Speaker 1: Checks to the run round coming back inside the store,
Speaker 1: keep punch in this simply first touchdown, put it on
Speaker 1: top and huge first. They might be breathing now the
Speaker 1: Steelers escape one of the weirdest games and weirdest situations
Speaker 1: in a weird year. To put it nicely, I guess
Speaker 1: nineteen fourteen, it's Pittsburgh Steelers football escaping with the season sweep.
Speaker 1: I'm with Patrick Claibn. My name is Gregg Rosenthal. We
Speaker 1: will be doing a Friday pre view show. I don't
Speaker 1: know if Week thirteen Patrick can get much wonkier than
Speaker 1: Week twelve. This this felt like a fitting end to
Speaker 1: this week, right, a week that started about a week
Speaker 1: ago and came all the way back around to the
Speaker 1: next Wednesday, where we finally get this game and we're
Speaker 1: we're looking at an actual game that's it's like, hey,
Speaker 1: this is worth watching, and then r G three kind
Speaker 1: of pulls up lamb uh Luke Wilson for some reason
Speaker 1: forgets to secure football after catching it, and uh, we're
Speaker 1: deprived of what would have been a fun Wednesday afternoon. Well,
Speaker 1: I can clearly see what you were rooting for their
Speaker 1: minga Fitzpatrick did make a nice play I think you're
Speaker 1: talking about, um, the last play of the first half.
Speaker 1: We can get to that that there was a lot
Speaker 1: um that went on in this game, and there's you know,
Speaker 1: of course all the COVID nineteen situation on both sides
Speaker 1: of the ball. Really you know, the Steelers lose their
Speaker 1: center pouncy uh coming into the game. That was like,
Speaker 1: I'll literally happened on Wednesday. So the news just didn't
Speaker 1: stop coming. Um. But it was surprising that, considering all
Speaker 1: that Baltimore had lost, primarily Lamar Jackson, that this game
Speaker 1: stayed close throughout and that we got to a point
Speaker 1: where there was a measurement at the very end, which
Speaker 1: you know, came down to the millimeters where who knows,
Speaker 1: the Ravens almost got the ball back with Trace McSorley
Speaker 1: back in our lives with a chance to go win
Speaker 1: the game, and we are deprived of a legendary Trace
Speaker 1: McSorley legacy drive opportunity where you know, maybe he could
Speaker 1: throw the ball, you know, three Steelers could fall down
Speaker 1: in Hollywood, Brow could walk into the ins and again,
Speaker 1: which honestly, as you mentioned the way week twelve with
Speaker 1: that wasn't out of the realm of possibility. It could
Speaker 1: have been weird. Yeah, there's a few things I do
Speaker 1: want to get to. But one of my biggest takeaways
Speaker 1: here just moving forward because the fact that the Steelers
Speaker 1: struggled to put them away and and just how this
Speaker 1: game actually flowed. I don't know how much you can
Speaker 1: project everything into the future in general this year, but
Speaker 1: especially after this insane week for both of these teams.
Speaker 1: That you know, for the Steelers is just like, okay,
Speaker 1: you can put the extra w in the standings and
Speaker 1: move on. The bigger problem is their long term stuff.
Speaker 1: They lose Pouncy and they lose Bud Dupree at the
Speaker 1: end of that game, and that it looked like a
Speaker 1: serious injury. We won't we won't have um news on that.
Speaker 1: You hurt for Dupre who is in a franchise tag
Speaker 1: year heading into free agency. But if they don't get
Speaker 1: him back and they won't have Pounty back Um for
Speaker 1: their next game at least against Washington, and then that
Speaker 1: that's trouble for Pittsburgh, especially in in circumstances where people
Speaker 1: are legitimate looking at looking at the schedule and thinking
Speaker 1: of the sixteen and oh is an option. Uh, it's
Speaker 1: a possibility, But I mean this team is mainly concerned
Speaker 1: with its playoff viability and if you if you don't
Speaker 1: have you know, your best most consistent offensive lineman. I
Speaker 1: know bud Dupree was beating with the PFF folks earlier.
