Week 6: Steelers 17, Jaguars 13

Steelers are good, true or false?

The halfway point of the 2011 NFL season is approaching. That means the Steelers are taking their midterm exams.

On Sunday, they passed the True-False portion of the exam.

Barely.

Here's a tip, kids. Most True-False tests have more true answers than false answers. So you probably can pass if you put down "True" for everything. It also helps if you know how to make the letter that looks like both a "T" and an "F." 

It was with the same half-assed effort that the Steelers won Sunday's game over the Jaguars.

To fully restore their status as Super Bowl contenders, the Steelers (4-2) needed a convincing victory over the one-win Jaguars. But the Jaguars had a chance to win this game until the very last second. Thankfully, Blaine Gabbert's lame-assed Hail Mary found nothing but black shirts in the end zone.

The Steelers will take the multiple-choice portion of their midterms Sunday at Arizona. In the same way that multiple choice can be tricky (all of the above, none of the above, some of the above), weird shit tends to happen to the Steelers in Arizona. Although the game will be at University of Phoenix Stadium, the Steelers won't be able to take this test online. They have to show up.

Then the material goes from tricky to tough. The next phase of midterms will be essay questions, which the Steelers will have to answer in two weeks when the Patriots visit Heinz Field. That's going to require a lot of studying. The good news is that Bill Belichick will be proctoring the test, and he thinks cheating is OK.

Then, the Steelers will go from the classroom to the schoolyard for the last part of the exam -- the bully test. The Ravens bloodied the Steelers' nose in the season opener, and visit Heinz Field Nov. 6. To pass that part of the exam, the Steelers will have to win the fight with the bully, which is really all you need to learn in school to be ready for the real world.

What this midterm exam analogy means is that the Steelers have one more week to get their shit together before the Patriots and Ravens come to town.

Give and take

The Steelers nearly let a 17-0 lead slip away, at home, against a team with a rookie quarterback that had scored just five touchdowns heading into the game.

We can choose to be alarmed at all that, or we can choose to be encouraged that the Steelers have forced just two turnovers this season yet somehow are 4-2.

You know the only other team in the history of the NFL with just two takeaways in its first six games, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com? This year's Dolphins, who dropped to 0-5 Monday night.

At least the Steelers didn't turn the ball over Sunday. They've had just five giveaways since their seven-turnover debacle in Baltimore, Still, their turnover differential remains at minus-10. Only the 1960 Giants (4-1-1, minus-10) and the 1960 Bears (3-2-1, minus-11) had winning records with a turnover ratio of minus-10 or worse through six games, according to Pro-Football-Reference.

Another interception or two could have turned a loss into a win in Houston and made Sunday's win a little bit easier. 

We can bellyache about how bad the Steelers' offense was in the second half Sunday or how the defense wasn't able to stop the run. But just one takeaway could have given the Steelers a short field to work with and maybe another score. That would have made the offense look better with more points on the scoreboard and it would have made the defense look better with fewer rushing yards for the Jaguars, who ran for 133 yards at a 4.4-yard-per-carry clip.

Turnovers aren't just window dressing for a defense, folks. They're a necessary tool for winning. Trying to win without getting turnovers on defense is like trying to bang nails into a wall with a baseball bat. Eventually you're going to need that hammer.

The Steelers' defense has to start taking the ball away at some point, right? The law of averages almost dictates it. In a way, it's comforting to think that winning should be easier when those takeaways start catching up to the giveaways.

But what if the turnovers don't come? Is the inability to grab fumbles and pickoffs a sign of the Steelers' age on defense? What makes this more confounding is the fact that Troy Polamalu has been healthy, despite Sunday's scare, and playing well. But he's usually good for an interception or two by this point in the season. He is 30 now. Are the hands the first thing to go?

One encouraging sign is that the Steelers had a similar shortage of sacks earlier in the season. Through the first four games, they had just seven. They've had eight in the last two games, including two Sunday by Brett Keisel. By the way, let's not underestimate how much he was missed in Indianapolis and Houston.

