Monday NFL football recap - week 5

Steelers - Got to watch with my buddy, Scott, who was pretty positive through most of the game. Think we've finally jumped the hurdle?

• Less missed tackles and six sacks made for better defense in that we didn't look like clowns chasing things at the circus.
• The penalties, however, keep adding up. Coach Tomlin got a bit aggressive regarding his take on the penalties that shouldn't have been flagged, but that just takes away from the fact the Steelers have got to stop the undisciplined plays. This week, fourteen penalties are lower than the twenty plus penalties they've been racking up, so I'm hoping it's a sign of improvement.
• Speaking of penalties, let's talk about that roughing the passer call on Steelers T.J. Watt as he dove to take down Falcon's Matt Ryan. Ryan got the ball off in time, and Watt seeing that fact, adjusted so that he barely grazed Ryan's leg. Multiple replays showed it less than a tap on the lower leg, and kudos to Ryan for falling down quickly and bellyaching, but this protecting the quarterback whistling is problematic.
• James Connor showed that he deserves the starring role for the absent he-who-I-refuse-to-name. Connor rolled on the first drive, finishing with a flying leap into the end zone to first put the Steelers on the board. He ended the night with 110 yards rushing and 75 yards receiving with two touchdowns. Wouldn't it be something if he kept this up and made the top five RB for the year?
• Antonio Brown and Ben had to work desperately to cut through the highly talked about soundbite where Brown compared their missed connections to spotty wifi. Ben forced some terrible passes AB's way. Brown struggled to catch some leaping passes and dropped some passes, but eventually, the connection ironed itself out, and Antonio finished the night with 101 yards and two touchdowns. He got to flash his pearly whites and strut his stuff in the celebrating, and I think Ben gave a sigh of relief in the hopes that would put that shit to bed.
• The Steelers defense chased the Falcons Matt Ryan most of the game. So much so that the Falcons pulled him and sent in backup Matt Schaub. Get out there, Schaub, and good luck. We hope you live through it, but we've got to protect our pretty boy star. 
• And can I remark on that stupid stiff arm that James Connor gave to get some more yardage that resulted in him dropping the ball? Thank god it rolled out of bounds, but I said last week that was a potential fumble issue. I was right.
• Amazing how good a great game can make us feel after the crappy ones. Up next, the toughest against the Bengals. Here's hoping we carry that momentum.

Other:

• Wow. The Browns seriously can't catch a break in the officiating department. Last week's debacle was the fumble that was ruled not a fumble and blown dead, so it wasn't reviewable (which the NFL admitted this week was a boo-boo and entirely wrong) and then this week's last-minute attempt to score stopped by a no-call on what was clearly illegal contact against a defenseless receiver. The call that wasn't called against the Ravens on Jarvis Landry would have earned them an automatic first down and yardage. While it wasn't flagged, it was discussed by the refs. What? Why? If there wasn't a flag, what were they talking about in that huddle? Clearly, someone was concerned. They deemed it uncatchable and thus not a penalty. But really? I thought the NFL was worried about player safety. That hit? It wasn't protecting the player at all. Ugh.
• I bet Michael Crabtree doesn't sleep tonight. That ball that was right in his hands, and he dropped it in the end zone when it would have won the Ravens the game? Yeah. He ain't sleeping tonight.
• I could watch the replays of the punt that tapped Odell Beckham Jr. near the end zone all night long. There was the tap, the realization that the ball was now live, the attempt to get it, the ball rolling away, the next attempt, the ball escaping, the players scrambling, etc. It went on and on--hot potato, hot potato. Hilarity ensued. But really? Fall on the damn ball! The Steelers had their own version of this too. Fall. On. The. Ball. 
• And since I'm on the Giants...what is with that team? Beckham supposedly gave a heated "pep talk" to the guys this week that is going to stay "in-house," While it may have fired them up, it wasn't enough to eke out a win. Although they fought hard, pulling out the trick plays like Eli Manning to Beckham, who threw the ball for a touchdown? Nice.
• Can someone go back to John Gruden's comments on the Super Bowl play where Seattle was on the one-yard line to win the damn game and instead of giving the ball to the Marshawn Lynch, the Beast of running backs, Russell Wilson threw it into the hands of the opposite team? Can we find out if Gruden thought that an idiotic call? I'm just curious. Because if he did, why the hell did he make the same call this week against the Chargers that resulted in the same damn thing happening? Well, except for the game on the line and it being a regular game and not the bowl, but Holy Haven't We Learned A Damn Thing!
• I called the 63-yard field goal by Graham Gano that clinched the win for the Panthers. I mean, these kickers have one job. They dream about this stuff - game on the line, colossal yardage - of course, they practice kicking long FG's, and then they cup their hands around their mouth and give the roar of the crowd. Everyone thought he'd miss it, but I felt it. And how cool was he after he made it? Just a fist into the air like "no big deal." Loved it.