The matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers felt just about as tense on Sunday as it did 10 years ago when they faced each other in Super Bowl XL.
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Yes, Russell Wilson had his best day of his Seahawk career – on his birthday. Seattle was in the bottom third of the league in converting third downs into first downs, at around 37 percent for the season, after going 1 for 8 in the loss to the Cardinals on November 15. That’s disheartening because it means that we were doing our job on first and second, and not getting off on the critical down.
There is no defending his fake field goal attempt in the first half when the Steelers led by three or his decision to kick a field goal with three minutes remaining when his team trailed by five.
“It’s a really strong win”, coach Pete Carroll said after his Seahawks improved to 6-5 with their second straight victory. We had some loose coverages (Sunday), some holes in the coverage. He plays against zone coverage every day, that’s the Seahawks’ M.O.
Given the play of the defense all game, banking on them in that spot was sure to be second-guessed when they predictably broke down. Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse combined for five touchdown catches vs. Pittsburgh, reminding everyone that they were the Seahawks’ top receivers during the 2013 championship season.
Wilson and Ciara came together earlier this year and spoke about dating for a divine goal. “This is pretty exciting, I think, at this point”.
I was convinced 10-6 would get the Steelers in the playoffs a month ago, but that was before the Chiefs and Texans went on their winning streaks. It should. Carroll thought the Pittsburgh game just evolved into a “throwing game”, and the high point totals against the Seahawks this season are not a factor in how they approach their offense. His only reception Sunday was for 12 yards down the left hash marks on the play after Graham got hurt.
“It (stinks), the passing yards and no turnovers and the points”, Allen said. But it’s changed; we’re better. They’ve led in the fourth quarter in three of their five defeats. “We can’t keep opening the door and keep giving opportunities to really good teams”. “Just not enough largely, collectively to win”.
Wide Receivers- Antonio Brown was blanketed by Richard Sherman, but Markus Wheaton stepped up in a big way with nine catches for 201 yards and a touchdown. He was not made available to the media after the game, and Tomlin did not know the results of the test. “We’ll see”, he said about a half hour after the game ended. It was his first career start at cornerback and he was tested through the game, both in terms of the players he had to cover and the number of times Pittsburgh threw his way.
Also, linebacker Ryan Shazier has a concussion and tight end Heath Miller injured his ribs.
Added Carroll: “The last two games, he has been playing lights out”. But those are calculated risks you take during football games.
Luke Willson, who will step into Graham’s role as the team’s starting tight end, feels bad about what happened to his teammate, especially because he is a hardworking player, The Seattle Times notes.
“He stepped up and covered for me, otherwise I’d have been in the doghouse”, Sweezy said. He was in charge of containing Ben Roethlisberger.
Backup quarterback Landry Jones took over the offense on the final drive, while Roethlisberger headed to the locker room. “He was pretty broken up last night, and we spent a little time with him just to show him the love, because he needs it and deserves it”. ESPN also reported that Roethlisberger’s symptoms have subsided since the diagnosis, but will still be required to go through all stages of the league’s concussion protocol in order to play next week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts (6-5).
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“All of that stuff’s going on behind me”, Tomlin said.
