Indholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 34 - Number 6 i Steelers Digest

That’s what it’s supposed to look like. Not the Steelers. The Chiefs. There were two teams inside Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday matched in a game with playoff implications, but it didn’t take long after the opening kickoff to see clearly those were teams going in opposite directions. The hosts, the Kansas City Chiefs, arrived riding a seven-game winning streak, and with a defense that improved from a unit allowing an average of 29 points per game through the first seven games to 16.6 points per game over the past eight. The visitors, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have spent their time hovering around .500, never being better than two games over .500 or worse than two games under .500 for the entirety of this regular season. The Chiefs are peaking as the…

From the notebook of a sportswriter whose calm demeanor following the 36-10 pasting the Steelers took from the Chiefs is due to his low expectations: • Seriously, did you expect otherwise? • My friends at KDKA-TV must have. Bob Pompeani blasted the Steelers for coming out unprepared and unenthusiastic. That is close to saying they did not care. And Pomp’s partner, former Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke, agreed. • So, I went back to watch the first series (because there’s no chance I’m wasting the holiday season re-watching the entire thing). What I saw was tremendous long-range planning followed by short-term misery. • And I’m just kind of kidding around here, because Melvin Ingram appeared to be the target of a quick toss to Najee Harris to start the game.…

It could’ve been T.J. Watt. Or Minkah Fitzpatrick. Or Cam Heyward. Or Chris Boswell. But just as the key to real estate is location, location, location, the key to coming out on top in a game that was must-win in every sense except the mathematical is timing. Joe Haden didn’t make as many tackles as most of his teammates on defense, nor was he in the middle of as much of the action as some of his fellow defensive backs, but when the Steelers absolutely, positively had to have somebody step up and make a play, Joe Haden stepped up and made it. On a fourth-and-7 from the Pittsburgh 16-yard line with 46 seconds remaining and the Titans needing a touchdown to erase what was a 19-13 Steelers lead at…

It’s not unusual to see players on the field in pregame warmups with their cleats representing their city, showing their personality, or just something fun to fire them up. For the sixth year the NFL is allowing players to represent a charity that touches them deeply in a unique manner through the league’s player cause initiative: My Cause, My Cleats. The initiative was created for NFL players to showcase a charitable cause in order to bring attention to it, and the players take part in helping with the design of their cleats, with it encompassing the “It Takes All of Us” campaign the NFL launched. After the players wear the cleats, they have the option to auction them off to raise money for their cause on NFL Auction, with 100…

Inspire change. Two words that can have many meanings, but when used together, the meaning can be extraordinarily powerful. And when Steelers players come together to inspire change, the difference it can make can’t even be measured. Over the last few years, “inspire change” has become more than just words for the Steelers and those around the NFL. It’s become a call to action as a part of the league’s Inspire Change Initiative. It’s an opportunity for players to use their voices, their actions, and their hearts to make a difference. And Steelers players are doing just that, because in 2020 they formed a Social Justice Committee, a player-designed and player-run group that engages with the community on a personal level to address issues. The program focuses on multiple facets,…

They once played each other in a game that sent the winner to the Super Bowl. In another game where the winner was crowned their division’s champion and moved on to the playoffs while the loser was sent home to begin its offseason. They once played a regular season game to determine the venue for an inevitable third meeting in the playoffs. But not all of these games involve high stakes. Some of them are played for fun, and there is nothing more fun for one of these teams than beating the other. The Steelers and Ravens got together once again on Dec. 5 at Heinz Field for some more of their unique brand of fun, and while the stakes couldn’t be termed meaningless the stakes were more subtle than…

This is what they are, and at this stage of the season it would be foolish to believe that’s going to change much because there’s too much evidence to the contrary. This is a team that starts slowly on offense, and the evidence supporting that label can be found in the 46 total points the offense has scored in the first halves of the last eight games. Combined. It’s a team that is bad defending the run, whether the specific culprit in a particular game is poor tackling, sloppy gap integrity, or getting handled physically on the line of scrimmage, opponents have been running the football with historic levels of success on this defense. Again, the statistics prove the point, with the last seven opponents all rushing for over 100…

Christmas came a little early for several Steelers players when the Pro Bowl team was announced. For the 21st consecutive season the Steelers are sending multiple players to the Pro Bowl, and it’s the 30th time in the last 33 seasons they are doing so. And it’s the defense that is representing the black and gold. Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and outside linebacker T.J. Watt were voted to the 2022 Pro Bowl, which will be played at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 6. CAMERON HEYWARD – DEFENSIVE TACKLE Heyward is a Pro Bowl selection for the fourth straight year, and the fifth time overall, after being Mr. Consistency for the defense all season long. “Cam Heyward, No. 97, he wrecks games,” said Cincinnati Bengals Coach Zac Taylor. “It’s not often…

The outcome of the game was going to come down to one snap of the ball, from the 2-yard line with 12 seconds left. Baltimore Coach John Harbaugh decided to go for the 2-point conversion following a touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins with 12 seconds left that made it a 20-19 game. Harbaugh’s decision was to put the ball in Lamar Jackson’s hands and either win or lose on one play. Coach Mike Tomlin called his final timeout and set the defense, and in doing so he also needed someone to step up and make a play. T.J. Watt came through for Tomlin and his teammates, and today the Steelers are 6-5-1 and the Ravens are 8-4, all because of that 20-19 victory on Sunday at Heinz Field. Watt finished…