By the time night falls, the Steelers season likely appears over, but the team at least fought their way to a final win on Sunday, topping the Miami Dolphins 30-24 for their third straight win and a regular season record of 9-7.
The Steelers playoff hopes took an early hit when the Houston Texans rallied from down 14 in the fourth quarter to rally and beat the New England Patriots 34-27. The Steelers would have benefited from a Houston loss, and now their playoff hopes fall in the hands of the Raiders, Chiefs and Bengals.
Of course the team would not even be in this spot if it were not for a five-game losing streak, but what’s done is done, and one thing the team can take into the offseason is a three game win streak and the knowledge of finishing the season playing much better football than in the middle.
The team came out fast Sunday, scoring on it’s first three drives to build a 17-10 lead. The offense had its way most of the day with the Dolphins, as the running game led by Rahsard Mendenhall had 94 yards, and Willie Parker, playing what more than likely will be his last game as a Steeler, went out with 91 yards on 12 carries. The offense had 403 yards on the day.
Ben Roethlisberger had 220 yards on 18-for-27 passing with three touchdowns and a QB rating of 128.6. The QB ends what was his best season as a pro with 26 touchdowns and just 12 picks, and over 4300 yards passing, a franchise record.
The defense did its usual collapse in the fourth quarter, as up 27-10 they allowed two quick TD’s to make it 27-14, then a Roethisberger fumble put the ball at the Steelers 13 with 6:56 to go. The defense though did come up with a big play as Ryan Clark picked off Tyler Thigpen, and the Steelers went on a drive from their own 2 to the Dolphins 15 and Jeff Reed kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it 30-24 with :40 seconds left.
On the first play after the kickoff, Ike Taylor got his first pick of the season, taking it back 20 yards to ice the game and give Pittsburgh the six-point win. It was a good way to end what in the end will go down as a season of missed chances, and one that where if the team would have just gotten one more win, they would still be playing football next week.
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Mike
January 3, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Stoopid Raiders
mark
January 3, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Im glad they ended the season on a win streak. Regardless of how it will end up, the Steelers know they have holes to fill and serious evaluation of players and coaches is needed. Just saying that the team had a typical 4th quarter collapse speaks volumes on where the fixing should begin. DEFENSE. Offensively, the Steelers showed they can put up points but are in need of better balance. The Offensive line did not dominate but at the same time they did not play horribly either. Is that good enough? Not in my book. 50 sacks are 50 sacks no matter the reason and they need to protect their GREAT Quarterback better next season. I watched Farrior today and it just seems to confirm my fear, he is a much slower player now. At 34 its to be expected, but his declining speed cost them 1 game early. That 1 game might have gotten us in the playoffs. No, I am not blaming Farrior for the lost season but there is room to improve that position. Mike Wallace was a FIND! Mendenhall played very well. Miller and Ward were their typical self’s, dependable. I can say a lot of things both pro and con but we all know what happened this season. The defensive secondary was atrocious. Case closed. Missing Troy was tough to contend with, but in all honesty not 1 player back there stood up and made plays. It took 16 games for a CB to grab a pick! Inexcusable. Cushions,giving up 3rd and long too many times and not creating turnovers cost this team tons this year. Clark, Carter and Townsend will probably be elsewhere next season. Spaeth and Parker too. Im looking forward to Free Agency and the draft of course, but I was hoping to see my beloved Steelers playing next week! Well, we can hope for some help but it doesn’t look good. Anyway, lets keep up the Steeler talk in the off season.
George H
January 3, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I saw a Mock draft… 1ST RD- Earl Thomas FS TEXAS…. 2ND RD- Brandon Spikes ILB FLA… 3RD RD- Sergio Kindle OLB TEXAS
mark
January 3, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Just a bit early for a mock draft. Thats an unbelievable stretch to imagine who is going when and where while we are in January.