Sacks and turnovers have been signatures of the Steelers' defense since Bill Cowher rejuvenated the franchise nearly two decades ago. It took a while for the Steelers to get to the quarterback this season, but eventually they did. Hopefully one of these sacks will knock a ball loose and open the floodgates for turnovers.

Familiar script

There have been times this season when I didn't think I'd write the following words: The Steelers would not have won Sunday's game without Rashard Mendenhall.

Seeing the running game function without him last week seemed to spark Mendenhall the same way as his benching early in the 2009 season. He ran the ball 23 times for 146 yards and a touchdown that gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead. Mendenhall's 68-yard run set up a Shaun Suisham field goal and a 17-0 Steelers lead in the second quarter.

In between those scores was a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace and a 48-yard completion to Wallace. The second of those receptions marked the fifth straight game in which Wallace has caught a pass of at least 40 yards, the longest such streak since Terrell Owens did it in 2004. If that streak doesn't end Sunday, something tells me the Patriots will end it in two weeks.

Alas, that bomb to Wallace, which put the ball on the Jacksonville 31, didn't lead to any points. The drive ended with Suisham missing a 46-yard field goal. Suisham has made just seven of his 11 field goal attempts this season. Am I the only one who's nervous about this?

The trajectory of Sunday's game was eerily similar to the AFC championship game in January. The Steelers build a big lead in the first half. The opponent gets a field goal to gain a little momentum before halftime. The Steelers go scoreless in the second half and have to hang on for dear life to get the win. 

It's one thing to win in this fashion when a trip to the Super Bowl is at stake. It's quite another when the other team has no shot at getting to the Super Bowl. Or even the playoffs.

If they play like that on Sunday, the Steelers will flunk out of University of Phoenix Stadium.

Are you ready for some Redman?

Greetings yinzers and non-yinzers alike. Welcome to Week 5. 

Rashard Mendenhall is out today with a hamstring injury (correction, added 12:19 p.m., Mendenhall is active today, but won't start). Isaac Redman will get the start at running back.

If I'm Mendenhall, I'm a little uneasy right now. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he might not get his starting job back. No, I'm not mindlessly drooling over Redman's six carries for 40 yards last week. I just think that when Redman carries the ball, he's a lot more decisive when he attacks the defense.

In my reaction to Mendenhall's comments about Osama bin Laden's death in May, I suggested that he might be too intelligent for his own good on the football field. His tip-tapping running style hints that he thinks too much when carrying the football.

Those comments by Mendenhall, by the way, aren't as bad as what Steelers fan Hank Williams Jr. said on Fox & Friends this week. No matter what point you're trying to make, you have to stay away from any mention of Hitler. That's just asking for trouble.

I think ESPN did the right thing by firing Williams. That said, I'm going to miss hearing "Are You Ready for Some Football?"

Finally, in honor of the late Al Davis, all I have to say to the Steelers today is "Just win, baby"

Game-by-game look at the Steelers' 2011 season

By Mike Batista

What's Wink Martindale doing these days?

How about Chuck Woolery?

Or Ben Stein?

Hell, I'd even settle for Rolf Benirschke. That's right, the intestinally challenged former Chargers kicker hosted Wheel of Fortune for a few months in 1989.

I need someone to host this year's version of everyone's favorite game show, the Win-Loss Game, where contestants look at their favorite team's schedule, and predict a win or a loss for each game.

It's like Wheel of Fortune with only "W"s and "L"s, and maybe an occasional "T" if you really got some balls.

The 2011 Steelers schedule is tied for the fourth-weakest in the NFL.

That scares me.

In 2009, the Steelers also were coming off a Super Bowl appearance and had a piece-of-cake schedule on their plate. We all know how that turned out.

And with the exception of the Bengals, it's not like any of those teams in 2009 were better than expected. During the five-game losing streak that blew their season to bits, the Steelers lost to the Chiefs, Raiders and Browns, all of whom were as shitty as advertised.

My head tells me the Steelers are a damn good team this year, even if they are the oldest team in the NFL. However, 2009 won't easily be forgotten. Nor will 2006, when they famously flopped after winning Super Bowl XL the year before. I can't help but have those two seasons in the back of my mind as I play the Win-Loss Game this season.*

And now, it's time to play.

