Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting (Steelers-Bengals Recap)

What a strange Saturday night! No one won the Powerball, and we learned that Sean Penn met with El Chapo as the Mexican drug lord was a fugitive. Sean Penn is welcome to further explain his actions right here on Sean's Ramblings. You know since his name is Sean? Oh, there was a playoff football game between the Steelers and Bengals too.

I have so many thoughts about this game, but that could take a while, so let's start with this non-comprehensive list of things to happen in Steelers/Bengals by Patrick Daugherty, a NFL writer for Rotoworld/NBC Sports:

A few items not mentioned above.

- Domata Peko's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was actually amusing, especially if you imagine Michael Keaton or Christian Bale in the "cape" instead of Peko.



- Early in the game, Phil Simms said that Antonio Brown is a "tremendous catcher of the football." Is Brown just an adequate catcher of a baseball and basketball? Maybe he is a lousy catcher of the frisbee. Perhaps he is a catcher in the rye.

- There has been no discussion about the size of Steelers RB Fitzgerald Toussaint's forehead. I really want to find clips from I Married an Axe Murderer here, but we'll settle for the picture.

- I'd love to know what Joey Porter said to Pacman Jones to cause Jones to go nuts. Maybe he said Ms. Pacman is a better game (which is completely accurate) and Pacman disagreed.

- For Bengals fans upset about Porter even being on the field while the Steelers medical staff were treating Brown, let's check out this video from near the end of the third quarter.



Giovani Bernard was just leveled by Ryan Shazier. (I'm not going to debate whether or not there should have been a flag.) The call on the field was a catch, so the Bengals offense and the Steelers defense were on the field as the Bengals' medical staff was attending to Bernard. This was before Mike Tomlin challenged the play. So look who was out in the middle of the field? Bengals defensive player Vontaze Burfict. There were other Bengals folks there too who had just as much reason to be on the field as Porter did in the fourth quarter. Pause the video at the 10 second mark. Who is the person dressed in all black (clearly not an active player) at the top left that puts his hands on Bud Dupree? While Porter is going to get fined by the NFL, he shouldn't be alone in sending money to the league.

- Mike Munchak got a 15 yard penalty & Joey Porter helped draw one. These are both Steelers assistant coaches. So where was the leadership of defensive coordinator Keith Butler and offensive coordinator Todd Haley for not getting involved themselves? Or was this brilliant leadership by having their subordinates get involved?

This isn't from Ted Cruz, but someone should probably let the Cruz campaign know that telling a football team's fans that they do not deserve a team is not going to help to win the Ohio vote.

@dtsjr @NFL Really? Poor sportsmanship and stupidity lost that game. And the classless fans show they do not deserve a team.

— Ted Cruz 4 President (@Virginians4Cruz) January 10, 2016

So now the Steelers will travel to Denver to face the Broncos with a questionable Brown, DeAngelo Williams, and Ben Roethlisberger. However, if you want to read even more about this game, I recommend the following:

DK Pittsburgh Sports
PGH Sports Daily Bulletin
Behind The Steel Curtain
USA Today's Steelers Wire
Steelers Depot

Oh, let's end with Nick Lachey's thoughts on the game. (h/t Rob)

Random Thoughts

I have a lot to write about, so don't mind me while I'm all over the place.

- Based on my drive to New Jersey this weekend, I declare Maryland to be the new Delaware. It took me two hours and 15 minutes to get from Arlington, VA to the tunnel in Baltimore on Friday afternoon and there was Maryland traffic on Sunday. No traffic on either day in Delaware. Plus, gas is more expensive at the Maryland House rest stop than its counterparts in Delaware and New Jersey.

- Two comments about the Steelers game and this is nothing new from what you have already read elsewhere. First, the offensive line, um, struggled. Second, I still question why Coach Mike Tomlin didn’t kick a field goal late in the fourth quarter when the Steelers needed two scores. I was yelling at the TV even before Phil Simms did. Tomlin’s reason from Monday’s Post-Gazette:

"Absolutely not," Tomlin replied. "We did not move the ball consistently enough to say that had we kicked the field goal and got the onside kick that we could get down there again. We were down there, we were going to take our shots.

"Under the circumstances, based on what happened to that point, no way we're kicking a field goal down there."

This makes no sense to me. The reason you kick the field goal is because the team couldn’t move the ball consistently. If the Steelers got a first down on the fourth-and-10, then what? Kick the field goal and if you get lucky enough with an onside kick, maybe you get lucky throwing a Hail Mary.

- In positive football news Pitt defeated Iowa, and Ithaca College is now 3-0 after a 69-42 victory over Hartwick. No that score is not a typo. IC running back Thomas Bergerstock ran for 268 yards and five touchdowns. WR Noah Koreman of Hartwick had 16 catches for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns. Both players should be picked up in all Division 3 fantasy football leagues immediately.

- I know that the Penguins preseason has started but I’m not ready to think about the NHL yet. Give me two weeks.

- Did you know that the first Presidential debate between McCain and Obama is on Friday? I’m not ready for that either.

- Something I am ready for: another David Blaine stunt. Although this may not come across in text, the last sentence is called sarcasm.

- It’s nice having Heroes, Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother back.