There was a lot to like in the Steelers’ win over Atlanta. The team put a lot of points on the board and the much maligned defense played really well against Matt Ryan. Perhaps this is the game that will propel the Steelers toward what we expected them to be. It was great to see James Conner running like he did when he dominated college defenses at Pitt. All in all, a nice win for the Steelers, although it wasn’t a division win. They’ll be tested by division rival Cincinnati next week on the road. That is a must-win if the Steelers are going to get back into the AFC playoff race.
* Ben Roethlisberger was off for much of the game against Atlanta. His throws were all over the place, and his throws to Antonio Brown just weren’t connecting. It was nice to see the two finally combine on a long touchdown pass. Ben hadn’t had much luck on his deep throws this year, and Brown had been a non-factor in the vertical passing game. Hopefully Ben and Brown are back on the same page. They’ll need to be if the Steelers are going to get back into the playoff race.
* Naturally there was more talk about the absent Le’Veon Bell this past week. While he claims to be coming back in the coming weeks, he still hasn’t told that to any of the Steelers’ brass or to any of his teammates. There is also growing speculation the Steelers might aggressively step up their efforts to trade him. I know I’m not alone when I say I’m tired of this story, and I’m fed up with Bell and his antics.
* I hate to say it, but IUP’s season just went down in flames. The stunning homecoming loss to Slippery Rock pretty much ends any chance of IUP making it back to the playoffs. I expected this team to have a great chance to go undefeated during the regular season and make another long post-season run. Instead, IUP is left to ask just what happened. I never saw this coming.
* Penn State had the week off, which might not have been a bad thing after their collapse against Ohio State. The Lions face another challenge against always tough Michigan State on homecoming. I’m anxious to see how the Lions respond. Their chances of winning the Big Ten are slim, but they still have a lot to play for.
* Pitt rallied to pull out a homecoming win against Syracuse. It’s a shame few Panthers’ fans managed to show up at Heinz Field. Attendance was announced at 37,000 plus fans, but judging from the crowd shots on television there may not have been even 25,000 fans in the stadium. That’s pretty pathetic. The Panthers deserve better as they try to turn their season around.
* The opening of the Penguins’ season has been interesting, to say the least. The Pens blew a two goal lead before winning their opener in overtime against Washington. They followed it up with a blowout loss to Montreal. The defense was been horrendous, and the goaltending of Matt Murray has been shaky, and that’s being kind. Mike Sullivan can’t be happy with how his team has come out of the gate. Fortunately, it’s a long year and the Pens have a lot of games to figure it out.
