The Steelers may have saved their season thanks to their last-second win in Cincinnati. I thought the Steelers blew it when they let the Bengals drive for a touchdown with just over a minute to play. The defense had played well for most of the day, but couldn’t stop Cincinnati when the game was on the line. There was a lot to like about the Steelers’ defense, but not in the final few minutes.
• We’ve seen Ben Roethlisberger engineer many last-second winning drives over the years. His game winning drive in the final minute against the Bengals was one of the finest of his career. Big Ben was in total control and made several great throws while keeping his cool. His touchdown pass to Antonio Brown in the final seconds was both a brilliant call and brilliantly executed. Heck of a comeback win for Big Ben and the Steelers.
• Mike Tomlin’s decision would have been second guessed quite a bit had the Steelers not rallied. His challenge of a first down call in the first half was curious, to say the least. He could have, and probably should have challenged the James Conner catch that ended inside the one yard line. CBS’s Dan Fouts felt it was a sure touchdown. So did I. The Steelers couldn’t punch it in from the one yard line and had settle for a field goal. That non challenge could have been the difference in the game.
• IUP’s chances of making the playoffs are still a longshot, but at least the Crimson Hawks have some hope after rallying to beat Clarion. It was a heck of a comeback after being down 20 points early. IUP hasn’t played well the last few weeks. Maybe this will be the game that turns around their season.
• Homecoming turned out to be a bummer at Penn State. I was among the nearly 107 thousand fans who saw the Nittany Lions lose to Michigan State in a game they should never have lost. Penn State was horrible, and the once explosive offense was out of sync all day long. And the defense could have won it for them, but dropped two sure interceptions in the final minutes, including one with a minute to go that would have sealed the victory. It’s a bad loss for Penn State, and one that could send their season in the wrong direction.
• Penn State has now lost its last five games by a total of 12 points. And in each of those losses, the Nittany Lions have led inside of five minutes to play in the game. Great teams know how to close out wins. Penn State isn’t there yet. If they want to be elite, James Franklin’s teams need to learn how to put teams away when they have beaten.
• I’m not a Pitt fan, but I was pulling for the Panthers to knock off Notre Dame, a team I’ve never been a fan of. I give the Panthers a lot of credit for nearly beating the Irish in South Bend. While it wasn’t a victory, it was a heck of an effort for the Panthers.
• RIP Jimmy Taylor. I never saw the former Green Bay Packers’ star play football, but I knew a lot about Jimmy. He starred at LSU and lived in Baton Rouge after his playing days. I got to know him when I was a sportscaster at WBRZ-TV there. Jimmy was known as a tough football player, but was a kind and humble man off the field. I’m glad I got to know him. He will be missed.
