Steelers football blog

No playoffs for Steelers

The Steelers took care of their part of the playoff equation and defeated the Miami Dolphins, 30-24, here today and now await a long-shot parlay of results of later games to see if they will play on.

The victory raised their record to 9-7 but they need losses by Baltimore, Denver and the New York Jets in order to make the playoffs. If any of those three win, the Steelers season will end. Baltimore is at Oakland, Denver at home to Kansas City and the Jets at home against the Cincinnati Bengals.

That three-team ticket was made necessary when Houston beat New England 34-27. Had the Patriots, who blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, won, the Steelers would have needed only a loss by either the Jets or Ravens to get into the playoffs. Continue

Steelers hold on vs Ravens 23-20

Wide receiver Santonio Holmes continued to work his magic against the Baltimore Ravens, and a unit that has gone missing in action during critical junctures of the fourth quarter recaptured some of its mojo.

Thanks to Holmes and a defense that made a stand late Sunday afternoon, the Steelers held off their AFC North rivals, 23-20, and remained in playoff contention.

If they beat the Miami Dolphins next Sunday and a couple of things break their way, the Steelers (8-7) will play beyond the first weekend in January. The defending Super Bowl champions could even claim a No. 5 seed, something that would have been unthinkable after they bottomed out Dec. 10 by losing to the Browns in Cleveland for the first time since 2000. Continue

Big Ben brings Steelers back once again

Ben Roethlisberger led a Super Bowl-like 86-yard drive in the final two minutes that ended with no time left when Mike Wallace caught a 19-yard touchdown pass as the Steelers beat Green Bay 37-36.

Wallace's catch even mimicked the one Santonio Holmes made to win Super Bowl XLIII in February.

Jeff Reed's extra point kick provided the winning margin.

The victory ended a five-game losing streak and raised the Steelers record to 7-7. Green Bay's five-game winning streak ended and the Packers are now 9-5.

Roethlisberger passed for a team-record 503 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Continue

Only pride left for Steelers after 13-6 loss to Browns

On a bitterly cold, windy night, as angry swells from Lake Erie next door lapped over seawalls, the Steelers season sailed into darkness.

The Cleveland Browns, who have the dubious daily double of last-place rankings on offense and defense in the NFL, became the latest of the league's dregs to dine at the Steelers' table.

The final score was 13-6, the fifth consecutive loss for the defending Super Bowl champions, including ones to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. It dropped their record to 6-7 and their faint playoff hopes likely have expired. Continue

Playoff picture dims with loss to Raiders

The Oakland Raiders, two touchdown underdogs, came back three times in the fourth quarter to score touchdowns, the final one an 11-yard pass from Pittsburgh native Bruce Gradkowski to Louis Murphy with nine seconds to go to stun the Steelers, 27-24, at Heinz Field today.

The Raiders, who had scored only 10 touchdowns all season, scored three in the fourth quarter alone after they entered the final period trailing 27-24.

The loss, the fourth straight for the Steelers, dropped them to 6-6 and may have killed their playoff hopes. The Raiders improved to 4-8. Continue

Steelers lose in OT to Ravens

A valiant effort Sunday night in Baltimore won't count for anything in the standings.

And following a heartbreaking 20-17 overtime loss to the Ravens in front of an announced crowd of 71,314, the reigning Super Bowl champions find themselves in a fight just to secure a wild-card berth.

The shorthanded Steelers gave their archrivals all they could handle, but their vaunted defense again failed to protect a fourth-quarter lead.

Dennis Dixon's 24-yard touchdown run with just over six minutes left in the game gave the Steelers a three-point lead at M&T Bank Stadium. But the Steelers allowed the Ravens to tie the game late in the fourth quarter and win it in overtime.

Rookie linebacker Paul Kruger intercepted a Dixon pass with just over 10 minutes left in overtime, and returned it to the Steelers' 28-yard line.

Four plays later, Billy Cundiff kicked a game-winning 29-yard field goal. Continue

Steelers lose to lowly Chiefs in OT

The lowly Kansas City Chiefs pulled a stunner today when they upset the Steelers in overtime 27-24, putting a serious dent in the Super Bowl champions' chances of repeating.

Moments after Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor dropped what would have been an interception at his 23 in overtime, Matt Cassel completed a medium-range pass to Chris Chambers, who skipped past a tackle by Ryan Clark to the four for a 61-yard gain.

Rookie kicker Ryan Succop then came on and kicked a 22-yard field goal for the victory with 8:28 left in the extra period.

The Chiefs, 10 point underdogs, scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie it.

The Steelers' second consecutive loss dropped them to 6-4. The Chiefs are 3-7. Continue

Polamalu hurt in loss vs Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Steelers 18-12 today to sweep their two-game series and take a one-game lead in the AFC North Division.

Shayne Graham's 32-yard field goal with 7:29 left broke a 12-12 tie and he kicked another from 43 yards with 1:56 left. Cincinnati climbed to 7-2. The Steelers lost for the first time at home to fall to 6-3.

Neither team scored a touchdown on offense. Jeff Reed kicked four field goals for the Steelers and Graham kicked three. The only touchdown came on a 96-yard kickoff return in the first quarter by Cincinnati rookie Bernard Scott.

Both teams lost star players. Steelers All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu left the game after Cincinnati's first drive with a left knee injury. The team did not immediately describe what was wrong but the injury was to the same knee that caused Polamalu to miss four games with a sprained MCL. This was his fourth game back since then. Continue

Steelers crush Broncos 28-10

The Steel Hurtin' defense, playing without three starters, rose up in the mile-high altitude to deliver a crushing victory last night, the team's fifth consecutive win.

The Steelers dominated the Broncos and won, 28-10, despite losing two big turnovers of their own, one for a touchdown and another that prevented one.

The victory lifted the Steelers' record to 6-2 and a tie with Cincinnati atop the AFC North Division. The teams meet at 1 p.m. Sunday in Heinz Field. Denver lost its second in a row to drop to 6-2. Continue

Steelers' D seals deal in 4th

Keyaron Fox returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown with one minute left to end a wild fourth-quarter scoring spree and give the Steelers a 27-17 victory over the previously unbeaten Minnesota Vikings today at Heinz Field.

Fox's score was the third long touchdown in the final 6 1/2 minutes, none scored by an offense.

LaMarr Woodley's 77-yard touchdown with a fumble return put the Steelers ahead 20-10 with 6:23 left but for the second time in the past two games, they allowed a touchdown on the following kickoff.

Percy Harvin took the kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, touched only by kicker Jeff Reed along the way. That cut the lead back to three with 6:09 to go.

Jeff Reed and Minnesota's Ryan Longwell traded short field goals in the third quarter. Continue