Monday morning NFL recap - week #12

Steelers: Hard to believe it's week 12. I feel we just started.

• Vince Williams and Artie Burns penalties are getting tiring. Just stop it! Two gimmes that gave the Packers first downs and led to their touchdown. No excuse for nonsense in week #12. The Packers had no penalties in the game through the first half, ending with only three penalties. 
• Ben isn't a runner. This was a topic via texts last night with my Steelers buddies. One commented he was "So Slow" and the other made reference to age. I reminded them that Ben wasn't a runner, never was and never would be. Then Ben ran. He had 17 yards rushing by the first half, most of that to get a first down. Always when we think Ben is this or that negatively, he puts up and shuts us up.
• It's interesting to me how second string receivers don't step up and play well when the first string players are sitting on the bench. This is your time to shine. Shine, dammit! Eli Rogers, no shine. Martavis Bryant, he who claims he is the end all be all, no shine.
• Our defense, the one people thought wouldn't do well at the beginning of the year, but who showed those people wrong in the last seven or so games, were a no show on Monday night until the last minute when they stopped the Packers and got the ball back to the offense with .21 seconds.
• Antonio Brown once again came through. Unbelievable catch at the 45 yard line with one foot in bounds and the other dragging through the grass. The man is pure beauty in the clutch. "Pardon me while I clap my hands on that one," Cris Collingsworth said. Amen.
• And give it to Big Ben for once again standing strong and leading them down the field for the final field goal to win the game. "He's a warrior, he's a competitor, and he never give(s) up," said Brown. So true. When annoyed with these guys, you can't help but admire them for hanging in and doing what needs to be done in the end. Whew!
• Kudos to our man, our boss of a kicker, Chris Boswell. He missed an extra point after the first touchdown, and I tweeted that that would be the last miss. The man is pure gold when it comes to the kicking. 53 yard field goal as time ran out. Money. Tied for the longest kick at Heinz Field.
• But I also have to give kudos to Packers quarterback Bret Hundley. If I were a Packers fan, I'd be pumped. 
• Annoying that NBC's sideline reporter Michele Tafoya didn't talk with Chris Boswell. Instead she talked with the three "Killer B's", but the Steelers have a lot of Killer B's and Boswell is one.
• Antonio Brown's smile and twinkling eyes just make you smile, I don't care who you are. He's good TV.

Other:

• I find the whole touching the pylon thing confusing against catching the ball, getting down two feet in bounds, maintaining control of the ball. Why not just touch the damn pylon all the time? Having said that, however, Atlanta's Julio Jones made an awesome dive to touch the pylon for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Buccaneers. To catch the pass from his quarterback he had to run to the outside, and knowing as he ran off balance that he would fall out of bounds, he took flight, stretched out his body, and touched the pylon. It was poetry in motion.
• Wrong week for me in Fantasy. Didn't hear about JuJu being out until it was too late to bench him, and then the Raiders, and my fantasy wide receiver, Michael Crabtree can't take the high road and gets tossed out of the game. Crabtree and Denver's bad boy Aquib Talib traded punches on the field and were ejected. Talib ripped off Crabtree's gold chain, something he did previously a couple years back, and the next thing we knew the two were rolling round on the ground and then smacking each other.
• And why can the NFL players even wear jewelry? Seriously, that isn't a rule in the NFL? These guys grew up unable to wear jewelry, why is that not a gimme?
• With 1.07 left in the game, the 49ers quarterback went down and in came Joey Garrapolo. In that time the man went 2-2 for 19 yards, rushed for 4 yards and threw a touchdown as time expired. Hey, San Fran, you switchin' it up next week? Johnny Lynch looking good.
• Hey, have I mentioned that the Rams coach Sean McVay is sex on a stick? This man is definitely going in my next romance novel.
• The Arizona/Jacksonville game came down to the wire. With a little more than three minutes left, Arizona threw an interception, but two plays later Jacksonville threw an interception, and the announcers could not contain their excitement, shrieking and screaming like little girls. Gotta love the enthusiasm. 
• Arizona won it with one second left with a 57 yard field goal. Longest field goal of kicker Phil Dawson's nineteen year career, which once upon a time was with Jacksonville. That guy was so pumped after he made it. Oh, and Arizona's quarterback Blaine Gabbert, starting his second game with the Cardinals, also use to play for Jacksonville. A lot of motivation right there for the Cardinals who haven't done much all year.