Speaker 1: I think we're probably gonna see what he actually means
Speaker 1: to the team. Uh if he if he can't play,
Speaker 1: I miss that what they have him ranked low. He's
Speaker 1: been very active this year. Yeah, there there was there
Speaker 1: was a disagreement with regards to how the players are ranked,
Speaker 1: and uh, bud Dupree hopped in and I you know,
Speaker 1: immediately stepped out because nerds versus jocks, versus nerds versus
Speaker 1: just incessant conversation over and over again. I just don't
Speaker 1: want to hear it. Those guys aren't nerds. They evaluate
Speaker 1: football players. And you know, bud dupre is a football player.
Speaker 1: He has it right to his own opinion. But yeah,
Speaker 1: other than that, you know, ass and on conversation, he
Speaker 1: is a good football player. He does provide value, uh
Speaker 1: to the team, and we see how good that defense
Speaker 1: could be. But in terms of the game, because I know,
Speaker 1: the big takeaway with the Pittsburgh Steelers in that game
Speaker 1: as well. You know that was a depleted Ravens team. Like,
Speaker 1: if you're gonna throw out a game, throw out a
Speaker 1: game that happens on a weird Wednesday that's been delayed
Speaker 1: five times, that should have been played the week before,
Speaker 1: where half of one team is missing, and it's there
Speaker 1: was just a lot going on. If you're gonna throw
Speaker 1: out a game and say, hey, maybe this we don't
Speaker 1: take away all those things from it, it's gonna be
Speaker 1: what happened earlier today. I agree with that, especially when
Speaker 1: you consider all the drop passes by the Steelers to
Speaker 1: UH two in the in the red zone. I mean,
Speaker 1: Deonte Johnson dropped a touchdown in the first half, and
Speaker 1: who who else was it that dropped well I thought
Speaker 1: would have been a touchdown in the first half. Maybe
Speaker 1: that was James Washington who came came down with the
Speaker 1: big play at the end, and then Deonte Johnson had
Speaker 1: another drop late in the game which helped set up
Speaker 1: UM the Ravens wild touchdown when mc sorley came in there.
Speaker 1: It was a little it was a little disappointing that
Speaker 1: r G three didn't finish this game. At the time,
Speaker 1: UM we got into the fourth quarter, he actually had
Speaker 1: more yards running than anyone in the game had running
Speaker 1: or seaving. So that's the type of game that it was.
Speaker 1: He only had about twenty two yards passing coming into
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter, but he kept them close enough. And
Speaker 1: I do think it tells you a little bit of
Speaker 1: just about the makeup of the organization that they're gonna
Speaker 1: get some players back before this Cowboys game, and that,
Speaker 1: to me is a just a crucial game for them
Speaker 1: because they're gonna have to find ways to win games
Speaker 1: shorthanded against bad teams. In Dallas is a bad team. Uh,
Speaker 1: And this thing today I think was encouraging when it
Speaker 1: comes to that they can still run the ball. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they were able to run the ball. They're doing it
Speaker 1: with tight ends off the street. You know, we mentioned
Speaker 1: Luke Wilson's drop. They're they're bringing in new players and
Speaker 1: having them have to immediately contribute, and I think hopefully, um,
Speaker 1: you know, obviously I'm a stand Uh people know that, Lamar. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you just you just kind of look at what he's
Speaker 1: been able to accomplish with the offensive line kind of
Speaker 1: falling apart um and again you know that uh we
Speaker 1: saw you know, Holly would have to touchdown late. But
Speaker 1: there was a play in the first half where T. J.
Speaker 1: Watt is like putting the clamps on him and running
Speaker 1: them out of bounds, like they had forty yards. They
Speaker 1: had forty yards passing before that play. If there was
Speaker 1: something to take away for them, you know, they did
Speaker 1: get you know, the running game did look pretty good.
