Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Steelers 24 - Colts 17 and the Updated Grandstander Power Rankings

 

Benny Snell Scores the go-ahead (and winning) TD

That the Steelers bumped their record to 4-7 by beating the crummy Indy Colts last night came as no surprise, but raise your hand if you had two of the stars of the game for Rooney U being Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland.  Didn't think so.

The biggest take-away for Steelers fans on this one, as it has been and will be for the remainder of the season, was the learning and development of Kenny Pickett as the team's quarterback of the future.  Pickett's stats were not flashy, and there were a couple of possessions where the Steelers settled for field goals instead of touchdowns, but the Pickett led offense did build up a 16-3 lead at halftime, a lead that was squandered thanks in large part to the special teams horrid coverage on kickoff and punt returns.  Then, Pickett achieved a significant career milestone:  he engineered his first fourth quarter comeback of his pro career, a 75 yard, 11 play drive, which included three third down conversions and culminated in a Snell TD and a gorgeous Pickett-to-George Pickens two point conversion.  More significantly, this was the third game in a row in which Pickett did not throw an interception.

The growth continues.

Oh, and a tip of the cap to Colts Head Coach Jeff Saturday for some bewildering clock (mis)management  in the final minutes of the game.  With possession and a chance to tie the game and all three time outs remaining, the Colts took none of them until it was way too late to do them any good.  Time expired and Saturday ended up with two time outs still in his pocket.  I can only imagine how he will be roasted on Indy sports talk radio all week.

Time now for what you have all been waiting....


Circumstances prevented me from watching any football on Sunday afternoon (yes, we DO have a social life!), but I did watch the Sunday night game and the Eagles 40-33 dismantling (score not indicative of Philly's dominance) of the Packers.  That is one damn good football team and Jalen Hurts has to be the lead candidate for MVP right now.

Through Week 12:
  1. Eagles (10-1)
  2. Chiefs (9-2)
  3. Cowboys (8-3)
  4. Vikings (9-2)
Knocking on the door: 49ers 7-4, Bills 8-3, Commanders 7-5, Dolphins 8-3, Ravens 7-4, and Titans 7-4.

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