Offense fails to produce with game on the line

Monday, November 15, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 14: Antwaan Randle El #82 of the Pittsburgh Steelers fumbles a catch in the endzone under pressure from Patrick Chung #25 of the New England Patriots on November 14, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

It's understandable if the Steelers have to check the paper this morning to see that they still share first place in the AFC North Division with the Baltimore Ravens. The way their offense was booed off the field early in the third quarter Sunday night, they must have thought they were the Buffalo Bills. Not that Big Ben and the boys didn't deserve every one of the jeers. They were awful when the game was on the line in the 39-26 loss to the New England Patriots.

It's hard to believe this was the same Patriots' defense that came in ranked 29th in the NFL, that had given up at least 20 points in six of its eight games and never fewer than 14, that had been gouged for 404 yards in a 34-14 loss to the Cleveland Browns a week earlier. For most of the night, the Steelers' offense made the Patriots' defense look like, well, the old Steel Curtain.

You bet quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his guys deserved to be booed.

Really, three points before three thoroughly meaningless touchdowns in the fourth quarter?

And how about the six points the offense gave the Patriots midway through the fourth quarter when Roethlisberger's pass for wide receiver Antwaan Randle El was deflected and intercepted by safety James Sanders, who returned it 32 yards for a touchdown that pushed the New England lead to 29-10?

Roethlisberger and Co. should be embarrassed. They gave the Steelers no chance in a game when their supposedly stout defense also was overmatched. At least the defense had an excuse, though. It had to go against the great Tom Brady, the best quarterback on the planet.

It didn't help the Steelers' offense that wide receiver Hines Ward missed the final three quarters. His neck was injured when he took a hit from Sanders after what was originally ruled a 5-yard catch over the middle. Patriots coach Bill Belichick challenged, contending Ward dropped the ball, and replay officials agreed. When Ward did not come back in the game, his streak of 186 games with at least one catch ended. It was the third-longest such streak in NFL history.

That pained Ward a lot more than his sore neck. It also turned out to be a huge headache for the Steelers' offense.

PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 14: Ben Roethlisberger is sacked by Mike Wright #99 of the New England Patriots during the game on November 14, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

The Steelers could have used Ward when they moved to the Patriots' 8 with 5 1/2 minutes to go in the second quarter. On second down, wide receiver Mike Wallace dropped what should have been a touchdown. Then on third down, Randle El dropped another would-be touchdown pass. Jeff Reed had to kick a 22-yard field goal that cut New England's lead to 10-3.

The Steelers also could have used Ward when they had a first-and-goal at the Patriots' 8 late in the third quarter. Running back Rashard Mendenhall was stopped for no gain before Roethlisberger's second-down pass for tight end Heath Miller in the end zone was incomplete. On third down, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders failed to look for Roethlisberger's pass as it sailed by him. Reed had to come on again to kick a 26-yard field goal ...

Wait, he missed it wide right.

The boos that Reed heard and deserved were no more intense than what Roethlisberger and the offense heard on their first possession of the second half. On second down, Mendenhall lost 4 yards on a draw play. On third down, Roethlisberger was sacked for a 10-yard loss when guard Ramon Foster failed to block defensive end Mike Wright. It was the fourth time Roethlisberger was sacked by a defense that had just 13 sacks in the first eight games. There would be one more sack in the final minute. One of the sacks happened when Mendenhall failed to pick up linebacker Gary Guyton. Another was a coverage sack. The third happened when linebacker Tully Banta-Cain beat tackle Jonathan Scott. Throw in a holding penalty on guard Trai Essex and another on Scott that was offset by a Patriots penalty and you get a pretty good idea about what kind of performance it was for the Steelers' linemen.

Of course, all you have to do is look at Mendenhall's rushing totals to know it was a rough night for the big fellas. He had a 34-yard run midway through the second quarter, but other than that? Not much. His other 10 carries produced only 16 yards. That against a Patriots' defense that gave up 230 rushing yards to the Browns.

Maybe it would have been different if the Patriots hadn't scored on their first two possessions to take a 10-0 lead. Maybe the Steelers could have used Mendenhall more. Maybe they could have kept the ball and kept Brady off the field.

Or maybe not.

The paper this morning will tell the Steelers they are 6-3 and still have that share of first place in the AFC North. They are not the Bills.

But the Steelers aren't the Patriots, either. This game left no doubt about that. Nor did all of the boos from the disgusted home crowd.


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