Steelers in right place at right time
CLEVELAND – It was all about being in the right place at the right time. As a result, the Steelers find themselves exactly there. Sunday’s alarmingly easy 41-9 win over the Cleveland Browns assured them the AFC’s No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
The right place. The right time.
The Steelers dominated early, thanks to a Troy Polamalu interception on the game’s second play and Mike Wallace’s ability to haul in a touchdown pass on the team’s first offensive play.
“That’s part of being where you are supposed to be,” linebacker James Harrison said. “Troy was where he was supposed to be.”
“It was me being in the right place at the right time,” Polamalu said.
Pro football is a fast game and the Steelers knew what was at stake in this AFC North Division rivalry game. That’s why they knew they had to start fast and keep the pedal to the metal all the way through.
“Troy makes plays,” safety Ryan Clark said. “Then, Mike Wallace stepped up and made a play, too. Then, the rout was on.”
After the way last season ended (a five-game losing streak kept the team from defending its Super Bowl championship), the Steelers knew they didn’t want to see a repeat performance. Over the course of a season, they re-established themselves as one of the top teams in the AFC, if not the league.
“We just stayed humble, stayed with our one-game-at-a-time approach,” defensive end Brett Keisel said. “It feels good to know we can bounce back from what happened last year.”
“It’s a thin line between winning and losing,” linebacker James Farrior said. “It’s a game of inches, so you never know. It makes you really appreciate it more after the way last year ended. I like this team, I like everything about it. It’s good to get a dominant win like this and I have seen us get better and better the last few weeks.”
“I like everything, Clark said when asked the same question. “We’re playing hard. Down the stretch, we started getting a lot of penalties, but we calmed that down. The offense is putting the ball in the end zone.”
With the AFC North Division title the team delivered Sunday, all players sported division championship hats and T-shirts after the game.
“Like coach Tomlin said, it’s just a piece of the hardware you pick up along the way,” Polamalu said.
“I want two more shirts and two more hats,” Keisel said. “I already have two rings, but I want another one of those, too. I’m starting a collection.”
The Steelers are in the right place at the right time to make that happen.
Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com.