It was a rather remarkable football weekend here in Pittsburgh what with Pitt giving us a "This Is Why You Follow Sports" moment, and the Steelers giving us everything from severe stomach cramps to euphoria to major letdown all in one game.
Let's start with the Pitt Panthers.
As you no doubt know by now, Pitt clinched the ACC Coastal Division title and a spot in two weeks in the ACC Championship game with their thrilling, and I do mean thrilling, 48-38 win over Virginia. It was Senior Day at Pitt, the final home game for Pitt's senior players, most notably quarterback Kenny Pickett.
As he has over the course of a career that has seen him seize every significant passing record in Pitt history, Pickett delivered big time. He passed for over 400 yards and threw four TD passes, two of them on fourth down plays. All four of those TD passes went to sophomore wide out Jordan Addison.
It was a remarkable and electric performance by both Pickett and Addison. Pickett will no doubt be a Heisman Trophy finalist and Addison has become the favorite to win the NCAA Biletnikoff Award as well. Pitt now sits at 9-2, is nationally ranked, and will be favored to win their final game at Syracuse this coming Saturday. Their opponent in the ACC title game is still TBD, and should they win that, a New Year's Day Bowl game is all but assured. By any measure, it as been a successful season for HC Pat Narduzzi and his squad, and a very entertaining one for those of us who have been in attendance at Heinz Field throughout. I was there on Saturday evening for that game, and it was truly a thrilling experience.
It has also been a joy to follow the career of Kenny Pickett and see his development. His first start as a freshman was a win over a then undefeated and Top Five Miami team. It was a portent of things to come. His decision to forego the NFL Draft last year was a wise one. From the probable late round pick he would have been last spring, it now appears that he will be among the first 2 or 3 QB's selected in the 2022 Draft, a surefire first round pick. Panthers fans will surely miss him next year, but many Steelers fans are savoring the possibility of seeing Pickett just switching from Blue & Gold to Black & Gold come 2022 and replacing future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger.
And that brings us to last night's Steelers-Chargers game. Let's call that game a Tale of Two Quarterbacks.
Facing a Steelers defense without all-pro DB's Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden, and, oh yeah, their best player and perhaps best defensive player in the NFL, TJ Watt, Chargers QB Justin Herbert shredded the Swiss cheese of a defense that Steelers had out there last night for over 380 passing yards, 90 rushing yards, and three TDs. He is scarey good, and so young that it doesn't even look like his teenaged skin has cleared yet. He's going to be a force in the NFL well into the 2030's.
After three quarters, LA had a 27-10 lead. No doubt TV sets were being switched off all over Western Pennsylvania. However, a blocked punt, a bizarre interception of a Herbert pass, and some remarkable quarterback play from a "He's-still-got-some-gas-in-the-tank" Big Ben, and presto-change-o, the Steelers found themselves with a 37-34 lead with 3:24 remaining in the game. Alas, the fairly tale ending was not to be as Herbert, on the third play of the ensuing Chargers possession, hit Mike Williams for a fifty-plus yard touchdown, a play that probably wouldn't have happened had Fitzpatrick been in the game.
In its own way, the Steelers losing effort was every bit as entertaining and compelling as Pitt's big win was the day before. The Steelers now sit at 5-4-1, but in an AFC North Division that no team seems to want to win, who the hell knows what might happen the rest of the way?
Next week....On to Cincinnati!
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