The most historic franchise in the NFL marked their names in the record book again this week. Only this time it was on the wrong side of a record setting 93 yard quarterback touchdown run by the Oakland Raiders’ Terrelle Pryor. That was the opening play of the game, and things didn’t get better for the Steelers from there.
*sigh* The Steelers went to Oakland for Sunday’s game with a 2 game winning streak in hand and the possibility of climbing closer to .500 on the horizon. Hopes were high that the team had put the 4 straight losses that started the season behind them. Instead, the Steelers left California with a 2-5 record, placing them last in the division behind the Browns. THE BROWNS! Oh no! We suck again!
The big issues were the standard ailments that have plagued the Gold and Black most of the season: injuries and turnovers. This week, however, tossed in another wrench: kicking. The injuries on the front line are catastrophic, with both the starting and backup Left Guards going down and the “he’s-been-injured-more-than-he-plays-draft-pick” Right Guard David DeCastro getting injured as well. This caused the running game to suffer tremendously, gaining only 35 yards. This led to Big Ben having to throw the ball nearly 50 times while taking 5 sacks in the process. Roethlisberger also threw two interceptions, one that was extremely questionable.
Now onto the new problem that has arisen. The punting and kicking were terrible against the Raiders! Shaun Suisham was great so far this season at a perfect 14/14. He missed 2 crucial field goals that truly could have changed the game considering that it finished 21-18 in Oakland’s favor. There was talk that the holder, and punter, Zoltan Mesko mishandled the 2 snaps that led to the Suisham misses. Mesko also had one of his own punts deflected, giving the Raiders good field position in a tight game. Those mistakes cost the team a win and Mesko his job because earlier today, the Steelers waived Mesko and picked up another punter, Mat McBriar. Will this be enough to cleanse the team and make sure that they don’t slide into another 4 game losing streak? I sure hope so because the Steelers travel to New England this week to face Brady and the Patriots on Sunday and they will make the Steelers pay for any mistake.
The Terrible Towel 