Week 1, at Baltimore: This is like waking up to a slap in the face instead of a cup of coffee. This is the Steelers' most intense opener since 2002, when they opened on a Monday night in New England the year after the Patriots upset them in the 2001 AFC championship game. This will go a little bit better, as long as Rashard Mendenhall can avoid all the objects Ravens fans throw at him on the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11. W, 20-16

Week 2, Seattle: Tarvaris Jackson is starting at quarterback for the Seahawks. Steelers defense, start your engines. W, 38-7

Week 3, at Indianapolis: If Peyton Manning plays at all this season, it certainly won't be by Week 3. Still, let's not take this one too lightly. Kerry Collins is a capable backup, and hard-core Steelers fans will remember the name Cody Carlson. W, 20-13

Week 4, at Houston: Manning possibly being out for the year might be what it takes for the ultimate "Wait 'Til Next Year" team to finally so something in the AFC South and make the playoffs. The Steelers never tempt perfection with long winning streaks to start the season, and I can't help but think that someone will sneak up on the Steelers during this yawn-inspiring Houston-Tennessee-Jacksonville leg of their schedule. Not exactly the most dynamic NFL cities. L, 19-13

Week 5, Tennessee: Munchak and Hasselbeck. Sounds like some kind of cheesy, early 80s cop-show duo. W, 23-12

Week 6, Jacksonville: According to ESPN, quarterback David Garrard was released hours after being introduced as the Jaguars' starting quarterback at a chamber of commerce luncheon. Maybe he can tour the country as a Seal impersonator and see if he can hook up with a model like Heidi Klum. W, 28-21

Week 7, at Arizona: Between not getting the Steelers head coaching job and losing to the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, Ken Whisenhunt will want to win this game so bad that he'll kick every single one of his players in the balls if they lose. L, 34-17

Week 8, New England: Tom Brady comes to Heinz Field dressed in drag on Halloween Eve. Then we realize that's really his hair. We also realize that's not a mask Bill Belichick's wearing. That's really his face. Unlike last year's Patriots visit, this one will be a game. Unfortunately, the Patriots will win the shootout. Yeah, I know this is 76 points allowed in the past two games. But the Steelers defense will show its age with a mid-season swoon. L, 42-35

Week 9, Baltimore: Joe Fucko has never beaten the Steelers when Ben Roethlisberger plays. W, 14-6

Week 10, at Cincinnati: Steelers finish up with the Ravens early and get two games each against the Bengals and Browns, and a bye, in the last eight weeks of the season. W, 37-13

Week 11, Bye

Week 12, at Kansas City: The NFL is just busting the Steelers' balls here. They also had a late-November game at Kansas City in 2009, in the midst of their infamous slide. Look for the Chiefs to plateau a bit this year after their rise last year. W, 31-20

Week 13, Cincinnati: Who knows if he'll still be the starter this late in the season, but Andy Dalton is the Bengals' first rookie quarterback to start a season opener since Greg Cook in 1969. I know. Who cares. W, 45-3

Week 14, Cleveland: Aww, c'mon NFL. Really? A Thursday night game in early December against the Browns? That doesn't remind Steelers fans of anything, does it? At least this one's in Pittsburgh. W, 27-15

Week 15, at San Francisco: Chalk this up as a "haunted by 2009" pick. L, 20-17

Week 16, St. Louis: Please don't flex this one to a night game, NFL. It's going to be tough enough planning Christmas Eve around a 1 p.m. game. W, 22-9

Week 17, at Cleveland: I wouldn't be surprised if most of those votes Peyton Hillis got for the Madden cover were cast by Steelers fans so he'd get jinxed. The Browns have their quarterback in Colt McCoy. They'll be better this year, and I just don't see the Steelers going 12-4 again. L, 17-16

Now for the Bonus Round. Or in this case, playoffs.

