Steelers lug 3-game losing streak into bye
DENVER – Nobody, least of all the players, expected the Steelers to be 2-4 heading into their bye week. But here they are, on the heels of a three-game losing streak in which they failed to score 15 points in any of the games and gave up at least 30 in the first two. Still, there was plenty of hope in the locker room after Sunday’s 17-14 loss to the Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High.
“There was a lot of adversity throughout the game,” quarterback Tommy Maddox said. “But guys kept fighting, guys kept believing. At the end of the game, we were still fighting. A lot of people talk about the altitude and the affect it can have on you, but I think we were wearing them down. To go down there and tie it the way we did, that says a lot about the guys in this locker room.”
The end of the game, in which the Steelers marched 74 yards on 13 plays to tie the game on Jerome Bettis’ 1-yard TD run and his two-point conversion run, was one of what Maddox felt were many positives the Steelers can take from this game.
“We did a lot of good things, but you can only say that so many times,” Maddox said. “There comes a time when you not only want to do good things, but get wins.”
He thinks that will happen soon enough and has not lost confidence in himself or his teammates.
“I’m very proud to play with this team,” he said. “If we can play like that, we’re going to be all right. That last drive, it seemed like a different guy making a play on every play, one after another.”
With that thought in mind, Maddox said the team should embrace the bye week and come back more focused and dedicated.
“I don’t think having a bye now hurts us,” he said. “I would never say that a loss helped, but if we can continue to play like we did on that last drive, I like our chances of winning games.”
Cover 2 Blues
The Broncos, like the Browns and Titans before them, used a lot of cover 2 defensive schemes to neutralize the Steelers passing game. It was fairly effective, in that it limited Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress to five combined receptions in the first half. The duo finished with 13 catches worth 141 yards, but didn’t find the end zone or have any plays covering more than Burress’ 23-yard catch on the Steelers’ last possession.
“It was tough because we never could get in a rhythm,” Ward said. “We finally got a rhythm at the end, but it wasn’t enough.”
The obvious key is to be able to run the ball effectively to take opposing defenses out of the cover 2.
“We’ve just got to find a way to move the football,” Burress said. “It’s getting old. It’s frustrating. We’ve got to start making plays.”
“It’s all based on teams not wanting to give up big plays,” Maddox said. “So we have to stay focused and get our running game going and then hit some big plays, anyway.”
Porter and the refs
Linebacker Joey Porter was upset with referee Mike Carey before Jason Elam’s 47-yard field goal ended the game. Porter was lingering in Denver’s backfield, talking to Carey.
On the previous play, Carey had called an illegal use of hands penalty against the Steelers, but identified the guilty player only as the “right defensive tackle.”
The official play-by-play of the game fingered Kendrick Clancy, but replays showed it was Kendrell Bell.
“He didn’t tell me who the hands-in-the-face was called on,” Porter said. “I thought that was the least he could do. That call really helped them a lot. I just wanted to know who it was (called) on and he couldn’t tell me.”
Great Scott
Steelers cornerback Chad Scott got his second interception of the season and both occurred on the opposing quarterback’s first throw of the game. The other game in which he intercepted an opponent’s first pass this season was at Kansas City, when he returned a Trent Green interception for a touchdown.
Bettis’ fumble
Bettis’ fumble that led to Denver’s last touchdown was his first in 220 carries. His last fumble was in the 2002 season opener at New England.