Steelers lose to Brownie Elves in Iowa TV finale

Steeler fans have experienced several terrible games this year -- 5 to be exact -- and Sunday's was the queen mother of them all, a 20-14 loss to the Brownie Elves in Cleveland.  The loss is Pittsburgh's second in a row after losing Big Ben to an injury and drops the Steelers record to 6-5 overall.  Hopes of a AFC North Division title all but died with last week's loss at home to the Ravens, and today's loss puts even a wild card birth in jeopardy.

Charlie Batch, subbing for the injured Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich at QB, threw the ball like he was under water.  While completing  20 of 34 for 199 yards and 3 INTs, Batch's primary shortcoming was that he woefully under threw targets downfield.  And THAT wasn't the worst of the Steelers offense.  A cohort of running backs carried the ball 20 times for only 49 yards and 4 lost fumbles, as Rashard Mendenhall,  Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, and Chris Rainey day each coughed the rock up.  Emmanuel Sanders added a fumble from the wide receiver position to make it 8 -- yes 8 -- no, I'm not f@cking kidding -- 8 turnovers on the day.

Where do the Steelers go from here?  Well, probably not the playoffs.  This offense is absolutely horrible without Ben Roethlisberger.  Still, this Steelers fan hopes that Pittsburgh doesn't try and rush Big Ben back from his injury too soon.  Roethlisberger has still has some good years left in him--let's save him for one of those--this one is likely lost.

What today's loss shows is that the Steelers lack depth--we desperately need a starter-quality back-up QB, and a top running back who can establish some rhythm.  Pittsburgh has had that when either Redman or Dwyer was the primary ball carrier in the game, but the running-back-by-committee has failed miserably.

One bright spot was the Steeler defense, which continues to make an impressive turnaround, and sacked rookie QB Brandon Weeden 4 times.  Lawrence Timmons made a spectacular pick-6 on the Brownie Elves opening possession to give Pittsburgh a 7-0 lead before its offense ever touched the ball.  Regretfully, the Steeler offense eventually did  touch the ball, but obviously didn't care to keep it.

The Steelers play in Baltimore next Sunday, and will be fighting for their wild card lives.  Currently, Pittsburgh is tied with Cincinnati at 6-5 for the second (and final) postseason birth.  The good news is that right now the Steelers own the tie-breaker by virtue of a 24-17 win in Cincy earlier this year.  The bad news is that the Steelers are certain to lose next week in Baltimore, while a Bengals win would give them the edge for the final wild card spot.

Post-game notes:

Sadly, Pittsburgh's despicable loss to Cleveland was the last game for the oversized "HD Ready" TV set acquired by the Steeler Face in 2004 shortly after moving to Iowa.  This two-ton monstrosity presented two Steeler Super Bowl Championships and was the source of many lifelong black-and-gold memories.   As many readers of The Steeler Face know, this Steeler family is moving from Iowa to Cincinnati this week and the oversized "HD Ready" TV has become outmoded by lighter, larger flat screens.  An ad on Craig's List offered the set free of charge for anyone willing to move it--and two young men did--about 20 minutes after the game.  Ah, the end of an era.

Towards that end, let me offer my apologies for the slight coverage my blog has offered the past few weeks--at a time when Steeler therapy was needed most.  The Steeler Face has been preoccupied with not only a new job, but managing two households over 608 miles apart, and now the move that will bring the two together.  Hopefully, coverage will increase in a few weeks after I get my family settled in the Queen City.

"...if you ever wondered, wondered what ever became of  me ..."

Lastly, and by no means least of all, the Steeler Face would like to wish his dear wife, Mrs. Steeler Face a very happy birthday tomorrow -- as she too embraces her 'Polamalu year.'  I had occasion to ask my wife the other day why she keeps me.  I'm not wealthy, nor particularly good looking, and I seem to cause her a lot of extra work.  Without hesitation, Mrs. Steeler Face said, "the jokes."  So today, I'm grateful for my good humor.  Happy birthday dear -- I love you.

May your Polamalu year provide the answer to life, the universe and everything