Mike
January 3, 2010 at 6:55 pm
I guess I should re-phrase; stupid steelers. If I am relying on the raiders to get in the playoffs… Let’s not forget that 43 was missing for 3/4 of the year. You can not discount that fact. He is an instant upgrade going into next year. The games he did play, 43 made plays. When healthy next year, there is no reason to expect he won’t make plays. Think about that additon alone for next year. We are going from tyrone carter, a slow, old average athlete, to a perenial probowler that is younger, faster and far more athletic. Even if the other 3 starters from the current secondary are the same, that is an instant upgrade and WILL make the secondary better. That said, they still need to get better and younger in the secondary. Taylor took a couple of years to become a starter and has had a nice career. only if he had better hands. They need more athletes on defense on all three levels. As for the offense, I think a couple of strategic changes and they are set. I am not sure the specifics of the stat i saw today but the steelers have the worst 3rd down conversion percentage in the redzone in the league. That is game planning in my opinion.
jay
January 3, 2010 at 7:05 pm
That’s all she wrote! Willis Mcgahee and the Suck that is Jemarcus Russell….Oh well, Mark, you can count on me for steeler talk in the offseason….at least I won’t be able to rant (that is until they don’t do shit in free agency)…..Peace and please don’t talk about mock draft until at least after the super bowl.
mark
January 3, 2010 at 7:19 pm
I didnt think it would hurt as much as it just did to watch that criminal Ray Lewis and that arrogant punk Harbaugh make the playoffs while our Steelers are done. Its now sinking in that the Steelers were 6-2 and are going to watch the playoffs while that puke Ravens team and the horrid Jets can actually be playing next week.What the hell happened? Well, I guess we got what we deserved after losing those games. I can never root for the Ravens or Bengals. I personally hate the Chargers and Colts. That leaves the Pats and either Texans or Jets! Ok, I guess Ill root for the Texans or Jets. My GOD, my worse nightmare. I guess I can root for the Saints or Packers in the NFC. Who am I kidding? When the Steelers are out, Im heart broken and could care less who wins it all. Hey Jay, lets try to keep some serious Steeler dialogue going right on through the spring and summer. This makes for a LOOONG, Cold winter, and I hate the winter.
jay
January 3, 2010 at 8:22 pm
A’ight, Mark, check in here periodically and I’ll be sure to blog…what do you think, btw, of Spikes (Florida) or that McClain (Bama) linebacker…and/or, do you think Ike Taylor at #2corner immediately upgrades that position so long as we get ourselves a good, studly (would only ever use that type of terminology with the same sex when dealing with football prospects; my wife thinks I’m a homo-jk, she just doesn’t understand the football obsession) CB for next year? Can Hood combined with a low-grade free agent NG split time run stopping/pass rushing? Could gay suck any more than he already does??? What are the chances of signing Bethea, or Collins or a shutdown corner?!? Do we need a round 2 Tackle? Let me know same steel time, same steel channel (okay, that was corny—just trying to liven things up after not going to the playoffs after a second subsequent Super Bowl….But, like I tell all my fine weather-feather Eagles fans/compadres around here…win one and we’ll talk!)
thomas crowley
January 4, 2010 at 2:11 am
Its over steeler nation courtsey of the baltimore ravens.
mark
January 4, 2010 at 9:12 am
Hi Jay. Jay, I have to agree with DrGeorge from last week. I would rather see a FA corner step right in and play. Ike Taylor is not going anywhere and will be starting next season. I absolutely think Hood will be an upgrade next season in only that he sees the field more and spells an aging Aaron Smith or a tweener like Kiesel. If Hampton does not return, the team has to go out and get a NT in either FA or draft #1. It is too important for this scheme that the NT takes up 2 blockers for the 4 LB’s to make plays. Joel Steed was great at that and then we had a drop off until Hampton showed up. No coincidence that our best defensive efforts of the last 15 years or so came when those 2 players were in there.I do think the team is going to sign a stud FA, just that it is only going to be at 1 position I’m afraid. One last thing, Jay. William Gay was an experiment that backfired. I want to believe that McFadden would have held the fort a bit better but the Steelers chose another route. Gay is just not an everyday,every down CB. Nickel and Dime more likely and its probably best that he shares time. Gay was bad this season for sure,but I dont know if I ever agreed that he was a sure thing. Last season he played rather well, but the entire defense was healthy and also played great around him.Now you know Gay cannot hold his own without the benefits of personnel around him. Ty Carter has always been a capable DB, but when he was subjected to 11 starts he was exposed too. Subsequently we saw Clark play sporadically and the entire system broke down. It like a puzzle I suppose and certain pieces let us down. At least our idea of what they were supposed to do did. Jay, keep in touch bro, I can talk Steelers all day all year! Wish I had your email or cell! Take care.
jay
January 4, 2010 at 9:08 pm
Mark, my email is sabotageprod@mac.com
Peace!
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