It was a short week for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as they traveled north to take on their long time rivals the Cleveland Browns.  Cleveland was the media’s darling to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl this offseason, but has had a rocky go of things.  Pittsburgh came into tonight winners of four straight and in control of the second wild-card spot.

The Steelers offense, which is already without its top quarterback, would see its number one wide receiver and running back leave the game with injuries.  JuJu Smith-Schuster left the game with a concussion, and James Conner exited early after reinjuring his shoulder.  With these types of injuries, and sloppy line play, it is easy to see how the offense was limited for the entire night.

Mason Rudolph hasn’t been great since coming in for ...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

At the beginning of the season, today’s matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers seemed like it could have been an offensive shootout.  But after injuries and uncharacteristically sloppy play have plagued these teams for much of the season thus far, it was a must-win game for both this afternoon at Heinz Field.

Penalties, missed opportunities, and turnovers dominated the storyline of this afternoon’s game, but the Steelers outlasted the Rams for a 17-12 victory in front of their home crowd.

The Rams took an early 7-0 lead on Dante Fowler’s 25 yard return of Mason Rudolph’s fumbled snap.  The Steelers responded when Rudolph connected with James Washington from 3 yards out to tie the game.

A 43 yard fumble return by Minkah Fitzpatrick gave the Steelers a 14-7 le...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

With as many injuries to key players that the Pittsburgh Steelers have on their roster at the moment, every game has them in the position of underdog.  That continued to be the case today as they welcomed the Indianapolis Colts to Heinz Field.  Indianapolis has been a surprise this year with their starting quarterback, Andrew Luck, retiring a couple weeks before the season started.  Jacoby Brissett has done a good job of filling the spot, but an injury would send him to the sidelines.

The first quarter saw both teams feeling each other out and field goals would be the only points put on the board.  The first one came off the foot of Adam Vinatieri, as he booted a 25yd FG halfway through the quarter.  Pittsburgh would answer with just under a minute left in the first with a 21yd FG by

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

The Miami Dolphins, widely regarded as the worst team in football, held a 14-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers last night in the second quarter.  The crowd at Heinz Field, the commentators on the Monday Night Football broadcast, the Steelers, and even probably the Dolphins, were all in shock at what they were witnessing.  This is most certainly a down year for Pittsburgh, but on paper, they should have had no problems beating this Dolphins’ team.

After a terrible start, the Steelers got down to business, beating Miami by a 27-14 score to improve to 3-4 on the season.

Ryan Fitzpatrick connected on two touchdown passes, from 5 yards and 12 yards out respectively, to take a two score lead in the first quarter...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

Winning on the road in the NFL is difficult, doing it with a third string quarterback is unheard of. That was the challenge facing the Pittsburgh Steelers when they hit the road to play the Los Angeles Chargers in a Sunday night matchup. Devlin Hodges made his first career start tonight and moved the offense to pick up a 24-17 Pittsburgh victory.

The Steelers defense got the scoring started in the first quarter when rookie Devin Bush recovered a fumble and returned in nine yards for a touchdown. Six minutes later James Conner scored his first touchdown of the night with a twelve-yard touchdown run to put Pittsburgh up by two touchdowns.

The second quarter was more of the same...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

Despite beating the Cincinnati Bengals last week on Monday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced a virtual must-win game against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field this afternoon. And for already the second time this season, they lost their starting quarterback, losing a nail-biter to their division rivals in overtime.

The Steelers fell to 1-4 on the season after the loss, and while they are just two games out of the division lead, by losing their first two quarterbacks just five games into the year, one would have to believe things look awfully bleak for this team going forward.

Mason Rudolph was injured in the third quarter, falling unresponsive after getting sandwiched between two Ravens defenders...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals met at Heinz Field Monday night in a battle between two teams looking for their first win of the season.  Primetime games are usually filled with good teams in compelling matchups, but this one just featured two winless teams who happened to be longtime rivals.

Cincinnati got things started halfway through the first quarter on a 28yd FG by Randy Bullock.  This would be the only points the Bengals scored on the night as Pittsburgh’s defense kept them in check.  The Steelers defense accounted for seven sacks, one fumble recovery, and one interception.  This is the kind of defensive pressure this team needs in order to balance a young quarterback on the offensive side.

From the second quarter on it was all Pittsburgh.  Mason Rudolph gave t...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

It was an emotional day at PNC Park.  Steve Blass was stepping into retirement, Clint Hurdle was relieved of his duties, and oh yeah, the Pittsburgh Pirates were playing their final game of the season.  Unfortunately for the Bucs, they ended the season with a whimper, falling 3-1 to the Cincinnati Reds.

Trevor Williams started for Pittsburgh, giving up two runs on five hits in seven innings.  He fell to 7-9 on the season, despite pitching a solid game.  The offense, unfortunately, didn’t provide much support on a day that the team really needed to win.

The Reds took the lead in the top of the second on a solo homerun by Aristides Aquino.  Brian O’Grady’s solo homerun in the fifth inning put them in front 2-0.  A sacrifice fly by Jose Osuna in the bottom of the sixth cut the lea...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

After an hour and five-minute rain delay, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds continued their three-game series at PNC Park on Saturday night. It was a night to celebrate the career of former Pittsburgh pitcher and current broadcaster Steve Blass.  However, in the end Cincinnati had the final celebration with an extra innings victory.

Tucker Barnhart got the scoring started in this game with a 364 ft. solo home run to right field in the second inning.  The Pirates tied the game in the second when Jose Osuna scored on a past ball.  Later in the inning Steven Baron hit an RBI double to bring home Kevin Kramer.  The Reds tied the game in the fourth when Jose Iglesias plated Phillip Ervin with a single to shallow left center.

James Marvel had his best start since being called up fro...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

Kevin Newman hit two homeruns, including a two run walk off in the ninth, as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of their final series of the season last night.

The Pirates’ shortstop has had a great rookie campaign, and is finishing up strong with a huge performance in the final Friday night of the regular season at PNC Park.

In his final start of the season, Steven Brault gave up four runs on four hits with four walks and 10 strikeouts in five innings.  Brault has had an up and down season, and whether it is as a starter or a reliever, one would have to believe he will find a roster spot on the team next season.

The Reds scored a pair of runs in the first inning and then Phillip Ervin singled home two more runs in the fifth inning, increasing the lead to ...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions