NFL Monday recap - week #16

Steelers: Christmas was spent at the condo on the beach that Tom's siblings rented for the holiday. I got there to find out that the NFL Network was zippo on the TV. Nada. Nowhere. Luckily, I had brought my computer so I watched it on my laptop, as it cut in and out and kicked me off randomly, and listened to the SNR broadcast. It's never easy.

• Heinz field looked great for Christmas Day, and the place was packed with 66,000+ attending.
• Beautiful first drive, and then we reverted to form and started racking up the penalties. So frustrating. We should know better than this by now. Seriously!
• The first half was pretty tame with a half time score of 7-6, but then it went down hill for the Steelers. Ben threw two interceptions, the defense couldn't stop Steven Smith Jr.,and suddenly the Ravens were controlling the game.
• Ravens Mike Wallace, he who use to play for the Steelers, left because he felt he deserved more money, has sure learned quite a bit since leaving Pittsburgh. His stint with the Dolphins didn't go so well, and now with the Ravens he has been steady and more of a team player. What I like is how respectful he now is about the Steelers. Most of these players who leave the team know they had a great thing going, and regret leaving. I know Wallace wishes he had done things differently.
• Huge play by Steelers Sean Davis who broke up a touchdown pass to Ravens Darren Waller in the fourth. That knocking the ball out of Waller's hand turned out to be gigantic.
• La'Veon Bell was a beast again like he has been all of December. Without his run, we were in trouble. Good job by the offensive line too in opening up the holes.
• Renegade played in the stadium fired up the fans and the team, and suddenly Big Ben and company scored on two drives. 
• Mike Mitchell's missed tackle on Ravens Juszczyk should keep him up tonight. Awful.
• Several players were key at the end to bring home the win. Ben was cool, patient, and a leader. Eli Rogers made a huge leaping catch. Tight End Jesse James made three big catches, the last on 3rd and 2. And then there was Antonio Brown.  What can I say? What can anybody say about that last play he made to score the winning touchdown? Phenomenal. MVP worthy. Play of the week. How he fought to stay upright with Weddle yanking on his face mask and two other defenders on his leg and back is pure talent and strength, not to mention mental toughness. To push, push, and then throw out one arm, clutching the ball in one hand, to break the plane? I get chills every time I play it back. Unbelievable.
• Kudos to the team for hanging in there, once again. Merry Christmas Steelers. Merry Christmas Steelers Nation. Pittsburgh is in the playoffs. Bring on Miami!
• Great game by both teams. I liked that many of the Ravens hung out on the field to let the Steelers know they had respect for that game and for the players. That's better football than last week. Respect.

Other: Saturday was the day of broken legs and more missed kicks. Ugh.

• #1 Broken Leg - Yikes! Oakland's quarterback Derek Carr, he of the MVP talk of the season, is done. A broken leg late in the fourth quarter against the Colts. Now what? One week left and the playoffs, and no star quarterback. Yikes! Carr went down on a tackle by Trent Cole, and Carr knew it was broken right away. He was yelling for the trainers telling them his leg was broken as he rolled around on the field in real agony. Even on the cart driving off the field, his face was painful. Coach Jack Del Rio said Carr suffered a broken fibula. His offensive tackle Donald Penn blamed himself after the game for not keeping Carr safe, almost shedding some tears. Now let's see how the team rallies in the playoffs. 
• #2 Broken Leg - My fantasy quarterback, Marcus Mariota, went down in the third quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a broken leg. Another fractured fibula. We might have to get to the point where no one is allowed to touch below the waist on the QB.
• #3 Broken Leg - Seattle's wide receiver Tyler Lockett also went down with a broken leg Saturday after catching a touchdown pass. Jeez, were these guys not warmed up? None of the tackles looked all that horrific, but all three were bone breakers. Ouch.
• Derek Carr's eyes creep me out.  It looks like he has permanent eyeliner under his eyes. Have I mentioned that before?.
• Cincinnati's kicker, he who use to play for the Texans, he who helped out the Steelers in a game before going to the Bengals, choked Saturday with 4 seconds left, missing a 43 yard FG that would have won the game had he made it. Oh, Randy Bullock. Not a happy holiday for you. 
• The Texans clinched the AFC South with that missed kick and the loss of the Titans, but what crawled up Texans coach Bill O'Brien during the post game conference? He got all snippy when a reporter mentioned it wasn't a pretty win. He just came off like an ass. Look. Guys. It's part of the job to stand in front of the media after a game. Part-of-the-job. I get it that you are annoyed when you lose or play crappy, but deal with it. We all hate parts of our jobs.
• The Cleveland Browns are no longer win less! Yesterday they got a W in the right column by blocking the Chargers field goal attempt, stopping the run on third down, and then keeping their fingers crossed with another field goal attempt that didn't go through the uprights. Win.
• Most people think Terry Bradshaw must have been sipping way too much egg nog over the past week. In various interviews he said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wasn't a great coach, but more of a cheerleader, and that the Green Bay Packers should get rid of quarterback Aaron Rogers before they get rid of coach Mike McCarthy. I can see what he means. While I don't agree that Tomlin is a good cheerleader, in fact I think he is the opposite and have said that here many times, I also don't think he is a great coach. Chuck Noll was a great coach. Tony Dungy was a great coach. Hell, I'll even admit Tom Landry was a great coach. Tomlin isn't bad, he has the stats to prove it, but great he is not. As for Rogers, I think Bradshaw was thinking more about how much time Aaron has left in the league. He just turned 33, and the media always starts turning on players they consider "old". He thinks McCarthy is a great coach, and while I don't agree with that (see above), I hear what he is saying.