Game Balls, Game Goats & FU's...........................vs Clowns......

[Chicoman]

What a great night to be a Steelers fan....have so many mixed emotions.....I remember Terry Bradshaw's last game on the road vs the NY Jets in what would be the last NFL game ever played at Shea Stadium when Bradshaw came off the bench to throw 2 TD passes despite his arm being completely trashed and playing in pain to propel the Steelers into the playoffs. This one hits me even harder because I know now Ben's not coming back to the Steelers in 2022. I'm honored to have witnessed his entire career as a Steeler and never missed a game. Seeing him walk the field and greet the fans and take it all in after the final kneel down was really cool. He really appreciates the fans and the city of Pittsburgh which is home for him. I got pretty emotional watching his kids and wife come onto the field seeing his kids run to their dad (knowing they just know him as dad).....it puts everything in perspective as a fan when you see someone like Big Ben as just a person and not an NFL player. On the game itself it wasn't a great night statistically for Ben but it sure was great to see him go out a winning QB at Heinz Field in his last home game of his career. I'm not sure who or what happened to the O-line tonight but they were firing off their blocks and blowing Cleveland's front 7 off the Line of Scrimmage most of the game. JC Hassenhauer certainly seemed to make a difference this week filling in for Kendrick Green. I tried to pay very close attention to the Steelers O-line tonight and they dominated tonight. I saw Hassenhauer and Leglue both get to the second level on their blocking several times tonight and opened up some good running lanes for Najee Harris who ran like a man possessed tonight and he had his best game yet as a pro in his rookie year. If Trai Turner's injury prevents him from playing next week I'm almost wondering if the Steelers plug Kendrick Green in at Right Guard next week. TJ Watt was a HOUSE OF FIRE tonight finishing with 4 more sacks to give him 21.5 on the season with one game to go. And to think TJ Watt has missed 3 games this season with injury. If the guy doesn't win DPOY this season there is something wrong! The guy was a complete game wrecker tonight...4 sacks 2 batted balls. Watt was getting held on almost every play tonight....he should have had one more sack and would have if the RT didn't grab hold of him. Unfortunately for Watt, Alex Highsmith on the other side got there for the sack. Cam Heyward also is worth mentioning I can't believe how high a level he is playing at in his 11th season. Loudermilk is really starting to come into his own on the D-line....Alot of people said he was a reach but I'm sure glad he's a Steeler. Combine him with Montravius Adams and the Steelers have 2 good, young promising D-linemen. Also no disrespect to Pressley Harvin but Corliss Waitman has won this punting job IMO and he should be our new punter going forward. I don't think this team is that far off from bring a serious contender but without Big Ben next season the Steelers have a GIANT missing puzzle piece to put in place and right now I don't feel the Steelers have a QB on this roster who can fill that void. Maybe, just maybe a miracle will happen next Sunday and it won't be Big Ben's last game as a Steeler. Seeing him choking back tears during the Post Game Interview really got to me, I must be getting soft in my old age. I just hope it's not another 23 years before the Steelers land another Franchise QB.

Post Game Per Tomlin's Presser:
Trai Turner has a knee injury that will be evaluated

Game Balls:
Ben Roethlisberger - Thank you for 18 wonderful seasons as the Steelers QB. I watched every game....can't believe this is the end......GO THRASH THE RATBIRDS ONE LAST TIME!
Najee Harris - 188 yds rushing, 3 rec 18 yds receiving......best game as a pro.
TJ Watt - a complete game wrecker....4 sacks giving him 21.5 on the season with 1 game to go to break Strahan's single season sack record.
Alex Highsmith - 2 sacks, 7 tackles......nice to see he's still improving after 2 seasons at OLB
Cameron Heyward - had a sack tonight and 2 batted balls, he really has dominated all season
Chris Boswell - he was money tonight 4 FG's including a 48 & 50 yd FG
Corliss Waitman - This guy should be our new punter going forward....far better than Harvin and it's not even close! Sorry Pressley

Game Goats:
Dionte Johnson - dropped several throws that he should have caught. He looked like Dionte 2020 tonight
Chase Claypool - Yup he belongs here too.....flopping all over the field and not making catches.

