Steelers @ Texans: Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night

Photo via Steelers.com

I have a confession to make. I haven’t actually watched this game. Nor am I going to try and write it up, even though I did watch the highlights, twice. (We had friends over for Christmas dinner, and they couldn’t come until early evening, as they were driving in from a considerable distance.)

I’ve recorded the game and will watch it tomorrow, but it’s just too late tonight. And besides, it’s Christmas. I will make just one small observation, gleaned from the highlight reel, which makes me think there wasn’t a lot of suspense in the game—the vast majority of the “highlights” when the Texans’ offense was on the field were the numerous sacks by the Steelers’ defense. That has to hurt. Almost as much as the fact that the crowd at the stadium appeared to be 90% Steeler fans.

So we can all rest easy, safe in the assurance that the Steelers have a first-round bye clinched. Since the Patriots still appear to have the replay ref firmly in their pocket, there’s probably no need to risk Ben, Bell and so on next week in the Browns game on the off-chance the Pats lose next Sunday. Although I note the Pats play the Jets next week, also at 1 p.m., and Tomlin might have pause for thought should the Jets actually be allowed to score a touchdown or two against the Pats while keeping Brady in check. I have a suggestion to Josh McCown—you might want to throw the ball to someone besides Austin Seferian-Jenkins, just in case…

5 comments

  • cold_old_steelers_fan

    I pvr’d the game but it got put on halfway through while family members were accumulating in the part of the living room that hadn’t been appropriated by the extra table poking into it from the dining room (1960’s era bungalows are not the roomiest of places and I wasn’t going to serve supper in the rec room, especially as it is all carpeted. I can at least wipe up the hardwood floors on the main level).

    It was the type of game the Steelers needed to have. A type of game that has been lacking at times. A game where they completely dominated an inferior opponent (I felt sorry for the Texans. That is an abnormal number of injuries). They need to have a similar game against Cleveland. Ben needs to keep developing a rapport with players not named AB or Bell.

    On totally unrelated news. I had the opportunity to try a taster of good mescal at the liquor store (free sample after I asked a staff expert some questions about it). If you like scotch, you should like mescal. Now I can make myself a mescal old fashioned (2 part tequila, 1 part mescal, 1 part orange liqueur and a dash of orange bitters built over ice). It has a different name but I can’t remember it at the moment, but it is good and since it has orange liqueur, it is sorta reminds me of Christmas (mandarin oranges are a strong childhood memory).

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  • Even in a “blowout” there seems to be a tipping point when the game was in the balance. At !0-0 the Texans rushed down the field and seemed on the point of making it !0-7, but unaccountably tried to pass on the goal line — twice. Artie Burns made a sweet interception to get us out to the twenty, and from then on we were up by enough that they fact that they could run on us was immaterial.

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  • I saw some exciting things this game.
    1. We came out motivated, focused, and efficient against a weak opponent on the road. This team has been so good in close games, and now dominating in a potential trap game, have shown themselves to be mentally tough. If this team is playing angry throughout the playoffs, we might look back on the Patriots game as a good loss.

    2. Vance McDonald gives our offense another dimension because he has the athleticism to turn short catches into chunk plays and offers another player besides Bell to stress the defenses LB corps and influence safeties. The synergy of the two of them together, with the Outlaw thrown in as well, makes us really dangerous in 2TE sets.

    3. Antonio Brown might have lost his PR job. Eli Rogers looked like Tyreek Hill on his PR opportunities yesterday. It’s just one game, so you have to take it with a grain of salt, but if the light just went on for Rogers and our PR unit, we might start looking forward to watching punt returns

    4. Bud Dupree had a good game, with several strong plays. It’s against a weak OL, but it’s good to see in what’s been a disappointing year for him so far. If he can catch fire for a stretch of games like he did at the end of last year that would be huge. Speaking of huge pass rushers, Dupree was overshadowed despite his good game by Mike Hilton, the only CB in history to record 3 sacks in a game. We’ve known all year Hilton is an outstanding blitzer and he was able to feast in this game primarily because of the lack of awareness by Houston’s sorry QB’s, but it just highlights again how good he can be. And it’s fun

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  • Unfortunately, Josh McCown broke his left hand two weeks ago, and has been placed on IR for the rest of the season. His replacement is Some Dude. In this case, the Dude is Bruce Petty, not to be confused with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
    However, if anyone thinks this guy Petty is gonna beat the Patriots, he will break your heart.

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