by AubreyBruce, For New Pittsburgh Courier
On Dec. 29, 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to compete against (and I say the word “compete” with baited breath) the high-flying Ravens. The Ravens had nothing to gain having already clinched the number one seed in the AFC. However, the Ravens, led by their second-tier signal-caller, Robert Griffin III, seemed to be intent on twisting the jagged dagger into the neck of the slim playoff hopes and dignity of the Steelers, soundly beating Pittsburgh, 28-10, mostly with second-stringers.
The “talking deadheads” were crowing and asking the proverbial and often-asked question: can anyone beat the Ravens in the upcoming playoffs with their “all galaxy” QB Lamar Jackson? That was the yada, yada, yada mandate established as the Steelers cleaned out their lockers during the upcoming days.
Hark, hark, we must get back to the postgame chatter from the Ravens/Steelers game. There were headlines such as; “Ravens embarrass undisciplined Steelers 28-10 in Week 17…”
Ya know, the team that Mike Tomlin, the Rooney Rule and the EEOC disciple coaches.
In a game played on Oct. 6, 2019, at Heinz Field, the Ravens slid by the Steelers by the score of 26-23. Their victory was only assured after Steelers wideout Juju Smith-Schuster coughed up the ball the after making a catch and fumbling after trying to gain extra yardage. If not for that blunder, there is a distinct probability that the Steelers would have won that game in overtime against the dirty birds from B-more, setting a totally different tone for the 2019 season.
Going back to the Week 17 contest, a story from USA Today had a sports story titled: “Despite lacking star power, Ravens beat Steelers 28-10.” Another USA Today story written by Andy Nesbitt was titled: “John Harbaugh showed how much he doesn’t like the Steelers with this trick play.”
Mr. Nesbitt said this: “The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are bitter rivals and have been for quite some time. If you wondered just how much they don’t like each other, then all you had to see was what Ravens coach John Harbaugh did during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s season finale. Leading by nine points in a game that meant nothing to Baltimore but something to Pittsburgh, Harbaugh called for a fake punt on 4th and 1 from HIS OWN 11-yard line… and his team picked up the first down. I mean, that is SAVAGE.”
Well, well, well, it is now “Howdy poo-poo time,” and Mr. Harbaugh, the anointed coach of the year…oops, I meant to say “talent manager,” is now shopping for a few rolls of Charmin toilet tissue to soften the blow of playoff defeat for two years in a row because as grandma used to say, “Charmin doesn’t feel like toilet paper.”
You see, when you do the do on someone else then you better be ready for the poo-poo lala to rain on you. You even had a bunch of “media Yinzers” talking crazy about Tomlin and gushing about Harbaugh. Now after a long and undeserved bye, the Tennessee Titans came into the crabmeat capital of football with a running back disguised a Mack truck by the name of Derrick Henry. Mr. Henry stomped a mudhole in the Ravens’ you know what. Mr. Harbaugh, what happened to the trickery and tomfoolery against the Tennessee Titans? Where is the swig and swagger, cloak and dagger at now? The Texans took a knee in their final 2019 regular season game against the Titans, eliminating the Steelers from the 2019 postseason picture. The Ravens rested their top stars in their final Ravens/Steelers 2019 game, anticipating their divisional round playoff matchup against the Titans. Baltimore looked as if they were still celebrating their bye week against the Titans. The top-seeded Ravens looked as if they were birdseed. All the poo-poo that the Ravens talked ended up fertilizing the Titans’ psyche.
Bye, Bye, blackbirds. We’ll be watching Tennessee, not Baltimore, this Sunday in the AFC title game.
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