Here's how I see the AFC playoff picture shaking out:

1. Patriots (13-3)
2. Chargers (12-4)
3. Steelers (11-5)
4. Texans (10-6)
5. Ravens (10-6)
6. Jets (10-6)

Wild-card: Steelers 25, Jets 17; Texans 13, Ravens 7
Divisional: Chargers 16, Steelers 13; Patriots 37, Texans 13
Championship: Patriots 21, Chargers 7

I think the Steelers start to show their age toward the end of the year and get beat in the playoffs by the Chargers. But no way Norv Turner is getting the Chargers into the Super Bowl. So, I regret to inform everyone that the Patriots get back to the Super Bowl.

Since the season's already started in the NFC, I can't really pick records or playoff seeds. Or maybe I'm just too damn lazy. I say the Packers get back to the Super Bowl, not based on Thursday night's game but based on the fact that they got to the Super Bowl last year despite all those injuries. You'd have to think they'll be healthier this year and maybe get a home playoff game or two.

Unlike last year, I'll actually be rooting for the Packers in the Super Bowl. Sure, the Packers were added to my NFL shit list after beating the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, but the Patriots have earned my unconditional hatred. I'll be quite relieved when the Packers beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Of course, my predictions are usually wrong, and I hope this year is no different.

*-When I was thinking of game-show hosts to mention, one of the names I wanted to use was former Remote Control host Ken Ober. Then I saw that he died at 52 on Nov. 15, 2009. You know what else happened that day? The Steelers lost to the Bengals at home, starting their infamous five-game losing streak. Spooky stuff, huh?

Mendenhall starts blog to clarify comments

By Mike Batista

Rashard Mendenhall has broken his 48-hour silence. On Wednesday afternoon, the Steelers' running back started a blog in which he attempted to clarify his Twitter comments about the death of Osama bin Laden.

Without the constraints of Twitter's 140-character limit, Mendenhall expressed an appreciation for our troops and a sympathy for those who lost loved ones on 9/11.

However, there are a couple of things he said that I disagree with. He said "Earlier this week, parts of the world watched us in horror celebrating a man’s death."

First of all, he could have used a little editing. The structure of the sentence is a little unclear. It sounds like he's saying that the United States was the only country celebrating bin Laden's death.

I don't think that's true.

Bin Laden was responsible for the death of not only Americans, but people all over the world. I agree that bin Laden's death might have horrified some, but I think that horror is limited to Muslim extremists. I don't think that segment of the population really amounts to any legitimate "part of the world."

On Sept. 11, 2001, there was video of adults and children in the Middle East celebrating the attacks on America. I'm confident in saying that many more in the world were horrified at those celebrations than the celebrations outside the White House and in Times Square on Sunday night.

Mendenhall deemed our celebration over bin Laden's death "hypocrisy." I disagree. We're rejoicing in the death of one ruthless killer. Bin Laden rejoiced in the death of nearly 3,000 innocent people in a single day.

On his "@R_Mendenhall" Twitter profile, Mendenhall fashions himself a "Conversationalist and Professional Athlete."

At this point in his life "Professional Athlete" needs to come before "Conversationalist."

If it did, he wouldn't be in this mess.

In Mendenhall's last tweet before starting his blog, he said "There is not an ignorant bone in my body. I just encourage you to #think."

OK, fine. We shouldn't always take what we see on the news at face value. But if Mendenhall is going to tell us to "think," as a Pittsburgh Steeler he should think about the fact that he's working for Dan Rooney, the U.S. ambassador to Ireland. He also should think about western Pennsylvania's role as the first theater in the war on terror.

Almost a decade after the heroes of Flight 93 saved who knows how many lives before perishing in Shanksville, elite Navy SEALS came face-to-face with the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and killed him without any casualties to Americans.

Something tells me most of the guys on this highly dangerous mission would have held onto the football had they been hit by Clay Matthews in the Super Bowl.

Unlike Mendenhall, Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes displayed grace under pressure in the Super Bowl, yet Holmes was shipped out of Pittsburgh partly because of Twitter comments, and there was talk that the Steelers tried to get rid of Roethlisberger for his transgressions.

Roethlisberger and Holmes shouldn't have done some of the things they did. Mendenhall, however, does have a right to his opinion and free speech.

Nonetheless, instead of trying to be a historian, whether it comes to 9/11 or slavery, this should be an offseason in which Mendenhall concentrates on learning how to hang onto the football. After all, that is what he gets paid for.

