ben-roethsliberger-kansas-city-chiefsLet’s open with three thoughts on the Pittsburgh Steelers, who just three weeks ago, after throttling the Broncos in Denver on Monday Night Football, were heralded by many as having “that Super Bowl look.”

1. Boy do they miss playmaking safety Troy Polamalu. The Steelers have blown three fourth quarter leads this season (at Chicago, at Cincinnati, at Kansas City). Imagine if Brett Favre hadn’t bungled that final drive last month! Last year, Pittsburgh was 1st in the NFL vs. the pass. This year, they’re 13th.

2. Could the Steelers … miss the playoffs? Seems highly unlikely since the schedule is favorable. However, they’ve lost a tiebreaker with the Bengals, and they have to play the Ravens twice. It seems unlikely they’ll be swept by Baltimore, though. Could the Jaguars overtake Pittsburgh? Both are 6-4, and the Jags still have to play the Patriots and Colts.

3. Just how gut-wrenching was this loss to the Chiefs? Total yards: Pittsburgh 515-282. Time of possession: Pittsburgh 44-22.

Your Catch of the weekend goes to Dallas “Stop It! Stop It!” Clark:

Larry Fitzgerald would have been in contention for his tightrope job on the sideline, but alas, the Cardinals have a pathetic fanbase, so nobody uploaded it to the web.

Josh McDaniels Can’t Back Up His Trash Talk:

Shrimpy Denver coach Josh McDaniels to the Chargers linebackers before the game: “We own you.” Depending on who you want to believe, Shaun Phillips of San Diego started it all, and McDaniels just fired back.
McDaniels is a clown. If he’s going to say anything, he should have gone to the San Diego special teams unit and said, “Eddie Royal owns you.”
Result: Broncos 3, Chargers 32. Denver was limited to 271 yards of offense, McDaniels started Chris Simms (nice guy, but sorry, he’s no NFL QB) when he should have started a not-quite-100 percent Kyle Orton (who played anyway) and the AFC West lead is gone. Denver won’t make the playoffs, but it isn’t that big a deal. Going 6-0 to not making the playoffs? Painful. But remember, expectations were low in year one for a rookie coach. Perspective, folks.
Revis vs. Moss:

revis-shut-down-moss-yes-he-didAltogether now: Darrell Revis is the best cornerback in the NFL. He shut down Randy Moss Sunday – 5 catches, 34 yards – after talking about it all week. Moss did have a touchdown catch, but he didn’t “beat” Revis; Revis gave him too big a cushion at the goaline and Brady threw a quick dart. Moss is still obviously a Top 5 receiver in the league. The real problem with the Jets secondary is they don’t have another good corner – Wes Welker dominated (15 catches, 192 yards) – and safety Kerry Rhodes has regressed big-time this season. Last week, he botched coverage that allowed a huge play in the fourth against Jacksonville, setting up the final score; yesterday, too often he looked clueless and lost. He can’t hit hard. He makes mental errors. And he has no speed. We were all set to push for the Jets to draft Alabama CB/KR Javier Arenas in the draft, but we’re wondering if perhaps Taylor Mays would be worth a look (don’t think Eric Berry will fall to 10, which is where the Jets will draft). Clearly, the secondary needs help.

We’ll get to Mark Sanchez later. Save your venom.

ray lewis is old
addai shook him