If you had told me the Steelers would beat the Chiefs and not score an offensive touchdown I would never have believed you. But, thanks to their reliable kicker and defense, the Black and Gold went into icy KC and found a way to win. I thought the Steelers let several good opportunities get away from them. They didn’t even try to run the ball near the goal line on their first series, which I thought was a big mistake. The usually reliable Antonio Brown dropped what should have been a touchdown. And, Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception when the Steelers were deep in Chiefs’ territory, when again they could have tried to run it in with Le’Veon Bell. Still, the Steelers found a way to win, and that’s all that matters.
* Le’Veon Bell continues to make a name for himself with his latest record setting performance in the playoffs. I’m running out of superlatives to describe Bell. He’s become the Steelers’ number one weapon. I just wish the coaches would call his number more when the team is inside the red zone, rather than throwing all the time.
* The Steelers will get another shot at New England to get to the Super Bowl. The Pats have been the Steelers’ kryptonite, and that’s putting it mildly. The Steelers just can’t beat the Patriots, and while I think they are capable of winning in Foxboro I don’t think they will. I wish I felt differently, but given their playoff failures against New England I just can’t pick the Steelers to win this game.
* I was very surprised to see Joey Porter coaching for the Steelers against Kansas City, after he was originally placed on leave following his latest run in with the law. But after charges were dropped, the Steelers let him coach. That tells me the Steelers will not fire Porter. I’m guessing they will make it very clear to him that if he has one more incident with the law he will no longer be a Steeler. Porter is by all accounts a good young football coach. It would be a shame if his famous temper ends up getting the best of him.
* You won’t see a better playoff game ever than the one turned in by Dallas and Green Bay. It came down to the final play of the game, which was probably appropriate given the way the two teams had played all year. So, the number one seed in the NFC is eliminated. The NFC Championship Game is a heck of a matchup. The red hot Packers, led by the white hot Aaron Rodgers, go into Atlanta to face the Falcons, who will play their last ever game in the Georgia Dome. Matt Ryan has Atlanta playing the best football it has ever played. Green Bay is on a hot streak few teams ever achieve. It should be a classic. I’m going with Atlanta, barely.
* The Pens had not lost back to back games in regulation for 91 straight games before falling to Washington and Ottawa last week. The losing streak stands at three after their dismal performance in Detroit. There’s no reason for the Pens to push the panic button, but they certainly need to step up their game.
* The Pens better start playing better on the road if they’re going to make another run to the Cup. They’ve now lost twelve out of twenty games away from Pittsburgh, with nine of those losses coming in regulation. That won’t cut it. Neither will the way goaltender Marc Andre Fleury plays on the road He’s been a stellar 11-2-1 at home, but a disappointing 2-4-3 away from home. Fleury needs to be better, and so do the Pens.
* The Pens have certainly had their share of injuries. They had just better hope that the latest injury to defenseman Kris Letang isn’t serious. Tanger left the ice during the game in Detroit and was said to be limping afterwards. He’s already missed several games twice this year due to injuries. Letang is one of the elite defensemen in the NHL, and the Pens need him in the lineup.
* Pens’ coach Mike Sullivan wears his emotions on his sleeve. He’s been barking at the officials a lot lately. Still, I was a little surprised to see him tossed out of the game the other night. You see that kind of stuff from coaches and managers all the time in baseball and basketball. You don’t see it much in hockey. The Pens players have also been doing a lot of jawing with NHL officials this year. That kind of stuff could very well go against them at some point in time. The Pens are too talented to be known as a group of whiners. They need to just play and let their actions on the ice do all their talking.
* The Penguins will have bittersweet memories of Joe Louis Arena, where they played for the last time over the weekend. They won’t miss the place after all the losses, and there were many. On the other hand, who can forget the Penguins’ improbable victory over the Red Wings in Game Seven of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals? I will always kick myself for not going to that game, and I had a chance to go. I never thought the Pens could win that night and they did. Detroit’s new arena is going to be spectacular. Still, Joe Louis Arena will always bring up memories, both good and bad.
* I really don’t get the San Diego Chargers move to Los Angeles. They’re leaving a city they called home for more than a half century for a city that doesn’t need and doesn’t care about a second NFL team moving there. Granted, the Chargers never got the new stadium they needed in San Diego, but they’re also at fault for not doing more to make it happen. Now, they bail on a city where they were beloved for a city that didn’t exactly fall head over heels over the Rams when they returned after a few decades. I believe this will go down as one of the worst moves in the history of pro sports. And my heart goes out to San Diego for losing a team they never should have lost.
