Smeltz: Steelers 38, Raiders 35: I've got good news and bad news, which do you want first?

By: Joe Smeltzer

Photo Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Sunday was an insane day for the Steelers. It involved a lot of scoring from both offenses. It involved a tight end from South Allegheny making his NFL debut, catching one touchdown pass and blocking on another. It involved Mike Mitchell showboating on a fumble that he helped cause when he should have been going for the ball (kids, always play to the whistle). It involved the defense forcing a lot of turnovers but allowing a lot of points. It involved DeAngleo Williams proving to every sensible fan in this city that he is more than worthy of filling in for Le'Veon Bell. It involved team records being shattered. It involved Pittsburgh building up a 14 point fourth quarter lead, losing it, and finally landing the last punch on the games final whistle. Best of all, it involved the Steelers winning a game that they had to win , overcoming a scrappy team with a QB that is a stud. Worst of all, it involved yet another injury to a major contributor. It was a day filled with good news and bad news. I am writing, not talking, so, unfortunately, I cannot ask my audience which type of news they want first, so I'll start with the good.

The good news of Sunday primarily centers around the offense. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 334 yards and two touchdown passes. The Ben to Brown connection was back and better than it has ever been before, picking apart Oakland's Man to Man coverage. Antonio had an insane stat line of 17 receptions with 284 yards receiving but oddly did not catch a single touchdown pass. Meanwhile, the two Steelers who did catch touchdown passes from Big Ben (Jesse James and Martavis Bryant), combined for five receptions and 44 yards receiving. Sports sure are weird. My personal favorite moments from Sunday involved Jesse James, who had a solid NFL debut. The former member of my beloved Penn State Nittany Lions threw a key block on Martavis Bryant's touchdown reception that  put the Steelers in front, 28-21 early in the 4th quarter. Later in the quarter, James caught his first NFL touchdown pass (just the second reception of his career, his first was followed by the crowd chanting Heath Miller's name), expanding the lead to 14. It was an unforgettable day for the South Allegheny graduate.

The Steelers running game was immensely successful as well, as DeAngelo Williams erased all doubt that he can be a worthy replacement for #26 by rushing for 170 yards and adding 55 more receiving yards, accounting for 225 yards total. The Steelers accounted for 597 yards of total offense, and it was the first time since the home opener against San Francisco that the Steelers offense looked like the juggernaut that they were last season. The Steelers defense and special teams combined to force four turnovers, which are essential for any team. The biggest positive that came out of Sunday for the Steelers was that they got the W and countered every single one of Oakland's punches along the way.

Now for the bad news.

 I only have two negative things to say about the Steelers offense on Sunday:
1) Although Big Ben had a good day yards wise, he was only 24-44 passing, which resulted from some bad throws on his part as well as some bad drops from his receivers.
2) The Steelers won't be able to account for nearly 600 yards of total offense every week.

As for the defense, things are more problematic. The Steelers secondary had it's worst performance since opening night in New England, as Derek Carr was slinging the ball downfield to Amari Cooper (7 Rec, 88 Yards) and Michael Crabtree (7 rec, 108 yards) all the livelong day. When the offense puts up close to 600 yards, and it results in a three-point win, it is pretty obvious that work needs to be done on the other side of the ball. It is irritating that there has only been one occasion this season in which the Steelers offense and defense both clicked in the same game, and that was all the way back in week 2.

The biggest concern of all happen with 7:51 left in the 4th quarter. On a 3rd and 10, Oakland linebacker Aldon Smith sacked Big Ben for an 11-yard loss. On the play, Roethlisberger injured his foot, and could not walk back to the sideline under his power, causing many shakes of the head from Steelers Nation, who have seen this movie too often this season.

Back to the 

For the second time this year, it was up to Landry Jones to save the day. Just like he had done two weeks prior against Arizona, the former Oklahoma Sooner, who was written off as a bum came up clutch, completing 4 of 6 passes for 79 yards and engineering the game-winning drive that was capped off by a game-winning 18 yard field goal from Chris Boswell.


After the game, it was revealed that Ben suffered a mild foot sprain. The good news is that unlike his previous injury this season, this does not look like it will keep Roethlisberger out for a lengthy period.  #7 even said on Tuesday that he would not completely rule out playing against the Cleveland Browns next Sunday, although Mike Tomlin has pretty much ruled out this possibility.



Sunday was filled with positives and negatives, but I feel that the overall mood of Steeler Nation should be one of relief. Pittsburgh had to win this game, and they did that against a young, scrappy and talented Oakland team. Losing #7 for any period is a blow, but us fans should be thankful that this *knock on wood* does not appear to be as serious as his MCL injury suffered earlier this season was.



Photo Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post Gazette

In fact, the Steelers might not even skip a single beat without the big fella in the lineup. Next weeks game against Cleveland is one that Landry Jones should be able to handle, and although Roethlisberger is expected to miss ''a few games'' considering the bye week that follows it, a week 12 return in Seattle does not appear to be completely out of the question, especially considering Roethlisberger's optimistic outlook on this, as I think that his comments on his recovery timetable were genuine given his competitive nature and history of tolerating pain.

Since the offense appears to have found themselves, if the defense can consistently play at the level that they are capable of playing, and Ben's stint on the shelf is short, this team could be fun to watch the rest of the way.



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