FU's:
FU to the Clowns & their Fans - HELLO CLEVELAND! HELLO CLEVELAND! Baker Mayfield is the perfect franchise QB for The Clowns! I hope he signs a 10 year Extension! A TURNOVER MACHINE HE IS!

 

[CoolieMan]

not sure why you left claypool of the goats

at least DJ did make some catches and fought for the TD

ray ray also likely deserves a goat He made one good catch and a bunch of nothing else plus the muffed punt that could have been a key turnover

oh and a big FU to those who hate the Najee draft choice

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

not sure why you left claypool of the goats

at least DJ did make some catches and fought for the TD

ray ray also likely deserves a goat He made one good catch and a bunch of nothing else plus the muffed punt that could have been a key turnover

oh and a big FU to those who hate the Najee draft choice

RayRay had more than one good catch he had a nice catch and run on a crossing route. Aside from the muff which he recovered he ran hard in returns as well. I don’t get the hate on him. He plays damn well for what he is.

 

[Djfan]

RayRay had more than one good catch he had a nice catch and run on a crossing route. Aside from the muff which he recovered he ran hard in returns as well. I don’t get the hate on him. He plays damn well for what he is.

He out played DJ, imo

 

[CoolieMan]

RayRay had more than one good catch he had a nice catch and run on a crossing route. Aside from the muff which he recovered he ran hard in returns as well. I don’t get the hate on him. He plays damn well for what he is.

the catch and run on the crossing route is what you expect from your guy

the catch when you are slammed immediately is a nice catch

running hard and getting no where on returns is not impressive

 

[CoolieMan]

He out played DJ, imo

he caugt 40% of his targets

the only one worse than that was claypool with 33%

he did have 4 more receiving yards

but to me a muff is inexcusable, you only job on punts is to catch the damn ball

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

the catch and run on the crossing route is what you expect from your guy

the catch when you are slammed immediately is a nice catch

running hard and getting no where on returns is not impressive

He has been getting respectable yardage on returns and not dancing. I haven’t had an issue at all with his returns recently. Muff aside.

 

[Steelworth]

Good write up as always, Chicoman. I thought Najee ran like a man possessed tonight, but Kendrick Green was a mistake draft choice and it clearly showed.

And what a storybook ending for Ben at home. Beating the stupid ***** who passed over him one last time and seeing he and his family walk into the tunnel (and off into the sunset) was special to watch. We're going to seriously miss #7. As Ryan Clark said after the game, one of the all-time Steeler greats.

 

[topseed]

Congrats to Ben on a great career. Nice win and overall it was fun to watch...however, it's pretty clear that it's time for Ben to hang them up, especially in this Matt Canada offense. He's gone from averaging nearly 9 yards per attempt in his first two seasons to an incredibly paltry 2.7 last night. 46 attempts for 123 yards. Good God. If there was a completion of 10+ yards down the field, I can't remember it. Ben's 56.3 passer rating in this game was his lowest in any since the regular season loss to the Jags in 2017. The only reason the Steelers got off the schneid of not scoring a first half touchdown again for the sixth straight game was because Clowney decided to throw Claypool's shoe (after Ben throwing a pass 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd-and-10).

Hassenauer is average at best, but still showed what an enormous upgrade he is over Green. It's truly amazing how far Green has dragged down the o-line's performance this season. Leglue is showing some good potential as well, and Moore had a much better game than his first effort against Garrett two months ago.

Najee Harris is the full package. I don't understand people who say he isn't fast enough. He was plenty quick on the touchdown run which sealed the game. Give this guy a few cracks of daylight, and he'll easily put up a buck-plus like he did last night, on a regular basis. Phenomenal young player, and apropos that the torch was symbolically passed to him from Ben near the end of the game.

Another addition-by-subtraction situation as the defense, without Bush, only allowed 71 yards on 17 carries to Chubb and Johnson. Second week in a row that the run defense was much better without that clown on the field, as KC only averaged 3.6 yards per carry last Sunday. Spillane is without a doubt a liability in coverage, but he is light-years better than Bush could ever think about being versus the run.

And, of course, let's all congratulate Head Coach Mike Tomlin for clinching his non-losing record streak for yet another season. Excuse me while I go throw up.

