Let’s call it a belated Festivus Miracle and great Christmas present all in one. The Steelers’ last second win over rival Baltimore was perhaps the greatest game ever played at Heinz Field, and will certainly go down as one of the biggest wins in franchise history. I thought the Steelers were cooked like a Christmas turkey when they were down ten points in the fourth quarter. And after rallying to take the lead, only to see Baltimore score with a little over a minute to go, I thought they had blown it again. Give this team a lot of credit for coming back and never giving up. What a win for the Steelers!
• Ben Roethlisberger would have been heavily criticized had the Steelers lost. And no one would have been more critical of his performance than Number 7 himself. Big Ben deserves a lot of praise for leading the Steelers to three fourth quarter drives after throwing two costly interceptions earlier in the game. The veteran QB told his team to follow him weeks ago when the Steelers were in jeopardy of having their season implode. Since then, the big guy has come up big. This victory will only add to Roethlisberger’s legacy. Should the Steelers go on to another Super Bowl, this game will be remembered as one of Big Ben’s most memorable performances, and for good reason.
• Had Antonio Brown not reached out and scored in the final seconds, I doubt the Steelers would have had time to run out the field goal team and even get a kick off before time would have expired. Can you imagine the criticism directed at Mike Tomlin had that happened? Last week, former Steelers Terry Bradshaw said Tomlin is not a great coach. We can argue that point all day. Tomlin has now won five division titles and has taken his team to two Super Bowls. That’s pretty good, Terry.
• I sure hope Tomlin rests his key players against the Browns, even if it means the Steelers falling to the Browns in the season finale. There is no good reason to play Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and some of his other regulars. Let them rest and heal before the playoffs begin the week after next.
• I would expect Pitt to win big in its bowl game against Northwestern in New York City this week. It will be a nice way to cap off the year for the Panthers, who will soon lose offensive coordinator Matt Canada to LSU.
• I’m hoping that my beloved Penn State can knock off USC in the Rose Bowl on January 2nd. I think this game could go either way. USC is red hot and is playing close to home. I just hope that the Nittany Lions, who have been the surprise of college football this season, can do it one more time. I think the key to the game is how the Lions play in the first half. They have gotten off to slow starts all season, only to come on big in the second half. They won’t be able to get away with that against USC.
• I fully expect Alabama to blow out Washington in one of college football’s semifinal playoff games. Clemson and Ohio State should be a close one. I’ll guy with Urban Meyer and his Buckeyes to win this one. I think the only way Alabama does not win the whole thing is if the Tide has a really bad day and their opponent plays out of their minds.
• Count me among those who do not like the new trend of college football players sitting out their bowl games to get ready for the pros. In fact, I think it stinks. You can make a good argument for both sides, but I’m not buying it. If you can play in the bowl game you should do so for your school, your teammates and your family. It’s as simple as that.
• Great move by the Pens to sign Mike Sullivan to a three year contract extension. Sully is a perfect fit for the Pens and has been a perfect fit for this star studded team.
• Hope everyone had a great 2016. Here’s to an even better year in 2017 for all of you!
