by Aubrey Bruce, For New Pittsburgh Courier
Hey, hey, hey, whatta you say? Dem dere Steelers might be on the way to the couch with a platter full of hot wings to watch the upcoming NFL playoffs or they might just be headed to the 2022 NFL postseason, depending on whom you ask. On Dec. 18, the Black and Gold invaded Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, looking meaner than Vikings that had run out of supplies and left with a 24-16 victory, displaying the heads of the Panthers’ running backs on a pole for confirmation. When it was all said and done, the Panthers’ running game performed as if they were a midget league team playing college boys.
Panthers QB Sam Darnold ended the game with 225 yards on 14 of 23 passing with 1 TD and his QB rate was 108.1. Carolina ran the football for 1.3 yards per carry, finishing with 21 yards on 16 carries: this was a paltry effort on the ground by Carolina being as though they had been averaging more than 117.5 yards per game on the ground.
The Steelers had 45 attempts on the ground for 156 yards (3.5 yards per rush). This after the Steelers suffered a terrible loss against the Baltimore Ravens the week before. The Panthers defense was the cure for what ailed Steelers second-string QB Mitch Trubisky subbing for injured starter Kenny Pickett for the second straight week. The Panthers’ bottom-feeding pass defense allowed Trubisky to complete 77.3 percent of his pass attempts (17 out of 22) for 169 yards. Also, unlike his performance against the Ravens, he did not throw any interceptions. Okay, enough about numbers. During a break in the action, Steelers linebacker Marcus Allen possibly committed the dumbest penalty of the season and one of the dumbest plays in the history of the NFL. The Panthers were trailing 21-7 late in the third quarter and had third-and-17 at the Pittsburgh 39-yard line. Cam Heyward sacked Sam Darnold for a 10-yard loss, which pushed Carolina out of field goal range and set up fourth-and-27.
The Panthers were going to punt, but they were awarded a first down when Allen decided that he wanted to venture over to the Panthers huddle just to exchange a few pleasantries. As a result of that friendly visit, he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving the Panthers a new lease on life and at that point, casting a slight bit of doubt on the outcome of the game. Allen was also penalized for violating the dumb, dumber, and dumbest rule: but that penalty was declined by Carolina. A few Pittsburgh media members immediately began advocating that Marcus Allen be benched and cut. Also, there is another bunch of journalistic “goons” that dare to accuse Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin of sanctioning the ill-advised behavior of his player.
These folks always desire Mike Tomlin to react as if he wears a dress like them when he reacts like a man and refuses to tie a player to the whipping post when there is questionable behavior by a player: if Tomlin doesn’t, they tie him to the whipping post instead. Picture this scenario if you will. What, if every time these sports “gurus” wrote a boneheaded article and the public advocated that they be fired? Well, let’s put it this way…only interns would be available to provide stories for the nation’s newspapers because there would be a serious shortage of writers.
Now, this is by no means giving Marcus Allen a pass for his behavior, but just because Mike Tomlin decided to handle the situation in an unorthodox manner doesn’t mean that the sky is falling. The NFL is a game, it certainly is not a cockfight or dogfight where players can or should be punished, arbitrarily and whimsically to satisfy some of the bloodthirsty scribes that think even the concussion protocol is a sign of weakness; yet many of these cowards hiding behind a computer keyboard would never in their wimpy lives dare to put on a pair of cleats and strap on shoulder pads to venture out onto the football field to compete. Oh, I forgot, they think playing soccer validates them. Makes one wonder how they handle disciplinary issues in their private lives. How many times in their youth were they sent to bed without supper for misbehavior? Hmm, makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
If the Steelers, by any stretch of the imagination, make the playoffs or preserve Mike Tomlin’s streak of never having a losing season, how many dogs are going to be penalized with their Alpo being withheld? Who knows, only the shadow knows.
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