Steelers Lose To Raiders 34-31 As Defense Is AWOL
What can one write when Ben Roethlisberger---exhibiting a wasted All Pro Day---throws for four touchdowns to 10 different receivers for 384 yards and the Steelers still lose? In addition, time-of-possession for the Steelers exceeded Oakland's time of possession by a full 13 minutes. WTF?
Well it does not take a genius to figure it out. Steelers defense was AWOL. It was a classic defensive breakdown for a team long known for having a history of great defenses. In fact, the Raiders offense was able to slice through the Steelers defense like a knife through warm butter.
How easy was Carson Palmer moving his offense? He simply guided his team to five straight scoring drives.
Adding to the misery were the penalties. Antonio Brown had a 73 yard touchdown run called back for two penalties---an illegal block and one for holding. It also didn't help that Brett Kiesel was caught in the neutral zone thereby giving the Raiders a 1st and Goal on the 3-yard line culminating in a touchdown to Darrius Bey. Steelers committed 10 penalties.
Coach Mike Tomlin's comments after the game sumed things up well: "That was a poor performance by us. When you play like that, you lose football games. Not enough stops on defense. We turned the ball over on offense...Not very good execution by us."
Perhaps an early bye week next week is good news for the Steelers considering Polamalu, Harrison, Mendenhall and Sylvester would get an additional week to heal.
Next game: Oct. 7, 2012 against the Eagles at home. 1 pm
(Sources: Steelers.com/Fox NFL/ABC News/SteelersGab)