Mendenhall is more articulate and well-rounded than the average football player. He writes poetry and plays the clarinet. Sometimes I wonder if he's too smart and civilized to be a long-term success in this brutal game.

Unless the NFL lockout delays the start of the season, Mendenhall will next play meaningful football on Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of 9/11. If the Steelers were to start the season at Heinz Field, Mendenhall would at best get a lukewarm response from the fans. But the Steelers don't start the season at home. They start it in Baltimore, where Mendenhall is hated to begin with just because he's a Steeler. Imagine the response he's going to get if he doesn't make amends for his comments between now and then.

On the football field, Mendenhall's always been somewhat cloaked in a shroud of mystery. With a talented stable of receivers and an elite quarterback like Roethlisberger, Mendenhall is sometimes an afterthought. Despite his 1,273 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns last season, he averaged just 3.9 yards per carry, I still don't feel like he's broken out as a top-tier running back.

Mendenhall was on the brink of A-List stardom after gaining 121 yards with a touchdown in the Steelers' AFC championship win over the Jets. His 4.5-yard-per-carry clip in that game was sustained in the first three quarters of the Super Bowl.

But his fumble restored the doubts.

My desire for more from Mendenhall is not limited to what I see on Sundays. The enigma transcends the game. Having heard about his interests outside of football, I guess I've wanted to know more about him as a person.

Just not in this way.

Super Bowl XLV:
Packers 31, Steelers 25

Not your father's Steelers

By Mike Batista

I've watched my last Steelers game.

My last Steelers game before turning 40, that is.

If you're a Steelers fan younger than 40, you probably didn't really get a chance to witness the Steelers' dynasty of the 1970s. Or if you did, you probably couldn't describe the difference between a free safety and a strong safety.

A win in Super Bowl XLV would have provided this generation of Steelers fans with an experience similar to the glory days of the 1970s. I gladly would have accepted three championships in six years as a feat comparable to four in six years.

But these aren't your father's Steelers. They just don't make Steelers Super Bowl teams like they used to. In the post-Steel Curtain era, the Steelers sometimes lose the Super Bowl.

Out of miracles

A lot has happened since Ben Roethlisberger threaded the eye of a needle for the game-winning touchdown to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII. The Saints succeeded the Steelers as champions, and we learned (if we didn't know already) that Roethlisberger is not exactly a saint.

Even if Roethlisberger has changed his ways, here's why he still falls short of sainthood: You need two miracles to qualify as a saint. And there would be no second Super Bowl miracle for Roethlisberger.

Sure, it was great theater to see Roethlisberger again assigned the task of leading the Steelers the length of the field with two minutes left in the Super Bowl. But if you keep putting yourself in that spot, sometimes you're going to lose.

A lot has to go right for these epic, career-defining drives to come together. Like Thomas Edison's inventions, some of them just don't work out.

It wasn't a good sign when Mike Wallace, the Steelers' top receiver Sunday with nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, had no idea what he was supposed to do on second-and-five from the Steelers' 33. Roethlisberger had to throw the ball away. Then on third down Roethlisberger threw a ball that wasn't close to anyone. The grace of that winning drive in Tampa just wasn't there.

On fourth down, the Packers' sealed their championship when Tramon Williams broke up a pass to Wallace.

The final drive seemed doomed from the start when Keyaron Fox was called for a personal foul on the kickoff, dragging the Steelers from the 26 to their own 13.

Fox joined the Steelers in 2008 and contributed to their championship season as a special teams ace. Unfortunately, he seems to have gone bad. This wasn't the first time he's been flagged this season on a special teams play.

But it wasn't just Fox. Penalties were a problem all season for the Steelers, and they were a problem again Sunday. A blocking-above-the-waist infraction on Ryan Mundy set the stage for the Packers to take control of the game in the first quarter.

That penalty came on the kickoff after the Packers took a 7-0 lead on Aaron Rodgers' 29-yard pass to Jordy Nelson. It put the Steelers on their own 7. Roethlisberger threw the ball on the first play of the drive, but was hit, causing the ball to wobble in the air. It looked like Nick Collins was catching a fly ball in center field for the Brewers as he easily picked the ball off and ran it in 37 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Packers lead.

