I'm sitting at home, watching the ultra conservative, predictable, lackadaisical play of the Steelers Offense, and reveling in the play of the Defense. Pittsburgh is up 13-7 in the fourth quarter. Chandler is running like a scared rat from the constant onslaught of Steeler defenders. The thought of a Steelers loss does not even enter my mind. Then, the unthinkable happens. Bettis fumbles!
With under 4 minutes left in a game at home, giving the ball to Bettis is money in the bank. That is the point that Steeler fans are accustomed to watching the yards, and the clock get chewed up. A fumble by the "Bus" at this juncture of the game is as common as Norm Johnson missing an extra point. It just doesn't happen.
The Falcons recovered at the 47, and wasted little time removing any comfort I had felt up to that point. A 40 yard pass play to Terance Mathis put the ball at the Steelers 7 yard line. All of a sudden, my palms started to sweat. When the first down play resulted in a 6 yard run up the middle, I used my terrible towel to wipe the moisture that was now trickling down my cheek.
On second down, Kevin Henry stuffed fullback Bob Christian at the goal line. On third down, Levon Kirkland sent Christian backwards for a loss of two.
I started thinking of the ramifications a loss like this could have on the rest of the season. The Defense had played so well, the disappointment of a fourth quarter breakdown would probably have started the finger pointing, and self doubt that causes teams to lose hope.
On fourth down, Tailback Ken Oxendine got hammered by Holmes and Kirkland, for a gain of one. Turnover on downs.
The sweating subsided as I basked in the glow of a Defensive effort worthy of the 74 team. The only problem, was the goal line stand put the ball back into the hands of the Offense. A very conservative sequence of play calling forced the Steelers to take a deliberate safety. The ensuing free kick from Josh Miller put the ball back in the hands of the Falcons.
After a couple of first downs, Chandler hit Tim Dwight at the 5 yard line with only 2 seconds remaining.
The perspiration started up again. This time, it didn't take a stellar performance from the Defense. Chandler threw behind an open Dwight to preserve the Steeler victory.
"To have lost this game, especially after the way we totally dominated them for three quarters, would have been devastating," Pittsburgh strong safety Lee Flowers said. "Maybe we could have bounced back from it, but I don't know. It would have been tough showing our faces in this town (Tuesday) morning, man. Thank goodness we didn't let it slip away."
I think the Defense could have still held their heads up high even in defeat. The Offense is a different story. Kevin Gilbride seems reluctant to allow Kordell to throw the deep ball. Maybe he is trying to get his confidence level up with a high completion percentage, and no interceptions. But these constant 3 to 5 yard completions are making for some very boring football. It is also forcing the Defense to win football games. Having on off week should help the Offense get some much needed practice time. So far, they have shown little continuity, and provided little excitement.
With the way the Defense is playing, the Offense only needs to be able to score about 17 points to ensure victory. If they can do that on a consistent basis, I can go back to using my terrible towel for waving, instead of drying off my perspiration.
by Steelergil (Oct. 26, 99)