Recapping the Steelers 16-14 victory over the Eagles

[Dodens Grav]

Recapping the Steelers 16-14 victory over the Eagles (read more)

The Pittsburgh Steelers came off of their early bye week looking to get back to .500 after falling on a last second field goal to the Oakland Raiders in week 3, although it may not have always looked like it. None the less, the veteran unit persevered through mistakes, penalties, and a late lead-changing drive by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick to take a 16-14 victory.

While Vick had been 3-0 already this season in end-of-game lead changing opportunities, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had been 0-2, and only had one fourth quarter comeback last season. As fate would have it, the third time was the charm, as Roethlisberger took the ball with 6:33 remaining and used every second on 14 plays to set up the game-winning 34 yard Shaun Suisham field goal.

The much-maligned place kicker, by the way, is now 8 for 8 in field goal opportunities through one quarter of the season, including two from 45 yards.

The Steelers took a 10-0 halftime lead into the locker room feeling good about themselves, knowing that they would also be getting the ball after halftime, but after they failed to score to open the second half and then helped the Eagles to score on their first second half drive with 30 yards’ worth of penalties, it began to feel as though things would not go their way.

Just before halftime, when Suisham made the score 10-0, the Steelers had the opportunity to take a 14-0 lead. They were set up with second and goal from the 9-yard line, and Roethlisberger hit receiver Jerricho Cotchery with what looked like a clear path to the end zone. However, he stumbled over his own feet and fell down at the 2.

On third down, the officials failed to flag Eagles cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for a defensive holding call against wide receiver Mike Wallace, forcing them to settle for a field goal.

The missed opportunities came to a head after the Steelers twice failed to stop the Eagles on 4th and inches in the fourth quarter, which led to the Eagles taking a 14-13 lead. But the Steelers had nobody to blame for their late-game predicament but themselves after they themselves failed to convert on mistakes made by the Eagles.

[lardlad]

Vick doesn't fumble on the EZ, I'm not sure we win.

[Fire Arians]

Originally Posted by lardlad

Vick doesn't fumble on the EZ, I'm not sure we win.

if my aunt had a dick she'd be my uncle

[harrison'samonster]

if my uncle had a dick, we wouldn't have to listen to the same old boating accident story every Thanksgiving.

[btaylor179]

thats funny

[steelbad@50]

Originally Posted by Fire Arians

if my aunt had a dick she'd be my uncle

[jiminpa]

If Vick didn't fumble in the endzone he'd be someone else. I really don't like him, and it is good to see that he is such a loser.

[GoFor7]

Originally Posted by jiminpa

If Vick didn't fumble in the endzone he'd be someone else. I really don't like him, and it is good to see that he is such a loser.

[realdeal]

Ike Taylor is not a top tier corner, and our secondary will be our downfall!!

[madtowndrunkard]

yea our defense is a mess..... we won a game we should have lost. I'll take it.... the win buys us a little more time to right the ship. We should not be overly confident from this win... it's true if Vick wasn't a butter fingers we lose. If our goal is to win playoff games we have a LONG way to go.

I have yet to hear an explanation from a reputable source in the know as to why our defense is so horrible. Some plays it looks like our D-line is just getting blown off the ball... others it looks like our LB's are too slow or easily blocked. Our ILB's were really struggling to get to the outside early in this game. Then on pass plays we struggle to get pressure and our corners seem to beat like a drum when left alone. The loss of Troy's speed is really glaring as well. I just don't see an easy fix on defense.