Mistakes, they had a few

Every Steeler is to blame for this mistake-riddled performance. But the penalties by the special teams muckers ultimately will be forgotten. Super Bowl XLV will be remembered by Steelers fans for Roethlisberger's two interceptions and Rashard Mendenhall's fumble.

Roethlisberger's second pick was a throw into double coverage. Jarrett Bush came up with it.

Troy Polamalu then tried to keep the Steelers in the game with his biggest hit of the night. Unfortunately, it didn't do much good because it came in the end zone after Rodgers completed a 21-yard TD pass to Greg Jennings for a 21-3 Packers lead.

I was obviously way off on my prediction of Polamalu being the MVP.

Polamalu hasn't done much in any of the three Super Bowls he's played in, even though the Steelers have won two of them.

The Steelers probably don't get anywhere near the Super Bowl without Polamalu's heist in Baltimore nine weeks earlier. The 2010 Steelers season hinged on that play. The Steelers needed a similar rescue in the Super Bowl.

But it never came.

Troy a hair out of place

With the Steelers down by 18, I started to worry that this would turn into one of those vintage 1980s and early 1990s Super Bores, when the Goliaths of the NFC annually dominated the AFC's best offering. There hadn't really been a Super Bowl blowout in eight years. Were we due for one?

The Steelers didn't allow that to happen.

When facing a big deficit in the first half, the first thing you want to do is get points on the board before halftime. The Steelers did just that. A 37-yard pass to Antwaan Randle-El put the ball on the Packers 40 and sparked a touchdown drive that culminated in an 8-yard TD pass to Hines Ward.

That made the Steelers' halftime deficit a manageable 21-10.

Then in the second half the officials decided to start calling penalties on the Packers. Five of their seven penalties came in the third quarter, including a face mask on a punt that gave the Steelers the ball at midfield.

From there they ran the ball five times, Mendenhall twice, Isaac Redman twice and Roethlisberger once. Mendenhall took it in through traffic from the 8 for a touchdown, cutting the Packers' lead to 21-17 with more than 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Steelers made it a game again.

I would rather have not seen the Steelers burn two timeouts in the third quarter, having more than one timeout might have come in handy on the final drive. It was also hard to watch Shaun Suisham attempt a 52-yard field goal. Did anyone really think Suisham was going to make that?

Polamalu looked like he could have had an interception with about two and a half minutes left in the third quarter. Had he been a couple of steps to his left, he might have picked off a third-down incompletion right around the Steelers' 20 with room to run. Even though the Packers were forced to punt, Polamalu had his head in his hands at the end of that play. Like most of the night, he was out of position.

Despite all that, the Steelers' defensive muscle in the third quarter forged a field-position advantage.

With the Packers pinned at their own 13 late in the period, the Steelers forced a three-and-out. On the punt, the Packers were penalized and had to re-kick from their 8. The Steelers were in business at the Packers' 41, and Mendenhall ended the third quarter by picking up eight yards.

Fourth-quarter flop

Many Steelers players participated in the universal football ritual of holding up four fingers at the start of the fourth quarter, a signal that if you want to win the game, this is the time to do it.

Mendenhall didn't get the message. He got the ball again to open the final quarter, and Clay Matthews popped it loose. Desmond Bishop (not Bishop Desmond) recovered the fumble.

The Packers, who didn't turn the ball over in the game, scored for the third time off a Steelers turnover. Rodgers threw an 8-yard TD pass to Jennings, making it 28-17 with 12 minutes left.

Starting with the AFC championship game, Mendenhall played like a top-tier running back for seven quarters. He ran for just 63 yards in the Super Bowl, but at a clip of 4.5 yards a carry. Finally it seemed that Mendenhall would be the guy to provide the Steelers with a productive, clock-grinding ground game in the coming years. But that fumble again planted some seeds of doubt.

