Antonio Brown led the Steelers to the AFC North title with two touchdowns in Pittsburgh’s 27-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday night, sending them into the NFL playoffs.
The Steelers will face their arch rivals the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field Saturday, Jan. 3 (on NBC) in the first round of the playoffs. The Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns 20-10 but had to wait for the Kansas City Chiefs to defeat the San Diego Chargers 19-7 in order to qualify for the playoffs.
The Steelers (11-5) victory over the Bengals (10-4-1) moved them into the third seed in the AFC playoffs behind the AFC East champions New England Patriots (12-4) and the AFC West champions Denver Broncos (12-4), who will have a bye week. Even though the Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts, the AFC South winner, have identical records, the Steelers are seeded ahead of them because they defeated the Colts earlier this season. The Colts will host the Bengals Sunday, Jan.4.
The winners of these two games will take on the Patriots and the Broncos.
Brown scored on two spectacular plays, a 71-yard punt return and a 63-yard reception from Ben Roethlisberger. He was without a doubt the key to the win, in that without his 14 points the Steelers would have lost 13-17.
The big concern for the Steelers this weekend is will Le’Veon Bell be able to play. He suffered from a hyperextended leg in the game and had to leave. But according to most players he should be able to play Saturday. But that’s not official.
Down 10-3 in the fourth quarter, the Ravens kicked a field goal and then took the lead on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Torrey Smith with 7:33 left. Flacco’s 2-yard TD throw to Kamar Aiken with 3:44 remaining clinched it.
To reach the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years, Baltimore (10-6) needed to beat the Browns (7-9) and have San Diego lose in Kansas City. That is precisely what happened.
The first part of that equation seemed easy enough, given that the Browns had lost four straight, were starting rookie quarterback Connor Shaw and had dropped 12 of their past 13 against Baltimore.
The Ravens prevailed, and the Chiefs completed Baltimore’s dream scenario with a 19-7 win.
The Steelers offense, after a shaky start, ended up being one of the best in the league; finishing second in total offense. Roethlisberger had probably his best season statically. He was 408 of 608 for nearly 68 percent passing and finished in a first place tie with Drew Brees for most yards passing with 4952. He also had 32 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
Of course his main target was Brown who led the NFL with 129 catches for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns. Bell finished second with 83 catches for 854 yards, Heath Miller had 66 catches for 761 yards and Markus Wheaton had 53 catches for 644 yards.
Bell also finished second in the league with 1,361yards rushing yards, behind DeMarco Murray from the Dallas Cowboys with 1,895.
Speaking of the ground game, the Steelers will have to hold Justin Forsett of the Ravens in check if they are going to move on in the playoffs, he finished 5th in rushing with 1,266 yards. He had 119 yards against the Browns on just 17 carries.
Of course Joe Flacco will be the major concern even though he hasn’t had a great season. He started slow against the Browns, but ended fast as the defense held the Browns in check until the offense woke up.
The young Steelers’ secondary looked impressive even without veterans Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu. William Gay, Mike Mitchell, Antwon Blake, Will Allen, Bruce McCain, and Shamarko Thomas have worked very well together as a unit.
And speaking of units, the offensive line hasn’t been this good since the ‘70s when they were opening holes for Franco Harris, and Rocky Bleier while giving Terry Bradshaw all day to throw. Tackles Kelvin Beachum, Marcus Gilbert and Mike Adams; guards David DeCastro, Ramon Foster, and Chris Hubbard; and centers Maurkice Pouncey and Cody Wallace have done an exceptional job. There hasn’t been any group better.
If the Steelers win, which I predict they will, they will play the Broncos, with the winner of the Bengals, Colts game playing the Patriots.
Predictions: Steelers over the Ravens, Bengals over the Colts, Carolina Panthers over the Arizona Cardinals, and the Detroit Lions in an upset over the Dallas Cowboys.