 

[Sarge]

Ben has had a great career, but I can't give him a game ball based on last night's performance. I mostly blame the play calling for that.

I would, however, give the offensive line a game ball. Best game they have had in some time.

 

[MTC]

not sure why you left claypool of the goats

at least DJ did make some catches and fought for the TD

ray ray also likely deserves a goat He made one good catch and a bunch of nothing else plus the muffed punt that could have been a key turnover

oh and a big FU to those who hate the Najee draft choice

I saw bits of the game yesterday. DJ seemed to run backwards more often than not.

Ray ray did hold onto the ball after getting decked. Not too many receivers take shots like that. He gets a pass from me granted the way the offense has been all season long

 

[MTC]

Ben has had a great career, but I can't give him a game ball based on last night's performance. I mostly blame the play calling for that.

I would, however, give the offensive line a game ball. Best game they have had in some time.

I agree. Emotions need to be put aside. The game was ugly. The offense has been tough to watch all season long.


Run blocking looked really improved last night

 

[MTC]

Congrats to Ben on a great career. Nice win and overall it was fun to watch...however, it's pretty clear that it's time for Ben to hang them up, especially in this Matt Canada offense. He's gone from averaging nearly 9 yards per attempt in his first two seasons to an incredibly paltry 2.7 last night. 46 attempts for 123 yards. Good God. If there was a completion of 10+ yards down the field, I can't remember it. Ben's 56.3 passer rating in this game was his lowest in any since the regular season loss to the Jags in 2017. The only reason the Steelers got off the schneid of not scoring a first half touchdown again for the sixth straight game was because Clowney decided to throw Claypool's shoe (after Ben throwing a pass 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd-and-10).

Hassenauer is average at best, but still showed what an enormous upgrade he is over Green. It's truly amazing how far Green has dragged down the o-line's performance this season. Leglue is showing some good potential as well, and Moore had a much better game than his first effort against Garrett two months ago.

Najee Harris is the full package. I don't understand people who say he isn't fast enough. He was plenty quick on the touchdown run which sealed the game. Give this guy a few cracks of daylight, and he'll easily put up a buck-plus like he did last night, on a regular basis. Phenomenal young player, and apropos that the torch was symbolically passed to him from Ben near the end of the game.

Another addition-by-subtraction situation as the defense, without Bush, only allowed 71 yards on 17 carries to Chubb and Johnson. Second week in a row that the run defense was much better without that clown on the field, as KC only averaged 3.6 yards per carry last Sunday. Spillane is without a doubt a liability in coverage, but he is light-years better than Bush could ever think about being versus the run.

And, of course, let's all congratulate Head Coach Mike Tomlin for clinching his non-losing record streak for yet another season. Excuse me while I go throw up.

Najee’s a stud. I’ll sarcastically talk **** cause he’s one them bammy roll tide wankers @bermudasteel @Paul G @warriors42


But the dude is a baller.
That said Hines is a HoF Stiller and Dawg

 

[Bluesteel]

I give a goat to the usual suspect coaching staff/head coach on this game being closer than it needed to be. 2 trips into the red zone and go pass pass pass on both, when the run game had been as productive as we’ve seen all season and Harris running over people all game!!!

Thank goodness the Browns coaching staff is even more inept and inexplicably left Chubb on sidelines for chunks of the game??? That likely bailed out our coaching staff!!!

 

[MTC]

I give a goat to the usual suspect coaching staff/head coach on this game being closer than it needed to be. 2 trips into the red zone and go pass pass pass on both, when the run game had been as productive as we’ve seen all season and Harris running over people all game!!!

Thank goodness the Browns coaching staff is even more inept and inexplicably left Chubb on sidelines for chunks of the game??? That likely bailed out our coaching staff!!!

Chubb isn’t being used properly.
Would look good in the B&G

 

[TDX27]

Definitely a goat/FU to our coaching staff on the offense side. Canada/Tomlin went with the same game plan. It was a good thing Hassenauer and Leglue and Moore played so well otherwise it would have been more of the same. But, the pass calls were atrocious. On quick plays like that, there are really no progressions in Ben's reads. He's going to his guy that is called by Canada. They continue to target RayRay who catches some balls but is a 4th or 5th WR, at best, on most teams. They continue to call short passes at or behind the LOS on 3rd and long. The play calling just makes no sense. Ben can still make the throws if the line gives him a couple of seconds to throw it. The only 20 yard throws I can remember in the entire game were when Ben knew he had a free play and just heaved it out there for one of his guys. It makes no sense at all.

