Well, this game has turned. That didn’t knock the Steelers down, it pissed them the fuck off.
…and the blatant jersey pull that wasn’t called gives the Pack yet another touchdown. 31-all.
I think the replacement refs came back and nobody noticed.
So if I have this figured out correctly:
If the Steelers, and Jets win and the Chargers lose next week, then all of them, along with the Dolphins and Ravens, are 8-8.
The first wild card tiebreaker is “best team in the division within the tie”; the Steelers have the tiebreaker over the Ravens (split head-to-head; Steelers 4-2 in division over Ravens 3-3), and the Jets over the Dolphins (split head-to-head; Jets 3-3 in division over Dolphins 2-4).
Since there are three teams, the tiebreakers are:
(a) Head-to-head sweep, either all-wins or all-losses; does not apply as San Diego did not play either the Jets or Pittsburgh
(b) Conference record: Pittsburgh is 6-6 while San Diego and the Jets are 5-7, so the spot goes to Pittsburgh.
And, improbably, the Steelers are still alive!
After that shitshow by the officials, they pulled it out. So here’s the scenario:
Rats have to lose to the Bengals
Chargers have to lose to the Chiefs
Jets have to beat Miami
Pittsburgh has to beat the Browns
So, Cleveland fans, here’s your big chance. Assuming the Chiefs and Bengals don’t lie down like dogs and have some pride, it could be your big chance to drive a stake into the heart of your hated rivals in a game that matters in December. Wouldn’t it be nice to be relevant again, even for a week?
Not quite - I thought the Steelers and Ravens were playing each other next week, but Baltimore is playing Cincinnati.
If the Steelers and Jets win and the Chargers and Ravens lose (to the Chiefs and Bengals, respectively) next week, then all of them, along with the Dolphins, are 8-8.
The first wild card tiebreaker is “best team in the division within the tie”; the Steelers have the tiebreaker over the Ravens (split head-to-head; Steelers 4-2 in division over Ravens 3-3), and the Jets over the Dolphins (split head-to-head; Jets 3-3 in division over Dolphins 2-4).
Since there are three teams, the tiebreakers are:
(a) Head-to-head sweep, either all-wins or all-losses; does not apply as San Diego did not play either the Jets or Pittsburgh
(b) Conference record: Pittsburgh is 6-6 while San Diego and the Jets are 5-7, so the spot goes to Pittsburgh.
Note that, technically, the Chiefs have nothing to play for; they cannot win the AFC West, and cannot be knocked out of the #1 wild card spot. IIRC, a wild card team’s record is meaningless in the postseason unless both WC cards meet in the conference final (which could be the only way Monday night’s 49ers game isn’t the last ever at Candlestick Park).
Whether or not the Steelers make the playoffs (and I’m stunned that’s still an open question after the way they started this season), they’ve really raised my expectations for next season.
Yeah. It is rather incredible, even though it’s probably a 20% chance or so, that the Steelers will still be in the playoff hunt on the final week of the season. I’d never have imagined that after starting 0-4…and not only that, but how BAD they looked in those 4 losses. They were simply awful. Now, while they don’t look like world beaters, they certainly look like a ‘good’ football team right now, and that can be a big deal heading into the offseason.
Bell looks like he’s the real deal…finds holes and makes yards even when hit early. Brown has really blossomed into a true #1 receiver, and there’s a good bit of young talent on this team (and who knew the secret to getting a decent offensive line was to have all third stringers in there!)
Ha! Ain’t that the truth. I thought Wallace starting was the death knell for the line but they still look good. Haley’s number one assignment when hired was to implement a system that would keep Ben healthy for a full season and it’s starting to come together, no small achievement when you’re on your third Center for the season. The line has impressed enough to go from being everyone’s number one priority in the draft to being a non-issue. They still have Embernate on IR who shows promise to be better than Foster down the road if they can get his technique fixed up. He’s tough and mean already, a less skilled DeCastro. Foster tries hard but he’s too slow and weak to help the run game much.
Hopefully Worilds is okay. He played a bit after being injured but then left again.
It was nice to see Brett Keisel make some plays in this game. He was concerned he might have to miss the last games and they will likely be the last of his career.
I still don’t understand that call. Is there a decent explanation somewhere that I’ve missed?