Speaker 1: I think they I agreed with Consworth's point that whatever
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh's um, whatever Baltimore is doing to Pittsburgh in terms
Speaker 1: of their run defense, people really should be looking at
Speaker 1: that now. I know not every team as Lamar Jackson,
Speaker 1: but some other teams have mobile quarterbacks. RT three is
Speaker 1: no Lamar Jackson. They they ran the ball down Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: throw in the first matchup. That was as dominant of
Speaker 1: first half as they've seen by about any team all year.
Speaker 1: They ended up blowing that game because the turnovers. The
Speaker 1: turnovers didn't help today, but they they got some things done.
Speaker 1: I think they can move forward with running the ball. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if Baltimore Lamar Jackson all that was standing. If Baltimore
Speaker 1: can have a third string guard playing tackle and still
Speaker 1: run the ball, uh, you know, with its backup quarterback,
Speaker 1: then there is a means with which you can run
Speaker 1: on this Steelers defense. I know that that game next
Speaker 1: week for pittsburgh's tricky because you know they're on a
Speaker 1: short week against Washington, who I think is playing really well,
Speaker 1: you know for Washington. Um. But if you're gonna, yeah,
Speaker 1: I have think I think they've been pretty good. I
Speaker 1: think they've been the best team in the NFC East
Speaker 1: on balance, and and I think they can they can
Speaker 1: compete with Pittsburgh. I was gonna if you're gonna lose,
Speaker 1: if you're gonna lose a game, Actually, Pittsburgh should prefer
Speaker 1: to lose an NFC game because it could come down
Speaker 1: to conference record when it when it comes down to
Speaker 1: the Chiefs. But their schedule the rest of the way, uh,
Speaker 1: is not easy at all. And this, to me was
Speaker 1: for a lot of people who haven't watched the Steelers done,
Speaker 1: was the ultimate big breeze game. That's the nickname I
Speaker 1: gave them. People think it was kind of like derogatory,
Speaker 1: and I was thinking more like breeze, like solid, maybe
Speaker 1: not prime breeze, but good, very efficient breeze. It's more
Speaker 1: just that they're, uh, they're a dinky dunk offense right now,
Speaker 1: that's just know what they are, and that's why they
Speaker 1: can't really handle drops because they're not gonna make up
Speaker 1: for it with big plays. Yeah, and it also you know,
Speaker 1: it protects your quarterback. Even though Ben did took it
Speaker 1: take a massive hit, a couple of hits today that
Speaker 1: was that was rare um. But you know, it keeps
Speaker 1: it keeps them upright, it keeps his You know, my
Speaker 1: my dog is still upset with your commentary on the
Speaker 1: football team. Uh you know, she makes an appearance, but
Speaker 1: but what's her name? How many dogs do you have,
Speaker 1: by the way, just the one? Okay, I thought you
Speaker 1: had like a multiple pet situation, but maybe there's there's
Speaker 1: there's an army of cats, but there's that's what I mean.
Speaker 1: So you have multiple cats, a dog, two kids, including
Speaker 1: an infant. Do you ever think, like, once you get
Speaker 1: the kid, do we need these pets still? Yeah? I mean,
Speaker 1: I mean, no offense to this, this beautiful creature behind me.
Speaker 1: But there's uh yeah, we're full. We're all full of here.
Speaker 1: Hopefully everybody else could have a fulfilling situation with their
Speaker 1: with their furry friends. But see she's she's that's literally upset,
Speaker 1: uh with with with this conversation. I don't even know.
Speaker 1: I don't even know where we live. I don't know
Speaker 1: where we are. Just got too excited about the football
Speaker 1: team there and Alex Smith Pittsburgh. It's funny because Pittsburgh,
Speaker 1: you know, they don't feel like a sixteen and a
Speaker 1: type of team, but they're also clearly one of the
Speaker 1: best teams in the league. So I feel must feel
Speaker 1: like people are a little too eager to to like
Speaker 1: dismiss what they've done because they're a little lucky to
Speaker 1: be undefeated. It's like, yeah, okay, they're a little lucky,
Speaker 1: but they have a pretty efficient offense, not a great
Speaker 1: running game, a great defense, and they're in that tier
Speaker 1: of like tier two to five for me in the
Speaker 1: NFL behind that. And that's the thing, like we I
Speaker 1: hate to break it to everybody, but like, if you're
Speaker 1: gonna win fifteen or sixteen football games, you're you're gonna
Speaker 1: be lucky. Like that's it's not something that that you do.
