Steelers live blog: Steelers vs. Jets

It’s “trap game” weekend for the Steelers, as they play the lowly (1-8) Jets. Follow along, won’t you?

4:06: Kickoff is pooched by Sweet Hips (good idea, since our special teams have struggled this season).

4:07: Let the trap begin. Ike Taylor got a little embarrassed, and Clemens hooks up with Coles for a 56 yard gain (down to the Steelers 1 yard line)

4:55: Slip Screen to Holmes, touch down Steelers. Nice blocks by Miller and Ward on the screen. Extra point by Sweet Hips, and we’re back in the game. 10-7 Jets with 9:04 to go in the half.

4:08: That was quick. Play action, Clemens to his tight end Baker…TD. 7-0 Jets. 12:49 left in the first quarter.

4:14: It’s third down for the Steelers…and we’ve just had to call a time out. I think they’re trying to make me start the game by worrying as much as possible.

4:17: Steelers are going to be forced to punt. We managed two third downs but a sack of Roethlisberger and a nice “reach around” by Hank Poteat on Hines Ward ensured that the Steelers drive would end pretty quickly. (Prediction: former Steeler Hank Poteat will get burned before this game is over.)

4:21: The Steelers defense looks normal now, on the second drive by the Jets, forcing a 3 and out.

4:30: The Jets, back with the ball again, are picking on Ike Taylor, who just committed interference for a 40 yard pick up (he also was covering? Coles on the long play earlier). They haven’t even thrown against DeShea Townsend yet! Yikes.

4:36: Steelers defense holds the Jets to a field goal. 10-0 Jets, with 1:31 to go in the first quarter.

4:41: Three and out for the Steelers. Roethlisberger is constantly under pressure, and he’s already been sacked twice and hurried 4 times. The bye week definitely helped the Jets, as this game is already looking very reminiscent of the Steelers/Broncos game earlier in the season.

4:54: The defense has settled down, and it now looks like the offense has as well, as we are inside the Jets 10 yard line, after Roethlisberger did his usual 3rd down, “I refused to get sacked” magic.

4:55: TD Steelers, slip screen to Holmes. Nice blocks by Ward and Miller downfield. We’re back in it after the extra point, 10-7 Jets.

5:04: Looks like Laverneus (sp?) Coles is injured. He was walking gingerly after his long catch on the second play of the game, and he’s now walking into the locker room. Good news for the Steelers, as there is one less receiver who can possibly beat our cornerbacks (yes, I’m talking about you Jerricho Cotchery).

5:08: Panning out to a Steelers fan in the crowd with a “Marry me, Ben” sign. Good to see that the ladies are always thinking about Ben Vereen, isn’t it?

5:10: …yes, Santonio Holmes should have caught that deep throw by Ben. It was holding on Max Starks though, so it didn’t really matter.

5:11: The Jets defense is really making it a point of stopping the Steelers rushing attack. I’m not going to bother looking up our rushing statistics, but I know we can’t be averaging more than 2 yards per carry.

5:13: Ben under pressure again…gets the ball popped up when he threw it to Nate Washington; picked off by Kerry Rhodes.

5:19: What is going on? Thomas Jones has had 3 straight unnecessary runs. The last run being the most egregious, as he broke two or three tackles, and ran across the entire field, en route to a 26 yard run. With 54 seconds to go in the half, the Jets are inside the 5 yard line.

5:21: Crap. Clemens scrambled out of the pocket and definitely fumbled the ball out of the end zone for a touchback. Why didn’t it matter? Well, because Clark Haggans decided it would be fun to do a waltz with Jets TE Chris Baker in the end zone, nullifying the fumble.

5:25: Two nice plays, one by everybody’s favorite Black-Irish player Bryant McFadden (yeah, he’s probably not Irish), and a combined effort on a Thomas Jones ru enables the Steelers to hold the Jets to a field goal. At the half, its 13-7 J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets! I look for the Steelers to come out and take over in the second half. Why? because we haven’t even started to play well yet. And why do I think we’ll start to play well? Uh, we’re playing the Jets.

5:44: Here we come. We’ve started out in the second half with a decent rushing attack, and a long pass to Holmes, as we’ve moved into the red zone, seeking to tie the game…

5:47: …Or we’ll take a field goal attempt, after Roethlisberger is sacked again. Sweet Hips hits the field goal, 13-10 Jets.

5:58: Alright. we’ve made our stand now on defense. Barring a fluke play, the Jets aren’t getting anything more than a field goal from here on out. So, if we can just get another TD with the offense (we have the ball now) we’ll be alright. Yes, there’s still 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, but I know my team.

5:59: First play, Hank Poteat gets beat by Ward, then gets a very stiff stiff-arm, for a 25 yard pick up.

6:01: The funniest thing about this game is that there are literally more Steelers fans than Jets fans in attendance. Davenport just busted off an 11 yard run, to chants and cheers from the crowd. Before the next play, what do you hear? “Here we go Steelers, here we go!” Pittsburgh fans really do travel well.

6:05: Jeff “Sweet Hips” Reed nails a 32 yard field goal, after the Steelers drive stalls, tying the game at 13. Look for the defense to continue to shut down the Jets offense, and for us to pick up some more points.

6:13: Okay, forget the score for a second. Thomas Jones is about to break 100 yards rushing. It’s been 34 games…Crap, he’s over 100. We are going to have to stop him for a loss or something.

6:26: Steelers have jumped in front on a pretty uneventful drive, which lead to a 48 yard field goal by Sweet Hips. 16-13 Steelers.

6:32: Continuing with my “the Jets are done scoring” theme is DeShea Townsend. He just picked off a Clemens pass. Momentum is definitely favoring the Steelers right now.

6:35: Spoke too soon. Another Jets sack, lead to a Steelers fumble, which the Jets recovered. They’re back in the game.

6:40: I’m not sure why Man-genius is hell bent on going for it on 4th down…but on a 4th and 5, the Jets went for it (again) with more than 4 minutes left. His lack of trust in his defense has given the Steelers the ball on their own 41 yard line. (The Jets woes were compounded by having to use a timeout as well)

6:43: Bye weeks work wonders! The Jets have just sacked Ben for the sixth time. And we’re once again forced to punt.

6:47: Here’s Clemens scenario. He’s playing against the number 1 defense in points allowed, pass defense and rush defense. He’s on his 14 yard line, he has one time out, and there are 2:20 seconds left. Things are looking in our favor here.

6:51: Clearly, this is why they don’t pay me to be an analyst. The Jets are driving…like picking up a first down on every play driving. There’s a minute and a half left in the game, and the Jets are at the Steelers 45 yard line. This is like some weird episode of the Twilight Zone.

6:57: The game is tied. The Jets definitely should the lead…but they’re the Jets, and they kept it classy. The Steelers forced the field goal and the game is tied at 16, with 23 seconds left. Steelers and Jets…going into over time? I can’t even wrap my head around that.

7:08: Well, the Jets won the coin toss, but promptly went 3 and out. Let’s try and put this one away now, yes?

7:10: The Steelers offensive line has struggled all day. They just gave up sack number 7.

7:11: Sepulveda shanked the punt, Leon Washington, who we’ve avoided all game, finally got a punt return opportunity, and returned it 30 yards, effectively ending the game (the Jets are in the 40-45 yard field goal range)

7:14: It’s over. Mike Nugent almost choked on a 41 yarder (it wouldn’t have been good from 44 yards). Jets win in overtime 19-16. The trap game was in effect.

Next up for the Steelers is the second trap game before they play the Patriots, the still winless Miami Dolphins.

Category: Football