A blocked field goal, which remains behind the line of scrimmage, is a free ball which may be recovered and advanced by either team. If the offense recovers, they can advance the ball for a first down or a touchdown. So in other words, merely by blocking the kick, Pittsburgh doesn’t gain possession or any right to possession. It’s still a free ball.
Then a Pittsburgh defender–I can’t make out his number, so I’ll call him PD–appears to gain momentary possession of the ball, just long enough to shovel an awkward lateral toward another player. The other player (Hood) can’t catch the lateral, so instead bats the ball forward (toward the GB goal line) and out of bounds.
That’s a penalty–no question about that. You can’t intentionally bat a free ball forward. So the question becomes, did PD establish possession in the course of shoveling that awkward lateral, or did he not? If he did, the illegal bat is a post-possession foul, and Pittsburgh gets the ball first-and-10 after the yardage is walked off. If not, then the foul is pre-possession-change, so Baltimore still has the ball, and penalty (because it occurred behind the line) is walked off from the line of scrimmage. And by the way, it’s an automatic first down.
The officials ruled that PD never had possession, and apparently (don’t ask me why) this was not reviewable.
Looking at the nfl rule book, all mentions of challenge scenarios involving loose balls are:
I believe it’s pretty clear that the last part is what applies in this case. If I had to guess at the motivation behind the rule, it’s that typically recovery not at a boundary line involves a pile and reviewing that would be useless.
And indeed, I believe that would have been the case here. The line between possession-and-a-lateral and a shovel-without-possession is so fine that I believe a review couldn’t have resulted in overturn anyway.
Other interesting things from GB-Pittsburgh: Why did Pittsburgh score a TD instead of running down the clock for a game-ending FG, and how did GB get off only two plays after first-and-goal on the 5 with 40 seconds left?
The Steelers game ended strangely. The Packers basically let Bell score from the one, giving the Steelers a TD, but preserving the clock, which is exactly what they had to do. If Bell would have fallen on the football in the backfield, more time would have run off the clock, and i think he was as surprised as anyone when he walked into the end zone. The Steelers then kicked off, and their masterful Special Teams play continued by permitting 70 yard runback. That gave the Packers a chance to score the tying TD, but if I recall they were out of time-outs, and their second down play from the 5 resulted in the 10 second run-off.
The Packers committed a penalty on the last play of the game, which carries an automatic 10 second run-off on the clock, and the game ended because of this.
I don’t recall any other game ending like this, where a team driving to score the tying or winning score lost on the 10 second run-off rule.
I am here willing to eat as much crow as possible if the Steelers some how squeak into the Playoffs.
I can’t believe they have a prayer to get in. This reflects how bad the AFC is this year, but it also reflects the improvement of a team I gave up for dead when they went 2-6, and again when they were 5-8.
I will be impressed if they finish 8-8. That’s an amazing turn around from their 0-4 start.
I still believe the Patriots and the Broncos especially will chew apart the Steelers secondary if they would meet in the playoffs, but I’m not worried about that now. Let’s see if the Steelers get in.
Tomlin said they wanted the TD (and they would have had it if Ben hadn’t missed Brown on second down when he was open). After that play the clock stopped and running down the clock wouldn’t have taken them far enough to keep the ball out of Green Bay’s hands; they have a good return man and a strong kicker so he wanted them to need the TD themselves. Both teams had clock management issues in that game but I think on that last sequence it was partly Tomlin establishing a message for his team.
The Broncos I agree with. I think the Patriots would be a better match-up. The front seven have improved since the first game and those secondary mismatches the first time around were a direct result of the safeties having to watch the backfield so much; they won’t get beat a second time with that gameplan.
My early draft wish is a fat assed monster of a Nose Tackle who can keep the second level clean. Some people don’t like 2-down linemen but if they do their job well enough it makes the third-down defense a lot more efficient.
You’re thinking of the series before the FG attempt penalty. After the penalty there was 1:30 left, 4 downs and essentially an extra point. The only message he sent the team is that he isn’t a very smart coach.
Only a .600 winning percentage, he sucks!
He’s 0 for 1 in games against Ratbird mascotted teams that he gets fined $100K in!
I hope you guys mess up everyone else’s play off scenarios. 