The Pittsburgh Steelers were not supposed to be victorious Monday night.
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Chargers tight end Antonio Gates returned from a four-game suspension and caught two touchdown passes. But the play also almost backfired in the worst way possible. Even their other starting safety Mike Mitchell was shaken up during the game as well.
Brown has been targeted just 15 times in Vick’s two games compared to 35 targets in the season’s first three weeks.
With Pittsburgh showing life defensively, it gave them hope they could still win this game. He did managed to get a 12-play, 80-yard gaming winning drive against the San Diego Chargers.
Vick (13 of 26 for 203 yards, 1 touchdown pass and 1 interception) to his credit did a solid job tonight, but he needed help.
To that point in Qualcomm Stadium, the Steelers defense had played well but was wilting slowly in the heat and to the talented right arm of Phillip Rivers. Would it be smart to send out his rookie kicker Josh Lambo to attempt a career-long 54 yard field goal? The decision made sense because with Michael Vick at quarterback, the Steelers offense is shaky that they didn’t want to go to overtime. “I hadn’t requested one”, Coach Mike Tomlin said at the start of his weekly news conference Tuesday on the South Side. McCown then led a 51-yard drive that set up a 32-yard game-winning field goal by Travis Coons.
The National Football League had no comment early this morning on the 20-second clock runoff that happened after the touchback before the Steelers’ final possession. But that wasn’t noticed by anyone until postgame.
Pretty basic stuff in concept; snap the ball to star running back Le’Veon Bell.
San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers throws a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, October 12, 2015, in San Diego. Eighteen seconds running off the clock isn’t part of the game anymore, because this isn’t just a game anymore. Carson Palmer completed 11 of 14 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cardinals.
Instead of lining up for a field goal from the one-yard line and five seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter, Tomlin went for the win. Perhaps, because there was less time before the 2-minute warning, the Steelers called different plays than they might have otherwise called, or the Chargers played a different defense. Too many factors were going against them. Hopefully Martavis Bryant, Ryan Shazier, Dan McCullers, and Roethlisberger play next week.
The Steelers improved their all-time record in MNF games to 43-24 (18-19 on the road). Not to mention the clock malfunction.
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A total of 18 seconds ran off the game clock before the Steelers ran their next play with 2:38 left in the game. Antwon Blake made one of the biggest plays of the game, though, intercepting Rivers and taking it 70 yards to the house (now, if only Blake could learn to tackle).
