The more I look back and think about this game, the more convinced I am that it was a miracle we only lost by 1 point.
Steelers coming off a bye.
Rested.
On a hot streak.
One of the best defences in the league.
Well coached.
Quality QB on a hot streak.
Versus
Washington on their 10th straight game.
Desperately in need of a bye.
QB nursing ribs.
Injuries across the O line at crucial spots.
Missing our #1 RB
Flawed in our secondary and without the CB help we traded for.
Without our kicker and long snapper.
The odds were decidedly against us.
This was the first game where the offense looked tired. They didn’t look sharp. The dropped passes were a pretty indicative symptom of that. Our injury reports pre game told the tale of a wounded undermanned OLine, and the Steelers smartly took advantage by blitzing us like crazy, putting Daniels under more pressure than I think he’s seen so far this year. Indeed, while he wasn’t his usual slippery dynamic self, he was still pretty poised and effective, just let down a lot by any receiver not named Terry.
There’s also the fact that we have rookies all over the squad, including Newton filling in for Allen. I suspect the Steelers were banking on him being the player to jump on the hard count, I suspect they might have just punted had Allen been in there instead. But the rookie jumped and that was the game.
Two things I think are clear.
This team can hang with the best the league has to offer even when they’re beaten, battered, bruised, and don’t play their best game. We lost to Baltimore and Pittsburgh by a total of 8 points. Can you imagine what that differential would have been 12 months ago? They’ll learn from this, and with reinforcements in the offseason they’ll come back stronger and deeper and with more experience under their belts about what it takes to win. I can’t wait!
And 2… we need that bye week in the worst way!!!!
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