Good Teams Always Make You Pay for Your Mistakes
Steelers 20 Packers 10
Good teams always make you pay for your mistakes. Early in the second quarter that guillotine of a statement fell hard on Green Bay. Troy Polamalu’s fumble pick-up for the 13-3 lead got the highlight tape rolling and rallied Pittsburgh fans everywhere. That big play was set up by the worst back-to-back Green Bay miscues of a day filled with Green Bay miscues. Two Packers red zone false starts took a third and goal on the 2 and turned it into an obvious passing situation. Brett Favre dropped back, was sacked, lost the ball, and you know the rest.
Troy’s timely dine and dash was not the only turning point for Pittsburgh. Green Bay rallied after the Steeler TD, holding the ball for the final 9:30 of the half, with four for five on third down conversions. In other words, they kicked Steeler butt. Then, bad luck struck, the unfortunate and untimely push of a Ryan Longwell kick that hit Packers fans hard. All the effort was for nothing, making the trip to the locker room a rough one. The Pack was two scores down instead of one, as everyone heard the pin-prick of deflated expectations.
Green Bay, however, must have gotten it back at the half. It’s difficult to speculate on what speech Brett Favre gave his team at intermission. Maybe he didn’t say anything and just allowed professionalism take over. Maybe he was just being Favre, as his aura enveloped his teammates and brought them up. Regardless, the Packers lined up for the second half and proceeded to take it to one of the league’s top defenses, holding the ball over 7 minutes, systematically shoving it 65 yards down the Steelers’ collective throats for a touchdown, pulling within 3 at Lambeau before 70,000 screaming heads of cheese, as the chill got colder and the momentum got hotter.
Over the course of the game, Green Bay held the ball for 27 minutes of the 37 minutes played. But, they only had 10 points to show for it, and had given up that many on turnovers. Both teams were at a crossroads. Could Pittsburgh’s offense get on track? Had the Steeler D been worn down by the surging Packers? Can Green Bay finally produce scores?
Enter the Duce.
Pittsburgh’s runners gained only 72 yards in the first half, with Antwaan Randle El getting more than half of that on the end around for the first play from scrimmage. It was odd; the clinicians of rushing were being punished by a 1-6 team. Jerome Bettis was out, Willie Parker was hurting, and Charlie Batch’s passing game was anemic. Still, Bill Cowher knew what Duce Staley could do for a good, yet struggling team. Staley had struggled himself, spending more time than he wanted with the trainers in a Steelers career fraught with injuries. But, the man got together with his line and made the Pittsburgh ground attack a symphony of bone-crushers. In the final 22:30, Green Bay’s once dominant force held the ball only 6:55 as the Steelers defense turned down the compression screws. Duce Staley in that time reeled off run after run, taking the ball 12 times for 68 extremely tough yards, consecutive rushes of 7, 2, 13, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6, 3, no gain, 3, and 17 yards, complete with a touchdown that stretched the lead to 10, where it ended. It was a beautiful sight.
Back to the title of this piece: Pittsburgh scored 17 points off Green Bay turnovers. Note to self in the NFL: don’t screw up around the Steelers.
Steelers 20 Packers 10
Good teams always make you pay for your mistakes. Early in the second quarter that guillotine of a statement fell hard on Green Bay. Troy Polamalu’s fumble pick-up for the 13-3 lead got the highlight tape rolling and rallied Pittsburgh fans everywhere. That big play was set up by the worst back-to-back Green Bay miscues of a day filled with Green Bay miscues. Two Packers red zone false starts took a third and goal on the 2 and turned it into an obvious passing situation. Brett Favre dropped back, was sacked, lost the ball, and you know the rest.
Troy’s timely dine and dash was not the only turning point for Pittsburgh. Green Bay rallied after the Steeler TD, holding the ball for the final 9:30 of the half, with four for five on third down conversions. In other words, they kicked Steeler butt. Then, bad luck struck, the unfortunate and untimely push of a Ryan Longwell kick that hit Packers fans hard. All the effort was for nothing, making the trip to the locker room a rough one. The Pack was two scores down instead of one, as everyone heard the pin-prick of deflated expectations.
Green Bay, however, must have gotten it back at the half. It’s difficult to speculate on what speech Brett Favre gave his team at intermission. Maybe he didn’t say anything and just allowed professionalism take over. Maybe he was just being Favre, as his aura enveloped his teammates and brought them up. Regardless, the Packers lined up for the second half and proceeded to take it to one of the league’s top defenses, holding the ball over 7 minutes, systematically shoving it 65 yards down the Steelers’ collective throats for a touchdown, pulling within 3 at Lambeau before 70,000 screaming heads of cheese, as the chill got colder and the momentum got hotter.
Over the course of the game, Green Bay held the ball for 27 minutes of the 37 minutes played. But, they only had 10 points to show for it, and had given up that many on turnovers. Both teams were at a crossroads. Could Pittsburgh’s offense get on track? Had the Steeler D been worn down by the surging Packers? Can Green Bay finally produce scores?
Enter the Duce.
Pittsburgh’s runners gained only 72 yards in the first half, with Antwaan Randle El getting more than half of that on the end around for the first play from scrimmage. It was odd; the clinicians of rushing were being punished by a 1-6 team. Jerome Bettis was out, Willie Parker was hurting, and Charlie Batch’s passing game was anemic. Still, Bill Cowher knew what Duce Staley could do for a good, yet struggling team. Staley had struggled himself, spending more time than he wanted with the trainers in a Steelers career fraught with injuries. But, the man got together with his line and made the Pittsburgh ground attack a symphony of bone-crushers. In the final 22:30, Green Bay’s once dominant force held the ball only 6:55 as the Steelers defense turned down the compression screws. Duce Staley in that time reeled off run after run, taking the ball 12 times for 68 extremely tough yards, consecutive rushes of 7, 2, 13, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6, 3, no gain, 3, and 17 yards, complete with a touchdown that stretched the lead to 10, where it ended. It was a beautiful sight.
Back to the title of this piece: Pittsburgh scored 17 points off Green Bay turnovers. Note to self in the NFL: don’t screw up around the Steelers.
posted by Tim McGhee at 6:10 AM
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