Monday Evening Quarterback - Week Fifteen

So here we are, one week to go.

The Steelers have done their part the last two weeks and are still mathematically alive for a ticket to the playoffs, though they're dependent on a string of unlikely events occurring - they very much don't control their own destiny.

It didn't have to be this way.

If Troy Polamalu had been kept off the field goal team, the Steelers could be positioning themselves for a first round bye instead of counting on other teams to punch their ticket.

If Ben Roethlisberger had slid instead of diving headfirst against the Chiefs in overtime, the Steelers could still be in a race for the division with the floundering Bengals.

If a host of players had just made one more play, in one game, somewhere along the line, the Steelers would have a win and you're in kind of weekend coming up.

But none of those things happened, and short of a time machine there's no way to change things.

What this season underscores is that there are about 10 plays in any given year that will decide your fate.  This is the NFL, you will be in some close games.  You will play teams with rotten records who will play above their heads for an afternoon.  You will play divisional opponents whose familiarity with you will level the playing field.  The Steelers are 10 plays away from 15-0, but at the same time they're 7 losses away from 15-0, which is all that matters.

There's only one thing for the Steelers (and us fans) to focus on.  There's one more game left on the schedule, and they need to win it to have any chance.  They need to go down to South Florida and do their part - nothing else matters.

The Steelers obviously need to ride Ben Roethlisberger, they've done it for the past two weeks and it has resulted in two desperate wins against quality opponents.

The Steelers showed too much patience with the running game against the Ravens, on a day when the running game simply wasn't working.  They had to have been emboldened by their success against the Ravens last time around on the ground, but the Ravens were determined not to allow Mendenhall to be a major factor.

Though some of the blame has to go to the defense for allowing the Ravens some long scoring drives, Ben only threw 12 passes in the 2nd half after lighting up the Ravens in the first half.  Despite the fact that the defense ended up holding on in the 4th quarter (with special thanks to the Ravens' offensive ineptitude), the defense still cannot be trusted.  If the Steelers do make the playoffs, they'll need to focus the offense on Ben and let Mendenhall provide a change of pace and an outlet receiver.  Their goal should be upwards of 30 points a game to protect themselves from late-game defensive collapse.

In their favor will be the Miami weather - Ben could have a field day in perfect conditions, it's the ultimate in-season pick me up.

The defense will get another look at the wildcat and will be tested by Miami's running game.  It's one thing for teams to have success on this defense through the air, but it's another thing to get gouged on the ground the way the Steelers did in the Ravens game.  It's a helpless feeling when the defense can't be counted on to simply tackle the ball carrier.

It's a huge game, both in terms of the playoff race and in terms of ending the season on a positive note after such an embarrassing mid-season nosedive.  It should be obvious after the past two weeks that this isn't a bad team, just a team that didn't get any breaks for a while and became its own worst enemy.  It happens, it's football.  But at least this team didn't go in the tank after the rough stretch, it responded and complicated the playoff race with a late charge that may or may not be enough.

16 weeks of meaningful football.  That's something a Browns fan experiences once a decade.  Remember that - no matter what happens next weekend.  This dark hour for Steeler Nation would be a shining beacon of hope for fans of so many other organizations.

It's not over yet, folks.

FURIOUS FIVE

1.  Philadelphia Eagles

They're the hottest team in football and probably the most talented.  I don't know if Brian Westbrook being back in the lineup is a good thing or a bad thing, they were doing just fine without him.

2.  Minnesota Vikings

I still believe they have the right formula, though Brad Childress is doing his best to get in the way of success.

3.  Indianapolis Colts

Sidney Crosby flipped juju and touched the Prince of Wales Trophy the 2nd time around.  Jim Caldwell is trying to sustain playoff momentum by losing, which already backfired once for the Colts under Tony Dungy.

4.  San Diego Chargers

I take it back, they're probably the hottest team in football, though I still don't trust their defense.

