Monday morning NFL 2020 recap - week 9

Steelers: I worried about his game. We play well against the good teams and give the yuck teams our worst. That was ugly football, and we're lucky we won it. I'm not expecting an undefeated season--don't want one, to be honest, because I think a reality check makes for better play--but we need to play better football if we're going to get to the end.

• The Steelers had their first positive test this week when a staff member tested positive. Contract tracing was put into place, and fans kept getting the daily negative testing count update until game time. Meanwhile, Coach Tomlin was fined $100,000, and the Steelers organization was fined another $250,000 for coaches not wearing their face coverings at all times on the field. I guess that's one way for the NFL to recoup their losses. I wonder who got the job watching each sideline for violations? I can say that every time Tomlin was shown on the screen, unless I missed it, he had on his gaiter. I know because every time I saw the gaiter, I wanted one, even going as far as searching for one online. But seriously, wear your damn masks!
• The offense came out sluggish. The defense was sluggish. We looked like we didn't know how to play football, and then with less than two minutes to go in the first half, Ben went to the locker room hurt. Ugh. I hate four o'clock games.
• My annoyance of the game? Our defense stripping the ball with less than a minute left in the first half and then spending precious minutes celebrating as if they'd won the Super Bowl. Hate it--one of my pet peeves--no celebrating unless you're winning by a large margin.
• The Steelers kicker Chris Boswell missed a PAT, had one blocked, and missed a field goal that, lucky for him, was ruled a dead play, giving him a second chance. He made that one. But add kicking to the sluggish column.
• In the fourth quarter, the defense came up big in the red zone with pressure on the Dallas quarterback and an interception and seemed to give the Steelers a jolt of life.
• Steelers fans on Twitter whine about Tony Romo rooting against the Steelers, and although he annoys me (pretty much all analyst do), I don't see that--until this game. But, then again, Romo is a former Dallas Cowboy. 
• No pass interference calls in this game (and there was a lot of touching), so maybe the refs are reading my NFL updates?
• In the last five minutes, both the offense and the defense did just enough to eke out that win. Wow. Crazy.

Other:

• COVID was rampant this week in the NFL. Several teams shut their training facilities, and several teams had a player testing positive. The NFL, however, has made it possible to continue playing by giving teams more players to replace those out with the virus. Nothing is going to hinder the owners from making bank! The NFL gave new COVID protocols requiring players to wear mandatory masks during pregame and postgame interactions with the threat of eventually going to mandatory masks for everyone except those on the field. Well, duh. But what will be the rules, and how will they be enforced? I mean, a player pops off the field for one play--must he put on a mask? Are the water peeps going to bring masks along with the Gatorade bottles? Are those mask spies at each game going to start a timer before they mark players in their books to fine them? Maybe the NFL should've considered a whole slew of things before they pushed for the season to begin.
• Carolina pulled a fake punt on a fourth down with Joseph Charleton throwing a great pass for the first down. I always wonder why more teams don't try these special team plays. Mix things up.
• Washington's quarterback Kyle Allen had this week's gross injury when his ankle went one way while his leg went the other. Word is it is only dislocated, but he'll have an MRI today. Alex Smith came in as the back-up--that would be Smith, who had his own gross leg injury that kept him away from the game for almost two years.
• I couldn't help but notice that Mike McCarthy looks like he's put on some added weight. I can say the same with the Bucs Bruce Arians and Kansas City's Andy Reid. I'm not one to talk, but then again, I'm not coaching an athletic team. Are these athletes not some kind of motivation? Jeez, if I was surrounded by these guys, I'd be asking them to whip me into shape. These fat, white coaches need to step up and start getting healthy. 
• The Buffalo Bills were on fire this week while teams usually on fire like the Colts and the Seahawks struggled. Poor teams--the Falcons and the Giants--won while good teams like the Steelers and the Chiefs were lucky to pull out their wins. Week 9 was all over the place.
• The early games came down to some exciting endings with less than two minutes to go. Jacksonville had a shot to tie the Texans but missed the two-point conversion. After being down 20-3 at halftime, Denver came within a touchdown of tying Atlanta but was too tired to pull it off, and the Carolina Panthers kicker Joey Slye missed a 67-yard field goal by booting it wide right to lose 33-31 against the Chiefs.
• Thank you, New Orleans, for not only taking out the Bucs but KILLING them and embarrassing them on their own damn field. They lost my respect with the AB addition, and no, I will not change my opinion of Tom Brady. He almost had me, during a weak moment in wanting Tampa to have help with their young receivers, but NO MORE. What was I thinking? Brady is all about himself and winning, and he doesn't care how he does it legally or not or who he has to do it with. Yuck!