Speaker 1: And it's just like, yeah, we we did that really good. Like,
Speaker 1: you know, blades of grass can can change an entire season.
Speaker 1: You know, we saw what happened with the Cowboys and
Speaker 1: their quarterback with the Giants, Um start running back. I mean, uh,
Speaker 1: it's it's not easy to do. And so if you
Speaker 1: if you, if you win them all, then it's an
Speaker 1: incredible accomplishment. It doesn't matter like if you squeak by
Speaker 1: or like Willie Sneed drops a pass or something like
Speaker 1: you just you want all your football games. They were
Speaker 1: piste though they were pissed. I got a little bit
Speaker 1: of postgame and Ben Roethlisberger is still standing there. By
Speaker 1: the way, Mina kimes Um called him grew Brees instead
Speaker 1: of Big. I've been calling him Big Brees and she
Speaker 1: went with grew Brees and that's better. That's actually better.
Speaker 1: And now her nickname is displaced mine, which is unfortunate
Speaker 1: for me, but I think that's that's a better. No,
Speaker 1: why would you don't be defeated? Brees is funny? No, No,
Speaker 1: it's it's funny. But Big Brees you know it. You
Speaker 1: know it makes you think, like what if they're basically
Speaker 1: the same players? Just wanted significantly he uh Roethlisberger And
Speaker 1: we'll wrap up pretty quickly. I know you want to
Speaker 1: get get to your family here in this game. Was
Speaker 1: we need to move on to week thirteen for the
Speaker 1: good of society. Uh. He he was like really commenting
Speaker 1: how this game wasn't good enough, and he was all pissed.
Speaker 1: And then Mike Tomlin said that they were JV in
Speaker 1: all three phrases, so they definitely came into it thinking
Speaker 1: they were gonna be the zombie Ravens by a lot,
Speaker 1: I think and enjoy it, and and Roethlisberger made a
Speaker 1: good point that he thought the toughest part about the
Speaker 1: whole last week was just mental kind of being trying
Speaker 1: to stay ready and not knowing exactly what to do,
Speaker 1: and that that's why it was a weird game, and
Speaker 1: division games are weird. People really underrate that fact. Division
Speaker 1: games where the two teams know each other are we weird.
Speaker 1: To give him a little bit of a pass, and
Speaker 1: now they get a short week and the Ravens get
Speaker 1: a slightly longer week before they play your Dallas Cowboys,
Speaker 1: Who's are dogs. He used to be. I've tried to
Speaker 1: get this the going, and you're trying to make it,
Speaker 1: but I'm just a little too good at the honesty thing,
Speaker 1: all right, I think, um, I think that'll do it.
Speaker 1: That this felt like, um, this felt like what it
Speaker 1: was like as much as we were going to get
Speaker 1: like this was it. This was the culmination of where
Speaker 1: we've been pointing to all season. Um r G three
Speaker 1: and four turnovers in the first like ten minutes of
Speaker 1: a game on a Wednesday afternoon. But I don't think
Speaker 1: it is. We're probably heading for more. We're probably getting weirder, Pats,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't put it past to be significantly weirder. Alright,
Speaker 1: check out Patrick Clayban three times a week on Fantasy
Speaker 1: Live on NFL Network. We will be back with you
Speaker 1: on Friday. So that's a day later than our normal
Speaker 1: preview show, our our TV show pushed partly because of
Speaker 1: this weird game, so we're all we're all adjusting. That
Speaker 1: will air on NFL Network on Saturday morning, of course. Uh,
Speaker 1: and we might have a little bit of a special
Speaker 1: surprise guest on Friday for part of the show, for
Speaker 1: part of the show, just part. We'll see. That's a tea,
Speaker 1: just a little bit of a tease until then, see
Speaker 1: you cut it off. Until then. It's like I was
Speaker 1: just thing, I mean that h