Anybody watching the Bills/Steelers game? There was a play just before Buffalo’s field goal that has me baffled. Buffalo was on offense and threw an incomplete pass.
There were two flags on the play. Buffalo was flagged for illegal formation. Pitt was flagged for roughing the passer.
I would think that the penalties offset. But they didn’t. The offensive penalty was not enforced, but the defensive penalty was. Bills were awarded 15 yards and a first down.
Can anybody explain, please?
When there’s a foul on both teams, but one is only a 5-yarder, while the other is a “major” 15-yard foul (unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct), the 5-yarder is ignored, and the 15-yarder is enforced. I think that this is because those 15-yard penalties are considered to be substantially more serious than the procedural 5-yarders.
That makes sense, but has this always been the case?
At least for as long as I can remember (i.e., the '80s, if not before).
Also, it only applies if the 5-yard penalty does not confer an automatic first down (which is primarily, if not exclusively, defensive holding).
Also makes sense. Can’t believe I didn’t know that.
Thanks.
Well, looks like Kansas City is headed for homefield advantage. Bills up 23-7.
The Steelers’ defense looked really good in the first half, but whatever adjustments the Bills made at halftime, they seem to have worked.
I’m guessing another reason is - if you see some “minor” penalty like an illegal formation, and you know the play will be negated, you might use that as an excuse to tee off on the quarterback or otherwise commit a dangerous penalty safely knowing that it will only offset.
The Raiders fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther after today’s loss to the Colts, replacing him as coordinator with defensive line coach Rod Marinelli for the remainder of the season.
They had no sacks and no turnovers today – and were only able to even hit Philip Rivers once all day; in Guenther’s three seasons running the Raiders’ defense, it’s the fifth time that they’ve had zero sacks and zero turnovers in a game. Their defense has been near the bottom of the league in most categories.
Not sure if New Orleans was looking ahead to KC, if they couldn’t “get up” for the Eagles, or if Jalen Hurts is that fast/elusive, but the Eagles/Saints game was a real shocker… it was actually a blow-out until the freak fumble in the 4th that allowed NO to get within a score. Expensive QB controversy to follow in Philly…
I haven’t been paying a lot of attention to football this season and less to the Steelers, but I heard they were undefeated, so I watched the highlights of their games last week and this week. And…there were not a lot of highlights. They did not look like a (formerly) undefeated team at all in either game. Did they lose some key folks to injury or COVID? Because they’ve looked mediocre at best the last couple of weeks.
The Steelers defense carried them in a lot of games but something had to give and it seems to be giving now.
The lack of a good running game, receivers who drop too many passes, and a QB who seems on the decline is a liability.
At one point Pittsburgh was in a goal line situation and one of the announcers mentioned that they used to have Ben sneak it in when in similar past situations, but they can’t risk him in that anymore. That’s not something you want to hear.
But Tomlin is a really, really good coach. I think one of the best in the NFL, for years now. He might be able to figure something out before things slip away from them.
I agree Tomlin is an underrated coach. I think the lack of a strong running component is hurting them in a major way. Their offense is becoming predictable and while they might be able to spread the ball around enough to beat average teams, they’re going to have problems against good teams (and yes, at this point, I think the Washington Team counts as a good team)
I suspect that this is a significant part of it. They didn’t have James Connor for the previous two games, as he was on the COVID reserve list; yesterday was his first game back, and he had 18 yards on 10 carries, with a fumble.
In the past 3 games (win against Ravens, then losses to Washington and Buffalo), the Steelers rushed for 68, 21, and 47 yards.
Edit: upon further review, lack of a running game has been a longer-term issue for them. The Steelers haven’t rushed for 100 yards, as a team, since Week 5 against the Browns.
Because of the NFL bending over backwards to accomodate the Ravens, the Steelers had to play 3 games in under 2 weeks, which is absurd. That probably explains why they haven’t looked very good.
I heard a shocking (to me) statistic on the radio the other day. Do you know how many head coaches the Steelers have had since the AFL-NFL merger in 1966?
That’s not an error. They have had 4 head coaches since 1966.
Bill Austin 1966-1968 (this is the short one)
Chuck Knoll 1968-1991
Bill Cowher 1992-2006
Mike Tomlin 2007-Present
That’s some consistency right there. 4 coaches in 54 years, 3 coaches in 52. In contrast, the Cleveland Browns have had 4 different head coaches in the past 4 years.
That just boggles my mind.
Not sure if that’s true with Haskins at QB.
Interesting. I’ve always thought of him as overrated, a coach who inherited a stellar team and franchise and a future HOF QB and accomplished relatively little, given all those assets. But I’m biased against the Steelers, so maybe that’s it 
Agreed that they need Smith at QB. Haskins is not a good QB, and never will be. He’s just not an accurate passer - at least not consistently.
Just for kicks I threw $200 on the Brownies tonight +3 (100). Am I gonna get hosed here?