Going into open week 6-2 feels real good
Jim Wexell
Associated Press
Steelers linebacker Vince Williams reacts during the closing minutes of the second half against the Lions on Sunday.
From the notebook of a sportswriter who鈥檒l echo the quarterback in saying that going into the bye week 6-2 feels really good:
n No, I鈥檓 not on the team, but the fact I don鈥檛 have to explain over the next two weeks why the coordinators, coach and general manager won鈥檛 be fired is always a bit of a relief.
n Not that the Steelers played all that well. They continued their season of spits and coughs that won鈥檛 result in narrow wins against better teams.
n But to get out of Detroit with a win when you鈥檙e A.) not playing well, B.) injured and C.) playing a bye-rested home team that鈥檚 starving for a win is certainly an accomplishment.
n Key pieces were clearly missing for the Steelers, but one of them, Stephon Tuitt, was replaced by one of the star players in this game. Tyson Alualu stepped into the defensive line and continued to show why he just might be the best reserve the Steelers have had up front since John Banaszak and Steve Furness were biding their time behind the Steel Curtain some 42 years ago.
n Alualu made two key plays in the second half, the first was a deflection of a Matthew Stafford pass on third-and-6 after the Lions took the kickoff. A shanked punt was followed by a 38-yard field goal that gave the Steelers the lead for good at 13-12.
n The eighth-year vet later sacked Stafford on a fourth-and-goal play from the 1-yard line, and three plays later, JuJu Smith-Schuster scored from 97 yards away for a 20-12 lead.
n When Alualu wasn鈥檛 making game-turning plays, his linemates, Javon Hargrave, Cameron Heyward and L.T. Walton were. Heyward had the only other sack for the Steelers. It occurred on a third down and gave him the team lead with five sacks this season. The Detroit-born Walton pressured Stafford into what appeared to be a fumble but was ruled an awful incompletion. Hargrave stopped a third-and-goal play at the 1-yard line and also used the center as a weapon to smash into Stafford on a fourth-down play at the 8-yard line to stop yet another Lions foray deep into the red zone. Ryan Shazier almost turned Hargrave鈥檚 pressure into a pick-six, but he forgot to take the ball with him.
n Point being, the defensive line, without one of its best players, was the key to keeping the Lions out of the end zone all night.
n Give credit to Sean Davis and Joe Haden, too, for critical pass breakups during those goal-line stands.
n The Lions鈥� offensive line is a weakness, and that no doubt played into the strong play of the Steelers鈥� defensive line, but the alleged weakest link, former Steeler Brian Mihalik, didn鈥檛 give up a sack.
n And, I don鈥檛 understand why James Harrison didn鈥檛 get one snap against Mihalik, a 6-foot-9 mismatch for the 6-foot master of leverage.
n All wasn鈥檛 a bouquet of roses for the defense, which gave up 411 yards passing, had a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty tacked onto an 18-yard gain, and committed two penalties to nullify a Haden interception on a critical third down late in the game.
n And, the missed tackles; yoi, the missed tackles. Hard to believe the defense kept the Lions out of the end zone, but it did.
n 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want that to keep happening,鈥� Heyward said of the scorching via the airways. 鈥淏ut Stafford鈥檚 a high-paid quarterback for a reason.鈥�
n It鈥檚 not as if the offense bailed the Steelers out. A wide-open Eli Rogers dropped a touchdown pass that cost the Steelers four points, and Roethlisberger overthrew a wide-open Darrius Heyward-Bey in the end zone that cost the Steelers another four points. Roethlisberger also overthrew JuJu Smith-Schuster on one third down, and Smith-Schuster dropped a perfect pass on another third down. Le鈥橵eon Bell cost the Steelers at least three points with his fumble after gaining a first down at the Detroit 22 late in the first half. So that鈥檚 at least 11 points the Steelers frittered away.
n Did the offense do anything right? Well, Ramon Foster pancaked A鈥橲hawn Robinson to open the door on Bell鈥檚 5-yard touchdown run.
n 鈥淚 was killing that guy,鈥� Foster said of Robinson, who nearly caused an end-of-game brawl. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why he was so mad at the end. He shouldn鈥檛 have talked (junk). It was the first couple plays of the game. He just kept going when he should鈥檝e just kept quiet. Right away he said 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not that good.鈥� I鈥檓 like, 鈥極K, but I鈥檝e been here doing this for a while. We鈥檒l see.鈥� From that point on I proceeded to kick his (butt).鈥�
n Chris Hubbard was also flawless as a replacement for Marcus Gilbert at right tackle, and if the O-line had stats like tackles and sacks and pass breakups, we would have evidence that Hubbard played as well as Aluala.
n Gilbert鈥檚 return will be welcomed, and doubly appreciated because Hubbard can resume his role as a tight end in the Steelers鈥� big boy package that Bell enjoys so much.
n Bell will also appreciate the post-bye return of the team鈥檚 best blocking tight end, Vance McDonald, who also sat out of the game.
n The other key piece who was missing from this game was, of course, Martavis Bryant, who was benched for criticizing a teammate and putting personal stats before wins. Mike Tomlin gave the quote of the night when asked if he assumes Bryant will fit right back into the lineup. 鈥淚 don鈥檛,鈥� Tomlin said.
n Roethlisberger pointed to the mistakes made on plays involving Rogers, Heyward-Bey and Bell, and credited the win to the way each was able to bounce back.
n Perseverance. The good teams use it to win on a bad day. The bad teams, the cursed teams, the Lions, find ways to lose. It鈥檚 in their blood. Just like winning is getting into the blood of these Steelers.