So, that sucked. That was a horrible, frustrating game, and we never, ever want to experience something like that again.
But, it happened. We all saw it. It's part of the official records of the 2009 season. It's on the Internet and everything.
You can say that we choked in the red zone. You can say that they wouldn't have won without the kickoff return, since we kept their offense out of the end zone and pretty much shut them down. You can say that, with only 12 defensive points let up, we should've won. But, that's basically saying, "If they hadn't done the things that made them win, we wouldn't have lost." They did what they needed to do to win. They beat us. That's it, plain and simple.
The Bengals have, God help me, entered the conversation of great teams in the NFL. They swept us. They swept the hated Ravens. They came within a fluke play of beating the 6-3 Denver Broncos. They're a great team. That's it, plain and simple.
They ran the ball well enough on the number one run defense in the NFL to be balanced. They made plenty of plays in the passing game and exposed our weakness -- the perimeter -- early and often. They took advantage of the fact that we can't cover kicks. They were suffocating on defense. Rashard Mendenhall had only 36 yards on 13 carries. They pressured Ben and never let up. They had some very effective blitzes that brought him to the turf right away. They had some coverage sacks as well. They did what no other team -- other than, ya know, the Bengals -- has been able to do thus far this season and that's consistently cover all the weapons we have on offense for five seconds or more.
Again, they're a great team. They came into our house and beat us when the pressure was on. They knew what was at stake. They knew what they needed to do and they did it. Hats off to the Bengals. They are not the Bungles. At least for this year.
As Carson Palmer lined up in Victory Formation, Weidman turned to me and said, "That's it, right? They won the division, right? Can we still make the playoffs."
Well, I was several beers in and didn't give a good answer. So, here's the answer.
It depends. The Steelers can still win the division and they certainly can still make the playoffs, but it's gonna take a lot of work.
Here's who the Bengals face between now and the end of the season:
Oakland
Cleveland
Detroit
Minnesota
San Diego
Kansas City
Jets
That's pretty much a slam dunk for at least 4-3, right? Great teams don't fall flat against crappy teams and the Bengals are a great team and Cleveland, KC, Oakland, and Detroit are all crappy teams. Maybe the Jets have something to play for in Week 17, maybe they don't. They're still very beatable. So, let's say 5-2. That puts the Bengals at 12-4 to end the season.
That means that, if the Steelers finish 12-4, they're not going to win the division because the Bengals win the head-to-head tiebreaker. With a 12-4 record, they're making the playoffs, they're just probably not going to win the division.
Here's who the Steelers have coming up:
Kansas City
Hated Ravens
Oakland
Cleveland
Green Bay
Hated Ravens
Miami
Maybe we beat the hated Ravens in that first game and they have nothing to play for in Week 16. Maybe Green Bay and Miami have nothing to play for when we play them. But, really, that's only three sure victories against Oakland, Cleveland, and KC.
It's weird to think that we'd be 13-3 and not win our division, but it has happened (in 1999 when the 13-3 Titans finished second to the 14-2 Jaguars.
If we had won today, we'd have controlled our own destiny. We didn't, so that means that the only thing the Steelers can control is whether or not they win every week. If they do, I like their chances. If they don't, 12-4 might not be enough to win the division. And, with how topheavy the AFC is this year, 11-5 might be the cutoff point for making the playoffs.
The point is that the margin of error is going to be very slim from now until the end of the season.
Hey, it was very slim in 2005 after the Bengals effectively clinched the division with a huge win at Heinz Field. And we know how that turned out. (Hint: If you don't, the Steelers won the Super Bowl.)
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