Both teams have something to prove today.
The Chargers need to prove they are actually a playoff contender, and can turn their season around.
The Steelers, well actually Ben Big, needs to prove he can step up in big games and stay on top of the AFC North.
This game is going to be interesting if anything, cause it looks like crap out on the field.
A shot of downtown Pittsburgh
Game Time!
FIRST QUARTER
13:33 – The Charger get their passing game going early, hitting Gates and Chambers early.
12:58 – Troy picks off the play, but it obviously hit off the ground with an unbelievable catch! I am stunned that he got his hand underneath it. Greatest catch ever.
12:15 – Big Benny hits Hines for a nice gain of 16. Looks like Ben’s shoulder is okie dokie.
11:42 – Ben makes it a point to show us his shoulder is OK by ripping it deep to San Antonio. But no dice.
11:06 – On 3rd and 600, Ben hits the league’s best dumpoff man, Mewelde, to get it into Jeff Money’s range.
10:16 – Miss. Damn. It was from 51 yards. I’ll let it slide. For now.
10:08 – Tomlinson gets probably his longest run of the year for like 16 yards. But he’s a joke and gets nothing on the next play.
8:22 – 3rd and 4, Rivers hits Manulialfdafaoa for a first for too many yards. But they keep trying to run Tomlinson. And boy does he suck this year.
6:50 – A terrible call on Ike. Usually any call on Ike I just accept it because he’s retarded, but this one was stupid. It was a bad call and now they’re in great field position
6:46 – LaDanian can at least run a few yards, and gets into the endzone. I want to punch someone in the throat. 0-7 Chargers
Commercial Note: I’m surprised I haven’t heard the “Saved by 0″ Commerical yet. It plays at least 10 times every break. Plus, I can’t believe how many Christmas ones there are already.
6:38 – Ball starts at the 30, Willie busts off a nice run for 10. He’s running like he’s been playing all year.
5:17 – Ben hits Spaeth but he gets up slowly. Injury timeout. I think it’s a ploy to show more Christmas commercials.
4:43 – Willie runs for another first and more. The O line is looking pretty good so far. (Knock on wood)
4:07 – Willie runs free again. 13 yards! Woo!
3:16 – Great slant with San Antonio to get like 15. But a stupid penalty brings it back.
2:40 – That doesn’t stop the Stees. Ben throws a perfect pass to Hines. 30 yards later, it’s first and goal.
1:40 – Willie can’t get anything outside. And Ben goes down for a sack. It’s 3rd and goal from the 8. Let’s do this.
1:02 – Ben throws to Nate the Great on a real quick slant. I think he got it. But whatev. Tomlin shows his big man balls, and he’s going for it.
0:12 – Damn it. Mewelde gets stuffed. Turnover on downs.
SECOND QUARTER
14:54 – Phillip Rivers throws it 5 rows deep into the stands to make sure the refs know he was throwing it away.
14:46 – SAFETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Silverback gets pressure on Phillips and causes a fumble and some fat Charger picks it up and just falls over. AH that play just made my pants happy. 2-7 Chargers
14:28 – The Stees get the kickoff but it’s brought back a little from a penalty. Willie gets an OK run for 6 and a Chargers down with an injury for trying to stop him.
Commercial thought: My pal watching the game with me thinks they should have reviewed that Nate Washington play near the end zone. We both think he got in.
14:10 – Hines Ward uses Spaeth as a surf board and rides him to the first down.
12:22 – 3rd and 2, Ben gets that nice short pass to Mewelde. He has been so key for us.
10:30 – I’m trying to slow down my updating, cause this thing is going to be like 10 pages long. But the Stees are just moving the ball nicely against this soft D.
10:02 – And just as I type that, the Chargers get a sack.
9:40 – Ernster gets a poor punt off to barely midfield
9:19 – Tomlinson somehow gets a first down. I want to rip that gay facemask off and beat his family with it in front of him.
7:56 – Tomlinson tries his antics again and Polamalu catches him in the backfield for a loss of 5.
6:48 – Woodley has great D against Vincent Jackon on 3rd and 17. Punt time. Steeler offensive domination time.
Commercial thought: The 49ers are beating the Rams 28-3. I almost feel bad for the Rams. Almost.
5:58 – Ben keeps firing away, even with snow coming down. He already is 11 for 13 with over 100 yards.
5:04 – Willie gets stopped inches away from a first. Ernster gets a better punt off this time. Anthony Smith tackles Sproles as he signals for fair catch. A. Smith might be the stupidest player in Steeler’s history.
4:20 – The Bolts get the ball at about midfield from the penalty. But they try to run the ball and they just end up going backwards.
3:34 – Kiesel the Diesel and Smith the.. Myth? get pressure on Rivers and slams him to the ground. This D has been getting great pressure on Rivers all game. 2 sacks so far.
2:30 – 3rd and 10. Ben scrambles a little and finds Mewelde but it’s short of the first. Looks like another punt.
1:48 – Rivers throws it to Floyd for about 13 but they call it incomplete. I agree. The ref goes under the hood to make sure I was right. The ref was totally wrong and reversed the play. He will be fired.
1:35 – Rivers finds Tomlinson for a screen and puts them into field goal range. Not looking good.
1:23 – INTERCEPTION! Silverback makes a sweet pick and takes it almost to the 50. YES!
0:36 – Ben hits Hines over the middle and calls a timeout.
0:23 – Ben hits Santonio in stride for 14 yards to put them in range. Ben spikes it to stop the clock.