5.  New England Patriots

I don't necessarily agree with the idea that Bill Belichick will throw the game against the Texans to avoid the Steelers.  This is Bill Belichick, and he's arrogant enough to believe that the Steelers are as bad as their record.  He might prefer to face the Steelers instead of possibly facing the Texans two games in a row.

AWARDS

Offense

Max Starks

He bounced back from a rough week against the Packers with an outstanding effort, shutting down Terrell Suggs and registering the block of the season on a 13 yard Willie Parker run.

Defense

Lamarr Woodley

He's caught fire the last half of the season, and added another two sacks against the Ravens.  He quietly has 9.5 sacks in his last 7 games.

Special Teams

Stefan Logan

He had a 17 yard punt return and a 49 yard kickoff return on a day when he set the Steelers single-season record for kickoff return yardage.  He's coming on strong as the season winds down.

Goat

Derrick Mason

He was the Ravens' leading receiver on a day in which he surpassed 11,000 career receiving yards, but he dropped an easy touchdown catch that changed the game for the Steelers.

QUOTABLE

"You've got to make significant plays at significant moments.  When we've lost, it's because we haven't; when we won, it's because we have."

- Mike Tomlin

STATS, STAT

0

The number of points the Steelers' defense gave up against the Ravens in the 4th quarter.

MAKING THE ROUNDS

1.  Santonio Holmes has an outside chance to break the Steelers' single-season record for receiving yards.  Yancey Thigpen set the record with 1,398 yards in 1997.  Holmes would need 156 yards receiving against the Dolphins, which isn't an outlandish figure to expect out of a guy who is the focus of the offense.  He's also heading home to South Florida for the first time in his career.  Should be an interesting sub-plot.

2.  Rashard Mendenhall needs to learn how to run against stingy run defenses.  He had 36 yards rushing officially, but he probably had 100 yards rushing when you count all the east-west running he did.  Against top defenses, he needs to pick a hole and go.  He cannot dance around in the backfield, it's only going to make matters worse.  On first and 10 in Baltimore territory on the first drive of the game, Mendenhall took forever trying to pick which side of David Johnson he'd try to hit.  In the end, he missed a hole that would have gotten him a few yards in favor of getting strung out for a one yard loss.  He has to be decisive and attack the hole straight ahead, with his shoulders square.  I do not blame Mendenhall for getting Ngata'd in pass protection.  Willie Colon missed the block first, and appeared to try to block Matt Spaeth, who in turn barely got a hand on Ngata who is a mismatch for any running back.  Mendenhall has only shown glimpses of his potential this season.  I expect him to be even more of a handful in the future once he refines his technique.  He's very much running on talent alone right now.

3.  I thought James Harrison put forth a courageous effort.  We'll know after the season what kind of biceps injured Harrison has, but I'm guessing it's one that he probably shouldn't be playing with.  If that's the case, his violent strip of Ray Rice with that same right arm will go down as one those plays that sum up the player.

4.  I loved seeing Stefan Logan getting some time as the #4 wide receiver.  He was used only as a decoy, but he was a very effective decoy that definitely had the Ravens' attention.  The play didn't go for good yardage, but the fake end around to Logan with the pass in the middle to Mendenhall is the type of thing that can really get the defense guessing.

5.  Did Mark Clayton even play yesterday?  Ike Taylor has taken a lot of flak this year, most of it undeserved.  I don't believe he's given up a single catch the last two weeks.  People say that Ike isn't that good because he doesn't have good hands, and of course he doesn't (he dropped another INT against the Ravens).  If Ike Taylor caught the ball, he'd be a $10 mil a year corner like Champ Bailey, Asante Samuel and Nnamdi Asomugha and the Steelers would have never been able to afford his second contract.  I expect Taylor to get a fair extension this offseason with one year remaining on his contract.

IN THE CROSSHAIRS

Still Tomlin.

Mike, let's cap off the regular season (playoffs or not) with a 3 unit, 60 minute football effort on Sunday.