Steelers did it again!
Chapter 9 A New Hope (and no, this is not about Star Wars)
Wassup everyone, welcome back to another edition of the YourFavoriteCasual newsletter! On today’s docket, we have football, football, and a little more football after that. I have some thoughts I want to get off to y’all, so with introductions out of the way, let’s jump in!
If you didn’t know GloRilla was a Steeler fan, neither did I haha, but it’s cool to see I guess, and there’s a cool video surfacing online of her meeting head coach Mike Tomlin earlier this week. If you have no clue what that last sentence just meant, don’t worry about it. Okay, Time for football.
Steelers State of Affairs:
In week 7 of the NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) faced off against the Los Angeles Rams (3-3) in LA. After 60 minutes of football, the Steelers prevailed 24-17 to improve to a 4-2 record on the season, let’s talk about those 60 minutes though.
In a true Jekyll and Hyde performance (something the Steelers seem to be comfortable with) the first and second half of this game could not be any different. Going into halftime losing 9-3 was probably not in the Steelers gameplan, but another disappointing offensive showing along with a strong “bend don’t break” defense led to this reality. However, the second half was a completely different game. A TJ Watt interception on the first play of the second half put the Steelers in the perfect position to score their first touchdown of the day and take the lead. Don’t look now, but TJ seems to be the current frontrunner to win his second Defensive Player of the Year award too! After that, the return of Dionte Johnson from injury seemed the open up the offense which allowed him and wide receiver counterpart George Pickens to combine for 10 catches and 186 yards. The passing game also allowed for more success on the ground with the team's top two running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren each adding a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to help seal the game.
The game did end with some referee shenanigans, but using my Steeler lenses I don’t seem to remember what happened. Oh well, in a much-needed win after the bye week, the Steelers are still in position to be atop the division and earn an automatic playoff spot. Looking forward, it was nice to see competent offense for an extended period of time this season (even if it was only one-half of football). The Steeler’s next two matchups feature a pair of AFC South teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans. The good news, both games will be played at home. The other good news, both of these teams have struggled as of late. This clearly means the Steelers will screw something up, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
A quick look into NFL Week 8:
As we approach the true NFL midseason, I want to remind you guys that I’m going to do midseason awards, and an update to my Quarterback Tiers soon. Now is not that time. Today let’s take a look at some interesting matchups for this week (not including the Steelers haha).
Cincinnati Bengals (3-3) at San Francisco 49ers (5-2) Sunday 4:25 CBS
After one of the more dominant-looking 4-0 starts (including a 30-7 trouncing of the Steelers), the 49ers have lost their last two games and are fighting injuries to some of their key star players. Meanwhile, the Bengals have quietly recovered from their 0-2 start to the season and seem to have figured themselves out. This is a big game for both teams who share Super Bowl aspirations.
Clevland Browns (4-2) at Seattle Seahawks (4-2) Sunday 4:05 Fox
Insert Spider-Man finger-pointing meme here*. These two teams match up with the same record and very similar playstyles. The Browns and the Seahawks find themselves looking into a mirror as both teams enjoy running the football, controlling the clock, and using a dominant defensive performance to win games. The winner of this game will win the muscle Olympics of the week in a battle between two teams that feel they can make a run in the playoffs (they both still have to get there first).
Chicago Bears (2-5) at Los Angeles Chargers (2-4) Sunday 8:20 NBC
Have you ever seen a trainwreck live? I don’t mean like a super dangerous and gruesome one, I’m thinking more like two trains are clearly going to collide because of a track miscommunication but they can’t stop, they’re only going about 30mph, and there’s no people on board. That’s pretty much the best way I can describe this football game, and the best part is the NFL decided to give it a PrimeTime spot. This game will probably be hard to watch, but even harder to turn off in a matchup between two teams that still don’t know their identity.
Outro:
Well, that’s all I have for today. Be sure to like and subscribe if you enjoyed! If you still reading you’re definitely a real one and leave a comment on what team in the NFL that doesn’t have a winning record right now you think will still make the playoffs. Make sure to keep an eye out for future NFL posts like this one, and maybe a back-to-back blog drop tomorrow (NBA is BACK!!!!). As always, be safe, and I hope you have a great day!
-YourFavoriteCasual