DONTE MONCRIEF dropped another pass in the Sept. 15 game against the Seahawks, resulting in an interception, contributing to the Steelers’ 28-26 loss.
by Aubrey Bruce, For New Pittsburgh Courier
The Seattle Seahawks swooped into Heinz Field as scavengers looking to feast on the carcass of a Pittsburgh Steelers football team that almost seemed to be left for dead after they were mauled on the previous Sunday by the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
OK, the Seahawks were not the same as the dreaded Patriots but in the end, Pittsburgh remained unable to get the job done, falling to Seattle, 28-26, on Sept. 15. The Steelers were again outperformed in every area and seemed to still be just a bit out of sync.
The air was sort of collectively let out when Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a right elbow injury sometime during the second quarter and did not return to play in the second half. Roethlisberger completed 8-of-15 passes for 75 yards before he left the game; he also had a 67.4 passer rating. His longest completed pass was 15 yards. Enter backup QB Mason Rudolph. Rudolph was 12-of-19 for 112 yards with 2 touchdowns, one pick, and a passer rating of 92.4. His longest pass was 45 yards. Rudolph also seemed to inject some enthusiasm into what appeared to be at that point a very listless offense. But again, just as in the season-opener, the Steelers offense left the defense on the field far too long and the defense of the Steelers seemed sluggish and almost unable to respond and stop Seattle from running out the clock. How-ever, a bright spot in the Steelers’ defensive performance was rookie linebacker Devin Bush. Late in the fourth quarter, defensive back Mike Hilton caused a fumble and Bush scooped up the loose ball and ran it back and was tackled just shy of the end zone.
At that point Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, who had not done much as far as rushing all day, gouged the Steelers with his feet for two straight first downs, leaving the Steelers with no timeouts, sealing the win for Seattle. The Steelers seemed to be aware of Wilson’s “strategic” running, especially in the fourth quarter, but like many other defenses in the NFL, they still were unable to stop him. Steelers linebacker Mark Barron said: “We knew that in the fourth quarter Russ (Wilson) likes to take it over and keep the ball in his hands. That’s on the rush, simple as that.”
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin expressed a similar opinion about the rush as well when he was asked whether a spy was assigned to shadow Wilson when he ran and converted on the crucial first down to allow Seattle to run out the clock. “It was a five-man rush on the play that you’re talking about; the significant play, the third down play. We brought five because of his mobility, so to minimize escape lanes. I would imagine one or more guys had their shots at him. We didn’t get it done.”
Even though Rudolph had a decent second half in relief of the injured Roethlisberger, Tomlin did not seem to be in the mood to toss around accolades, especially since the Steelers were ultimately defeated. When he was asked to evaluate the performance of Rudolph, he simply said: “None of us did enough to win, so I am not ready to comb through it in those ways. I like some of the things that he displayed. His communication, his grit, but we have to find a way to win a football game and we weren’t able to do that today.”
The Steelers, with an 0-2 record, now have to travel to face the 49ers in San Francisco. Let’s hope that they don’t become a San Francisco treat.
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Just sayin’…with all of the raw talent, especially at wide receiver, there are a ton of folks that were whistling while skipping past the graveyard that held the tombstone of Antonio Brown’s tenure as a Pittsburgh Steeler. However, he has been a New England Patriot for less than a week but on Sunday, Sept. 15, the Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins, 43-0. Brown caught four passes for 56 yards and a TD. Brown will probably never qualify for sainthood or the priesthood but boy can he freakin’ play football. His career in Pittsburgh might have come to a screeching halt but he is still rockin’ ‘n’ rollin’.
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