Brian Roach’s Good, Bad & Ugly – Steelers vs. Chiefs
Joe Kuzma and I discussed this on the pregame podcast, and it is still a valid point – if you buy into the narrative that the Steelers play “down” to bad teams, then you have to accept the flip-side of that narrative that they play “up” to good teams.
After Sunday’s game, I think it is 19-4 against teams with records better than .500 over the past 23 games.
During the first half of the game, you certainly wouldn’t have thought that the Steelers were the lower-ranked team. The domination in the first half was insane.
Just look at these statistics for the first half:
| Steelers | Chiefs | |
|---|---|---|
| Total First Downs | 16 | 1 |
| Total Net Yards | 232 | 6 |
| Total Offensive Plays | 36 | 16 |
| Net Yards Rushing | 116 | -2 |
| Net Yards Passing | 116 | 8 |
| Time of Possession | 21:41 | 8:19 |
All of that with the Steelers messing up a free kick and AB and Ben being on the wrong page leading to an interception.
That’s like giving up 2 turnovers in the first half, and the Chiefs still were getting their hats handed to them. The only reason they got 3 points is that got the ball on the Steelers 32 after the free kick.
I’ve rarely seen a game so one-sided at that point.
There is a whole lot of good to be taken from this game, a little bit of bad, and I’m not sure if I can come up with anything truly ugly. So let’s break it down.
Good
Ben
17/25, 252 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 97.4 Passer rating.
Considering how bad Ben “appeared” in the last game (we covered this already, and I’m not going to rehash it now) he was much better this game.
Ben got lucky (and by lucky I mean he chose to ball somewhere near Antonio Brown who therefore caught it in amazing fashion) on a throw that could have been a pick, but he really only missed on one deep throw to Vance McDonald. I think it was Ed Bouchette that pointed out they had practiced that throw during the week and connected on it. I think it’s really still just a matter of timing and getting familiar with each other, and that will improve as the season goes on. Overall Ben had 5 throws of over 20 yards, so he was much more on target than he has been.
It was a solid performance that prompted Ben to redact his prior weeks statement –
Ben about bounce back: "This ol' cowboy got a little something left in him."
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) October 16, 2017
Did he really have to use the word “cowboy”? Geez.
Brown
8/10, 155 yards, 1 TD, 19.4 yards per reception.
Phillip Gaines has to be shaking his head even now.
This is just what Antonio Brown does. He’s on a different level. I think the fact that the Chiefs chose to keep Marcus Peters on Martavis Bryant for the entire game may have benefited AB a little, but he was going to get his catches no matter what they did.
Just another day at the office for the NFL’s best receiver.
Bell
179 yards on 32 attempts, 5.6 yards per attempt, 1 TD
Finally!
I wonder if Le’Veon Bell wishes we could play the Chiefs every week! I mean just look at his totals from the last 3 games against the Chiefs:
| 10-2-2016 | 1-15-2017 | 10-15-2017 |
|---|---|---|
| 144 yards on 18 attempts | 170 yards on 30 attempts | 179 yards on 32 attempts |
Those numbers are wild. And hopefully it’s just the beginning for Bell and the Steelers as the season progresses. This offense needs to make Bell it’s identity, focus on the run and use the pass to put the opposition away after Bell has ground them into the dirt.
Bell had 7 runs of plus 10 yards, and if not for a loss of 4 late in the second quarter would have had a hundred yards in the first half.
There were a number of runs that were just phenomenal, but the one I will remember is one that didn’t count.
https://twitter.com/steelcityundrgr/status/919936756002238466
Bell picked up 26 yards on a series of dazzling moves as he wove into and out of creases that almost seemed non-existent at times. All for naught because of a holding call on B.J. Finney, but nonetheless, it’s a play worth looking at again, because it shows what Bell can be at his very best.
Mike Hilton
4 Tackles (2 solo), 2 TFL, 1 QB Hit
I’m a late to the game Hilton truther, but count me as a member of the Hilton Hive at this point. The young man has made me a believer.
The speed to the ball is just awesome to watch. He plays like a hybrid, part safety, part corner, and is definitely not shy about mixing it up. In the second quarter he nails speedy Tyreek Hill for a loss of 9, and in the third quarter he single-handedly blew up a screen to Travis Kelce for -2 yards.
He never got home on the blitzes he had, but his presence was felt.
This young man looks like a gem and a real find for the Steelers.
Vince Williams
4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 QB Hits
Here is hoping Vince is OK. He left the game with a hip injury late, and didn’t return. It’s a real shame too, because he was having a heck of a game: 2 sacks, 2 TFL and 2 QB hits – and Vince was just all over the place.
Nice to see both members of “Shake and Bake” ballin’ out!
Defense
The truth is that there are so many players I could call out on the defense. Stephon Tuitt was disruptive, Cam Heyward continues to play at a Pro-Bowl level, Jayvon Hargrave, T.J. Watt, Artie Burns, Sean Davis – they all had solid games.
As Joe and I discussed on the podcast, even the names you aren’t hearing are contributing, like Joe Haden, who is quietly forcing quarterbacks to look elsewhere, because he’s covering his side of the field like a blanket.
And let’s not forget Uncle James – who comes in riding his giant metal horse and saves the game with a timely sack in the fourth quarter! (That sack gives Harrison 80.5 for his career, and makes him the first and only Steeler with 80+ sacks since the stat was tracked).
They got a little sloppy in the fourth quarter, but pulled it back together to seal the game. This group is getting better, and will continue to do so. They could be a force by the end of the season.
Mike Tomlin
The Steelers were the better team on the field Sunday, and it was clear that they had been well prepared for this game.
That’s a direct result of good coaching. Tomlin had his team ready, and it showed.
Even his challenge of that downed punt was good in my opinion. I looked at it 10 times, and I think his toe was on the goal line. I would have challenged it. (In addition, I maintain that if the same replay officials who overturned that TD in the Jets/Patriots game had reviewed this, it would have been overturned. Or maybe they did and that’s why it wasn’t?)
This was a good job by Coach Tomlin, and he deserves to be credited for it.
Bad
The Refs
Blatant holding calls, especially on Bell in the end zone early in the game, missed. The officials continue to underwhelm me, and I almost don’t want to talk about them anymore.
They.
Stink.
Situational Football
The one thing I was unhappy with in this game was what seemed to be a lack of awareness or understanding of the situation.
An example of this falls on the shoulders of Le’Veon Bell. Ben hits Bell with a dump off pass, and it’s clear he can easily make the first down, but instead he tries to make a play and ends up just short.
It was more important, at that point in the game, to get that first down. Instead, the Steelers are forced to punt the ball.
These kind of situations things seem to be a nagging problem. JuJu Smith-Schuster for all his promise continues to get tagged for holding calls that he simply needs to avoid. Nobody realizing what to do with the free kick after the Chiefs safety that results in 3 points for the Chiefs.
It’s really hard to complain much, but I would like to see them become better at understanding the situation of the moment, and play accordingly.
Ugly
I absolutely, positively got nuthin’. Sorry, there wasn’t a single thing that was so odious that I felt it needed to be placed in the Ugly bin.
Let’s hope there are more games like that!
Conclusion
This was a great win by the Steelers – maybe even a signature win.
But that story is yet to be told. We won’t know if that’s the case until this season is over, and we see how things play out.
What the Steelers need to do now is build on this game, and keep their momentum. Stack some wins. Cincinnati is up next, and the Bengals have seemed to find their rhythm lately, so it’s not going to be a gimme for the good guys.
AFC North football is always tough, but this team looks primed to start a solid run towards the end of the season and beyond.
