The Pittsburgh Steelers prevailed against the weather, the NFL, and the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. The Steelers held on to win 17-10 in torrential downpour despite fumbling the ball five times. Jaylen Warren and Mason Rudolph lost two of the five fumbles, but the Ravens backups could not take advantage of the miscues.
Associated Press
Steelers TJ Watt leaves the game with an injured knee in poor weather conditions the NFL could have avoided.
Pittsburgh did not escape completely unscathed. TJ Watt left the game with a knee injury. He walked off the field and into the locker room under his own power. The extent of the NFL sack leader's injury seems to be season-ending, but not an ACL tear. The sloppy playing conditions contributed to Montravius Adams colliding with Watt.
Steelers believe Defensive-Player-of-the-Year candidate T.J. Watt suffered a sprained MCL vs. the Ravens pending further testing, per source. Watt wanted to go back into the game with the injury, but the Steelers wouldn’t allow it. pic.twitter.com/twXXW9h1Tg
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 7, 2024
Make no mistake, the NFL chose these conditions. Despite the weather forecast, the league flexed the Steelers and Ravens into the Saturday afternoon game. The forecast has been the same for the entire week; Saturday would be cold and rainy. The only change was that as the game approached, it became clear that it would be freezing rain, not snow or sleet. The real kicker is that Sunday is expected to be near-perfect conditions in Baltimore.
The NFL assigned its worst officiating crew in bad weather to this game. It was a curious decision with a standalone game. The league rewarded Brad Allen's crew with a premiere game. The officiating crew was predictably horrible. Allen and his band of misfits missed a key call late in the first half when Rudolph clearly threw a forward pass, and it was ruled as a sack and fumble. The call was not reviewed, and instead of a field goal attempt by Chris Boswell, it subsequently resulted in Rudolph losing a fumble.
Matt Rourke Associated Press
Steelers Mason Rudolph overcame sloppy weather conditions and poor officiating to deliver a 17-10 victory.
It was not the only mistake the crew made. In the second half, Najee Harris broke a 15-yard run and was clearly grabbed by his face mask. There was no flag on the play. Harris was incensed and implored Allen to look at the replay instead of joining the huddle. The Steelers persevered and overcame that obvious missed call, and several missed holding calls while they were on defense, to win the game.
It was so bad that ESPN's Dan Orlovsky remarked that Highsmith was getting held. Louis Riddick, also assigned as an analyst, observed that they could call holding on every play. You know it isn't good when a former quarterback points out missed holding calls on the offense.
The Steelers finished the 2023 regular season 10-7. If the the Jacksonville Jaguars or Buffalo Bills lose in Week 18, they will make the AFC playoffs. At the very least, Pittsburgh ensured they would not finish last in the AFC North. The Las Vegas oddsmakers predicted that the Steelers would finish last in the division for the first time since 1988. Those same oddsmakers will be paying off more than a few members of Steeler Nation.
Matt Freed / Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II will need to make some tough choices on Mike Tomlin and the team's direction following the 2023 season.
Pittsburgh is not afraid of voicing their displeasure with NFL decisions. Roger Goodell's oversight of the NFL has become laughable. The league climbed into bed with legalized gambling and is allowing network executives to make silly scheduling decisions. Player safety is supposed to be a priority for the NFL. The league endangered the players on the number one seed in the AFC and potentially saw the Defensive Player Of The Year hurt in conditions that would not have existed on Sunday.
Steelers' Art Rooney II Is A Powerful Voice In Controversial Thursday Night Football Flex Decision
The NFL assigned the Steelers two Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football games in 2023. It was curious timing after Art Rooney II objected to flexing Thursday Night games. The assignment of the Steelers to play in Baltimore during a rain storm with their season on the line seems fishy. The assignment of the worst officiating crew in professional football seems vindictive. The loss of the best defensive player on the planet because of the poor conditions should be looked at as criminal.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you upset with the NFL for playing this game in poor conditions when they did not have to do it? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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