Week 6 round up: The Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that thrive on defence. They rank first in the league in terms of points allowed and 6th in yards. The Steelers struggle a bit on the passing but against the rush, there is no stronger team in the league. Their
defensive prowess has gotten them success in the league. The Steelers are on third place in the NFL standing and first in the AFC North after six weeks.
The Steelers have played 5 games and won four of them. The first team they beat was the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons stand on top of the NFC South. The Steelers were pushed to their limits by the Falcons. Both teams boast a formidable defence and weren’t
keen on allowing points. Until the end of the 4th quarter, neither side had scored a touchdown. The Steelers could have won the game with 43 seconds remaining but a 40 yard field goal attempt with 43 seconds remaining was no good. The game was
tied 9 for 9 and it was only in overtime that the first touchdown was scored and the Pittsburgh won the game.
In week two the Steelers defeated the Tennessee Titans 19 against 11. The Steelers started the game with a touchdown off an 89 yard kickoff return. Pittsburgh relies on its excellent defence more than any other team. After the touchdown the defence gave
up just one opportunity to score to the Titans until almost the end of the 4th quarter. The Steelers forced a whopping 7 turnovers from the Titans. The desperate Titans even tried their backup Kerry Collins but were still bested by the Steelers
defence. Titans quarterback was sacked four times in the game. One of the best rushing sides in the league was allowed just 46 yards while they average 140.7 yards.
Tampa Bay was the Steelers next victim. The Steelers defence was as airtight as ever. However against the Buccaneers the offence came to life too. In the second quarter the Steelers scored 3 touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came after the Pittsburgh defence
forced a fumbled out of the Buccaneers on the 49 yard line and carried it 5 yards. Steelers’ backup quarterback Charlie Batch finished it up in a hurry with a 41 yards pass to Mike Wallace.
Pittsburgh’s winning streak would hit a bump against the Baltimore Ravens. Second in the AFC North, the Ravens aren’t particularly strong in the offence but are on par with the Steelers when it comes to defence, if not better. Both the Steelers and the Ravens
are teams who focus on defence and make sure not to allow their opponents to score. Against each other the defence is equally matched and the offence became the defining factor. The Steelers managed an early lead but lost it in the second quarter. In the fourth
they scored their second touchdown and looked set to win. However in the final minute a 47 yard punt from the 3 yard line and a 10 yard penalty put the Ravens 40 yards from touchdown. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco drove the 40 yards in 4 plays to lead Baltimore
to victory.
After the Bye Week the Steelers came back to face the Cleveland Browns and won the game comfortably. Colt McCoy threw 281 yards and a touchdown for the Browns but the Steelers had their starting quarterback return after facing a four game suspension. Pittsburgh’s
offence was a brand new monster this time out. Ben Roethlisberger threw 257 yards for 3 touchdowns but was intercepted once.
Pittsburgh defence got a bit of a wakeup call in that game. Linebacker James Harrison was fined a staggering $75,000 for a hit he landed on Cleveland`s Mohamed Massaquoi which knocked him out. The defence is their trump card and now they are being told by
the NFL that if they continue to play with the ferocity that they do, they would be penalized. Maybe the Steelers would bring it down a notch but that shouldn’t be reason enough for the Miami Dolphins to breathe a sigh of relief. The Dolphins would be facing
Pittsburgh in week 7.
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