Hang in there, Steelers fans. Maybe your team can turn things around in the second half. For now, though, they trail bitter rivals the Baltimore Ravens, 21-7, after losing two fumbles in the first half. Here are some of my observations from the second quarter. Be sure to check out my first quarter notes, too.
- Good thing Rashard Mendenhall actually fumbled within Pittsburgh's own 20, huh? I say that because the only thing that would be more frustrating that what transpired would be if the replay showed that Mendenhall hadn't fumbled; head coach Mike Tomlin would've been helpless to do anything about it, with all his challenges gone. Still, the Ravens capitalized on Pittsburgh's negligence for the second time this half, increasing their lead to 21-7 after a 4-yard score to Todd Heap. You really can't expect to win if you give the game away like this. Baltimore is too good of a team for Pittsburgh to spot them two scores like that.
- This is stating the obvious, but Jonathan Scott is no match for Terrell Suggs. It's not even a fair fight - Suggs is so much faster and so much more tenacious. He's been in Roethlisberger's face all day, just like the last time these two squad met, registering two sacks in just one half of football. On some of the quarterback pressures, Suggs went literally untouched. Just like it's tough to win when you fumble the game away, it's nearly impossible to rebound from a big deficit if your quarterback is running for his life.
- In addition to Pittsburgh's last drive being no fun to watch - nothing will shorten a sports fan's life expectancy like watching Roethlisberger try to navigate the "pocket" - it resulted in zero points for the Steelers. It would've been sooooo great to score a TD there. Then the situation wouldn't look so bleak; Pittsburgh would be trailing by just a touchdown and would receive the ball in the second half. Instead, the Steelers will try to regroup after a disastrous first half, down by two scores. Here's to hoping they can pull it together.