There’s still hope for playoff berth
From the notebook of a sportswriter in the gloaming of a football season that鈥檚 gone from bad, to better, to whoa-they-can-do-it, and now back to well, they gave it a nice try:
n Is it over? Well, the Steelers have beaten only one team with a .500 record or better, and that team, the Los Angeles Rams, is just 8-6.
n The Bills were the team they needed to beat, at home, to not only set their playoff chances at 95%, according to one computer, but to show themselves they could make some noise in the playoffs.
n The Bills are a legitimate playoff team, but beatable. Because the Steelers couldn鈥檛, the hope of them becoming that plucky, lucky, fast-and-loose, defensive-minded team 鈥渉ard out鈥� is now just to score more than one touchdown against a quality defense.
n Is that perception a reality? Maybe. Unless they play near perfect ball.
n 鈥淪mall mistakes turn into big mistakes, and that鈥檚 what happened,鈥� said Ramon Foster. 鈥淲e just have to be better.鈥�
n Here鈥檚 the roll call of the small mistakes to see if the perception is just a knee-jerk reaction.
n On the first possession, Tevin Jones dropped a pass and Duck Hodges was penalized on an odd motion call that negated a quality James Conner run. The official missed a facemask on second-and-15 and Hodges鈥� first interception followed. All of which could鈥檝e been avoided.
n A 22-yard punt at the end of the next series set up the Bills鈥� first touchdown, which they scored after converting a third-and-18/fourth-and-6.
n Steven Nelson鈥檚 first interception of the season, and scintillating 33-yard return, set the Steelers up at the Buffalo 20. From the 10, a poor snap to Conner, in wildcat, was eventually fumbled by Diontae Johnson. This play is no doubt talk-show grist for at least a week, and it cost them at least a field goal at the end of the half.
n A touchdown and 10-7 lead opened the second half for the Steelers, and a T.J. Watt forced fumble set them up to take command in front of the roused fans. But a second-and-5 turned into fourth-and-16 after back-to-back sacks. They represented a fourth of the sacks taken by Hodges all season, and the Bills added two others as the Steelers matched a season-worst four sacks allowed.
n The next possession was ruined by an interception on second-and-2 鈥� an interception by the best player (Tre鈥橠avious White) on the No. 3 pass defense in the NFL. On second-and-2. A series after being sacked on second-and-5.
n This small mistake in playcalling would鈥檝e turned into the ultimate mistake had right tackle Matt Feiler not hustled to knock White out of bounds and save four points. The field goal tied the game.
n On the first possession of the fourth quarter, the Steelers lined up to punt on fourth-and-3, and the Bills appeared to jump offside. Three officials made three different calls, according to Steelers long-snapper Kameron Kanaday, who was called for illegal procedure. Instead of a first down, the Steelers punted and the Bills scored the winning touchdown.
鈥淚 do the same thing every time,鈥� said Kanaday. 鈥淚 have to look at the front. I did nothing different. I was (peeved).鈥�
n On the Bills鈥� drive, Tyson Alualu forced Devin Singletary to fumble but the Bills recovered. That small bounce turned into a game-winning touchdown.
n On their penultimate drive, the Steelers had a delay penalty, dropped a pass, and allowed a sack before throwing an interception in the end zone, and on their final drive the officials overruled another apparent offside with a procedure call, before the line allowed another sack and Hodges threw a desperate interception.
n The small mistakes piled up. But, for the most part, they are correctable.
n There are also the situational problems that must continue to be addressed. The Steelers entered the game dead last in both red-zone and third-and-short offense.
n The Steelers had converted only 34.3 percent of their red-zone chances into touchdowns, but went 1-for-2 Sunday night. They had converted only 36.1 percent of their third-and-3s, or less, but were 3-for-3 against the Bills with a pass to Zach Gentry, a sneak by Hodges and a bomb to Washington.
n It鈥檚 improvement, and they鈥檒l build on it.
n There are holes, but holes that JuJu Smith-Schuster and Vance McDonald can help fix when they return from injuries. Add them to the development of Washington, Johnson and Nick Vannett and the situation is tenable. In my opinion, they only have to win one more to make the playoffs, and those players would bolster not only the talent level but the energy level, too.
n Of course, the beauty of this team, and what would make them a plucky underdog in any playoff game, is its chemistry. Defensive captain Cam Heyward was asked about the poor offensive showing and he dismissed it because his unit allowed a third-and-18 conversion that led to the first Buffalo touchdown.
鈥淲hat did the offense have to do with that?鈥� Heyward said. 鈥淲hat are we thinking? It鈥檚 an advantageous situation for the defense and we didn鈥檛 get off the damn field. 鈥� There was a situation where we must make a stop, surrender three. I think we were in good field goal range late.
鈥淵ou get to that point, we鈥檝e got to make plays. I don鈥檛 look at it as the offense had to do anything else. I think the defense had to get off the field and we did not. We didn鈥檛 get the job done today.鈥�
n Yep. There鈥檚 still hope. And just enough time.