0:10 – Ben gets it to Santonio again. And in response to our comment below to Mr. Bam – James Harrison is freaking incredible. He is a man-beast.
0:03 – AH! Santonio to the 2 yard line! OMG! Jeff sets up from 21 yards. Money.
HALFTIME
My colleague Bam Morris has brought information to my attention on just how awesome James Harrison is. According to Wikipedia…
“On the final game of James Harrison’s college football career he recorded 5 sacks on his future teammate quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.”
“Harrison was an undrafted free agent from Kent State University, despite an impressive showing at the NFL combine putting up an amazing 475 lb max bench, which was a record for all rookie linebackers.”
“Harrison is also known as the Steelers’ team gym rat. When asked about his weight-lifting abilities on a recent airing of the Hines Ward Show on Pittsburgh local station KDKA, he replied that can bench 465 pounds and squat 700 pounds.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!?!
THIRD QUARTER
14:20 – The Stees get a nice gain after a fake end around. Ben finds Spaeth again for a good chunk of yards. First down. Never mind. Flag on the play. Hines gets called for a block in the back.
12:56 – Big Gary slams it through the middle for a first down on 3rd and 1. Nice tough run.
12:05 – Ben keeps finding an open Spaeth. Another first. Ben has over 200 yards already. 21 for 26. Where are the haters now?
9:56 – The Steelers offensive is looking smooth. Ben hit Santonion for a first, then right after Willie dances his way for 9 for the first. I like it.
8:45 – Again, just as I type that, Nate drops the ball and Ben just barely misses San Antonio for first downs. I’ll take any points I can get. But it seems like the Steelers should be killing them right now. 8-7 Steelers
7:41 – The Chargers get the ball back and get past midfield when no one was paying attention. The Steelers finally realize the Chargers are able to move the ball downfield and destroy Darren Sproles over the middle. I actually thought his head fell off. Unfortunately, it was just his helmet.
5:47 – Tomlinson gets stuffed at the line by Foote and he rubs it in his face. Then Woodley just barely missed Rivers for another sack. 4th down, they set up for a field goal. 9 year old Nate Kaeding learns the hard way that it’s not easy to kick at Heitz Field. No good.
2:28 – Spaeth is Ben’s best friend this game. The Stees get into Chargers territory, and Gary gets the first again with 3rd and short. Is he our new Bus?
0:10 – A penalty backs them up to 1st and 15. And the Stees don’t really do anything with it before the quarter ends.
FOURTH QUARTER
14:50 – Everyone is covered downfield so Ben can’t get a pass off and ends up getting sacked. Ernster gets a 20 yard punt off. Come on, my mom can punt it farther than that.
14:09 – Good coverage by Ike. Thankfully he doesn’t get called for pass interference. Another great play by Willie Gay. This D is awesome.
13:13 – I need to stop doing this. I just got done typing that sentence and they hit Floyd for 15. Then right after that they hit Chambers for 11.
10:25 – The Charger keep slowly moving the ball down the field with runs. They are flirting with the Steelers 30 yard line.
8:03 – Rivers hits Jackson for a long gain to get them into easy field goal range. The Black and Gold need to keep them out of the end zone.
6:48 – Steeler D locks down and forces them to kick a field goal. I would have rather had a pick 6, but who wouldn’t? There’s more than enough time for Ben to get down the field. 8-10 Chargers
6:31 – I was just about the diss Russel cause he dropped the ball at like the 3 on the kickoff and looked like he was going to get tackled at like the 5. But he somehow got away to run for 20 more. Unfortuntely, there was a hold. Back it up 10 yards. Let’s go Ben.
6:20 – Nice start with Ben hitting Hines for 10. Willie follows it with a gain of 10. A 4 yard gain and a Charger breaks a nail. Injury timeout.
4:57 – Hines catches a sweet Ben pass over the middle to get the Steelers into Charger ground. The play after, Hines gets called for another hold. They are all over his balls today.
4:32 – Wow. Ben threads a needle to Hines for the first. I was pretty scared during that play cause he waited a long time to throw it, but he’s on his game. The play after, he hits Santonio for another first. Over 300 yards passing. Baller.
2 Minute Warning
1:25 – Willie gets an OK run on the outside. Chargers call timeout. Willie runs it up the pipe and on a second effort, gets the first. Last Charger timeout.
0:25 – Willie gets the ball down to the 4. Play after, Willie gets it into the endzone! BUT ANOTHER PENALTY! AHHHHHHHH. McHugh gets a hold. 10 yards back. 3rd and goal on the 14. Wow my butt is tight right now. This game is awesome.
0:15 – Tomlin brings out Jeff Reed for a 32 yard attempt on 3rd down. JEFF MONEY FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!! 11-10 Steelers
I think I have a man crush on Jeff Reed. He’s gonna get so much poon tonight.
0:05 – The Chargers try a little trickery on the kickoff but it just goes backwards. The Chargers try a hook and ladder and Polamalu bats away a lateral and takes it into the endzone for a touchdown. YES!!!!!! But it was nullified because it was an illegal forward pass. Whatever. We won. I am so happy right now.
Game
Steelers – 11
Chargers – 10
Bolt Talk was such a good sport in participating with us this week, so we return the favor of class.
Or not.
Game Notes:
+ It’s sweet the Steelers are going to be the team that wins the only game in history that ended 11-10.
+ Ben answered his critics. We’ll see how many people want Byron starting next week.
+ Total Net Yards: Steelers – 410. Chargers – 213
+ Steeler defense – 2 picks, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles. They are amazing
+ Jeff Money is clutch
+ I love the Pittsburgh Steelers
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
