Maybe this was what they needed, because a game at this
venue against this opponent brings out something in the Pittsburgh Steelers. It
could be termed a quality, or a characteristic, or a necessary ingredient, but
it just seems that when they see those striped helmets they find it in
themselves to become more than the sum of their individual parts.
Football often is referred to as the ultimate team sport,
and the Steelers are never more of a team than they are in games against the
Cincinnati Bengals.
Yesterday at Paul Brown Stadium, it was more of the same.
Elements of the Steelers’ performance could be, and should be picked apart,
identified as below the line and targeted for improvement. But somehow the
Steelers found a way to compensate and overcome, and in that way their 28-21
victory over the division-leading Bengals was a thing of beauty.
The win raised the Steelers’ record to 3-2-1 and has them
above .500 for the first time this season, while the Bengals and the Ravens –
thanks to their shutout victory over Tennessee – are tied atop the AFC North at
4-2.
Some of the things the Steelers needed to overcome at
Paul Brown Stadium were leaky kickoff coverage, spotty red zone offense,
special teams penalties that adversely impacted field position, and a
mini-collapse by their defense at a time when the outcome of the game was
hanging in the balance. Most of it was self-inflicted, and the sum of it all
should’ve been enough to send the Steelers home with a defeat, but instead they
dug deep and found a way to overcome their circumstances and win a very
important game.
Wrapped up in all of this was Ryan Shazier’s first return
to the place where his life changed. It was last Dec. 4 at Paul Brown Stadium
while making a routine tackle on a seemingly routine play when Shazier
sustained a spinal injury that would require surgery. Part of the weekend for
him was his first trip back to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center,
which was where so much critical work was done immediately that was responsible
for putting him on a path where he was able to walk into that facility without
assistance 10 months later.
On Saturday afternoon Shazier spent some time with the
trauma team that rescued him from a possible life sentence in a wheelchair, and
then on Sunday he did everything he could to help his teammates achieve the
desired outcome.
Shazier forever will be a member of the Steelers family,
and he has found ways to contribute to the team without playing, and maybe this
whole return to Cincinnati weekend provided an emotional lift that somehow led
to the outcome yesterday afternoon. Maybe not. Or maybe this game was just a
natural step in the development of the 2018 Steelers. But whatever the cause,
it was a necessary development, and the Steelers figure to come out the other
end stronger mentally as a result.
Here’s one snippet that can illustrate the point. It was
the fourth quarter and even though the Steelers were clinging to a 20-14 lead,
their defense seemed to be on a mission to turn that six-point lead into a
deficit because the Bengals were methodically moving the ball toward a go-ahead
touchdown that seemed imminent.
It’s no secret that Artie Burns has been struggling at
the cornerback position opposite Joe Haden, struggling to the point that Mike
Tomlin had instituted a rotation system with the dual purpose of getting better
play at the spot while also trying to light a fire under the team’s 2016
first-round draft pick. With 2:29 to play, Burns committed an obvious pass
interference penalty that reeked of poor technique on a throw intended for Alex
Erickson, and Tomlin immediately pulled him from the game and replaced him with
Coty Sensabaugh.
Visibly distraught, Burns found a spot on the bench by
himself and hung his head. Almost immediately, Burns was approached by a
teammate who sat next to him and proceeded to provide some support mixed in
with a kick in the butt. That teammate was Antonio Brown.
Brown has had his own issues so far this season, both on
and off the field, but in that precise moment he was a teammate trying to do
what he could to rally a brother-in-arms. And then a short time later, it was
Brown who combined with Ben Roethlisberger to author the 31-yard catch-and-run
that capped a 77-yard drive that consumed 68 seconds and provided the Steelers
with the game-winning touchdown with exactly 10 seconds to spare.
It’s not possible, nor is it really necessary, to define
precisely the whys leading to the outcome, because what’s actually important is
the Steelers took steps here toward becoming a team. That’s what was necessary.
That’s what they can build upon. That’s what they should be able to call upon
in the inevitable tough times later in this season.
And they will have the Bengals to thank for that.
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