The Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks faced off yesterday in a game that’s outcome would have serious playoff implications for both teams. When it was over, the Seahawks did much to resuscitate their postseason aspirations, while the Steelers found themselves on the outside looking in for an AFC Wild Card birth.
Russell Wilson’s five touchdown passes, including two fourth-quarter strikes to Doug Baldwin, were enough to push the Seahawks to a 39-30 win over the visiting Steelers. Turnovers, questionable decisions and mistakes doomed the Steelers who now must find a way to get back into the playoff mix with five games remaining.
Time for this week’s edition of three up, three down.
Three up:
*Raise your hand if you saw Markus Wheaton having far and away the best game of his NFL career. After amassing 45 total receiving yards in his last five games, Wheaton broke out in the biggest of ways against the Seahawks with a nine-catch, 201-yard performance that included a dazzling 69-yard touchdown catch to give the Steelers a short-lived fourth quarter lead.
With Heath Miller out with a second quarter rib injury, and Antonio Brown limited much of the day, Ben Roethlisberger looked for Wheaton throughout and he delivered in a big way. Wheaton has largely been a disappointment since being a third-round pick in 2013, but the soon-to-be free agent showed why the Steelers used a valuable pick on the Oregon State product. Now can this type of play continue, and will offensive coordinator Todd Haley look to utilize him more consistently down the stretch?
*Give credit to the Steelers offensive line. Considering Roethlisberger dropped back to pass more than 60 times and officially had 55 pass attempts in the loudest stadium in the NFL, the fact that they only gave up two sacks on the day is impressive. Alejandro Villanueva was responsible for one of those sacks, but had an otherwise tremendous performance and is increasingly making the case that he is a bonafide starting left tackle.
The line also limited the pre-snap penalties in a raucous environment and having to rely on a silent count throughout.
*I don’t think there is a better defensive lineman in the game right now than Cameron Heyward. Sure, others might have better numbers and get more national attention, but I dare you to actually sit down and watch him play to play, he’s absolutely dominant. Once again, he’s only credited with three tackles, but he’s disruptive every down, manhandling opposing offensive lineman like they are ragdolls.
That was on full display when Heyward was credited with a first-quarter sack as he drove his blocker(s) back five yards and slammed Wilson to the turf. Heyward also notched his second blocked kick of the season, this time a PAT attempt that forced Seattle to chase points later in the game. If Heyward does not at least make the Pro-Bowl, it will be criminal.
Three down:
*There are many things you could point to in this loss, but to me it has to start with the awful job by the Steelers pass defense. Antwon Blake was absolutely dreadful from start to finish, and was beat repeatedly by both Jermaine Kearse and Baldwin. Blake also added two special teams penalties to add to his misery.
Blake was not alone, Will Allen was beaten badly on Baldwin’s 30-yard touchdown grab that would ultimately give the Seahawks the winning score, while Ross Cockrell was repeatedly beat on inside slants throughout the day. Defensive coordinator Keith Butler must bear some of the responsibility in this one, as the Steelers looked lost and out of position in pass coverage time and time again. It was eerily reminiscent of Week 1 against the New England Patriots. Where were the adjustments?
*Few have defended Mike Tomlin from the often ridiculous criticism he’s faced than yours truly, but the decision to run a fake field goal to start the second quarter is pretty hard to defend. First off, it’s not so much the decision to go for it in that spot, I have no problem being aggressive, but why do you allow the first quarter clock to run out and then run out the field goal team?
In essence, you showed your cards, and with Landry Jones spotted by the Seahawks as the holder in place of Jordan Berry, they absolutely know you are running a fake. Add that with the field goal unit out there, you don’t have the weapons on the field to give you the best chance of converting the play.
And what do you know, Jones forces a pass to tackle Villanueva that is intercepted by Jeremy Lane and returned 56 yards deep into Steelers territory. Six plays later the Seahawks score a touchdown not only to take a 7-3 lead, but steal away all the momentum the Steelers had after a largely dominant first quarter.
Again, no problem going for it, but where is Roethlisberger? Why get cute there? It makes zero sense.
The decision to kick the field goal late to cut the Seattle lead to 32-30 with three minutes left could be argued either way. Tomlin had faith his defense could make one stop and give Roethlisberger time to put the team position to win. It almost worked, but another gaffe by the secondary made that moot, and opened Tomlin up for additional criticism.
*Finally, it’s nearly impossible to end up -4 in turnover margin and get a win. Add the fact you are playing the two-time defending NFC champion on the road and you need a minor miracle to pull it off. Despite of a his 456 yards through the air, Roethlisberger’s two interceptions were converted into touchdowns.
Couple that with the earlier TD off of the Jones interception and that was 19 points off turnovers. That’s simply too much to overcome.