 

[black and gold apex]

Game ball
The fans that stayed and stood tall for the last game for Ben
Ben for his being a Steeler all the way
Najee for showing what he can be and getting a hard earned record
Defensive line that stood up on run plays and really allowed one big play
Watt for one heck of an effort
Highsmith who had a good game
Heyward that took charge last night
Goat
Claypool who is still reading last year's headlines, who cannot be counted on ,who gives up on way too many plays. Has no clue how to use his height to fight for ball
Refs who made the game interesting with two interference calls on one drive allowing a TD by Browns

FU
Riddick for ESPN who all night cared only about the Browns making plays and to his boy Chubb that he talked about more than not. Najee who outgained his boy talked little of. His stroking Madden yet Madden would have been embarrassed for the way Riddick calls a game.
Canada for his new improved play calls that make zero sense. 3rd and 9 lets throw two yards. Noticed how many times Ben had to put players in position.

 

[GILBERT]

Ya those announcers got to go. Terrible.

 

[TDX27]

A game ball to anyone who can somehow post some of these video tributes, etc. of Ben or send them to me directly if it's not cool posting them here.

 

[Steelr4evr]

Ben has had a great career, but I can't give him a game ball based on last night's performance. I mostly blame the play calling for that.

I would, however, give the offensive line a game ball. Best game they have had in some time.

That was the type of performance I was expecting from the start of the season.


Last night was a throwback game to the 90's ,power running! They even used Watt as a FB.

Horrible play calling that's went from bad last year to worse this year. I do think the game plan was to get the ball out fast to neutralize the pass rush. The Browns played up tight.

I agree. Emotions need to be put aside. The game was ugly. The offense has been tough to watch all season long.


Run blocking looked really improved last night

Emotions is all we have left...lol. You know fans.

The team has been awful. The offense atrocious, the defense soft.

And just like that they pulled a page from smashmouth Steeler Football last night.

This morning I find myself saying where the **** was this all season? It couldn't have been just the center.

It was mindset and purpose last night. If they came out and played with intent like that every week they'd be in the playoffs right now.

They should have played like that vs the Lions.


Last night showed me they are absolutely capable of playing up to the standard.

Going forward they should definitely heavily invest into the OL/DL and ride a power running game. It will keep them going until they find the franchise qb.

 

[GILBERT]

A game ball to anyone who can somehow post some of these video tributes, etc. of Ben or send them to me directly if it's not cool posting them here.

I would love to see them too!

 

[Sarge]

This morning I find myself saying where the **** was this all season? It couldn't have been just the center.

It was and it wasn't. I think having a semi-competent center in the game was very helpful. That said, the Brown's defense is banged up. That probably helped some too.

 

[Roy92040]

I'd have to give a little credit to Ahkello Witherspoon. At times he looked like a cover guy.

 

[SteelBuckeye]

Najee Harris. We're acting like he just "arrived" last night. This kid has quietly put together a monster season. So quietly that many of us, myself included, didn't realize that he was in the top five in the NFL in rushing yards and all purpose yards.
Seriously, let that sink in. Top 5 in rushing yards and all purpose yards ... behind that OL ... with Canada's play calling hardly ever putting him in a position to succeed. Amazing!
Can't wait to see what he can do behind a rebuilt, better offensive line.

 

[Coryea]

Najee Harris. We're acting like he just "arrived" last night. This kid has quietly put together a monster season. So quietly that many of us, myself included, didn't realize that he was in the top five in the NFL in rushing yards and all purpose yards.
Seriously, let that sink in. Top 5 in rushing yards and all purpose yards ... behind that OL ... with Canada's play calling hardly ever putting him in a position to succeed. Amazing!
Can't wait to see what he can do behind a rebuilt, better offensive line.

I saw that like 118 of his yards came after contact, they need to get that line fixed asap or Harris won't be around long, he's taken a beating this season with this Oline.