great guy and I spent hours with him griling him about the game itself. Its games like this that cause me to call this ref and all the rest of the officials just one word… CRIMINALS.
Buzz
November 17, 2008 at 4:55 pm
First of all, to the dude who suggested fixed games…please man, go see your shrink quick ‘cuz the meds aren’t working. However, that was one of the worst officiated games I’ve seen in a long time. From the terrible defensive holding call that gave SD their first score right up to the blown call that took away a Steeler TD (even though it didn’t matter, still would have been a nice score for Troy). Refs make terrible all around the league, we just notice more when it’s against our guys. Anyway it was a win, a very badly needed win.
mike
November 17, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Hey conspiracy nerds. Let me get this straight; the refs wanted the steelers to cover because that is where the money was going, right? So why call 13 penalties on the steelers and hinder their prospects of winning the game much less covering the point spread? Are we to believe the refs were helping the dog the whole game and then all of a sudden, 43 swoops in and makes a play at the buzzer to have the steelers cover and then the refs huddle, walk over and get on the horn to Vegas and ask, “Vinnie, where is the money going? Steelers? OK, we will wave it off to save you guys 60 million and change. Send my check to the off shore account in Barbados. Say hi to the wife and kids.” Come on guys, its called reality and it is a great place to be.
mark
November 17, 2008 at 10:11 pm
You guys must be kidding right? How can anyone explain the blatant mishandle of that last call? how can one team be guilty of 13 penalties and the other team commit 1 or 2? are you really suggesting that point spreads and the millions of dollars that are gambled each week on every game have absolutley nothing to do with the eventual outcomes? So basketball referees like the one who was found guilty of fixing games is an isolated incident right? wake up guys! C’mon Buzz, fixing sports events is as old as the sports themselves. Crooked boxing judges,crooked referees and crooked officials.And I really dont appreciate being told to “see a shrink”