So it was back to disaster recovery for the Steelers. And recover they did. They got to within a field goal halfway through the fourth quarter when Roethlisberger threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Wallace and followed that with a pretty option pitch to Randle-El on the two-point conversion.

Ziggy Hood sacked Rodgers to start the ensuing possession, and the Packers eventually were staring at a third-and-10 from their own 25.

Momentum once again belonged to the Steelers.

That's when Rodgers showed why he's the Super Bowl MVP.

He threw to Jennings up the middle for 31 yards. Polamalu might have made his biggest impact of the night when he got his hand on Jennings' leg to stop him. It likely prevented a touchdown.

The Packers ran the clock down and got to the Steelers' 5. But the Steelers defense had enough fight left to hold them to a field goal and give Roethlisberger a chance to win it.

But as a new generation of Steelers fans has learned, you can't win 'em all.

At Irish Exit in Manhattan, Steelers fans in enemy territory celebrate their win over the Jets in the AFC title game.

The closers

AFC championship game: Steelers 24, Jets 19

By Mike Batista

What the fuck was Antwaan Randle El doing in there?

The number 82 was the first thing I noticed in the Steelers' huddle when they came out of the two-minute warning.

The Steelers were clinging for dear life to a five-point lead. They faced a third-and-6 from the Jets' 40. All they had to do was run the ball again. Even if they didn't get the first down, they could run the clock down to about 1:15, then punt and try to pin the Jets deep. Sure, Mark Sanchez had a hell of a second half, but the Jets would have needed a touchdown with just over a minute left and no timeouts.

Randle El has done very little this season in his prodigal son return to the Steelers. So his presence in the game made it obvious the Steelers had a lot of receivers in there.

The Steelers weren't going to throw the ball, were they?

Sure enough, I see the Steelers go five-wide with Ben Roethlisberger in the shotgun. Yup. They were going there.

The Steelers were pretty much getting their asses kicked in the second half. Their 24-0 lead was down to a puny 24-19.

Now, the Steelers were going to put the ball in the air and risk an incompletion, which would stop the clock and give the Jets almost two minutes to score a touchdown. Or worse, there could have been an interception. Roethlisberger already had thrown two in the game.

I drank a few IC Lights at Irish Exit in Manhattan before the game, but I was too nervous to drink anything during the game, especially the second half. My tongue and throat were dryer than Steelers beat writer Ed Bouchette's sense of humor.

I did not need this, Steelers. I did not need this.

So Roethlisberger gets flushed out of the pocket, looking for someone to throw to. He wasn't going to be able to scramble for a first down like he had a couple of times earlier in the game. Too many white jerseys between him and the big yellow first-down line.

Just before running out of bounds, Roethlisberger tossed the ball to Antonio Brown. After his high-wire, Tyree-like catch last week, the sixth-round pick cradled this one like a newborn for 14 yards. First down. Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl.

Jets coach Rex Ryan slammed down his headset as if he was told his favorite snack shack was out of chili dogs.

Unlike me, the Steelers weren't scared. Unlike me, they weren't wringing their hands wishing the seconds would tick off the clock faster.

That's not how you win championships.

You win championships by closing the deal sooner rather than later.

You win championships when your fourth receiver, who hasn't been called upon all night, gets the job done when he finally is needed. And let's not forget Brown's 27-yard kickoff return a minute earlier after a Jets' touchdown narrowed the Steelers' lead to 24-19. That put the ball on the Steelers' 41 and helped the Steelers, and me, breathe a little easier.

Something tells me Brown, who was inactive for seven games this season, will get a hat every Sunday from now on.

Nothing safe about a safety

It looked like the Steelers' defining moment as 2010 AFC champions came midway through the fourth quarter. Leading 24-10, the Steelers stopped the Jets on first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. On third down from the 1, LaMarr Woodley batted down a Sanchez pass. On fourth down, LaDainian Tomlinson took it up the middle and got stood up against a battery of black jerseys.

A goal-line stand. The most dramatic display of football toughness. Unfortunately, right after that the Steelers fell victim to one of football's most emasculating occurrences: a safety.

Roethlisberger fumbled the snap from Doug "The Big" Legursky, who replaced injured Maurkice Pouncey at center, and smartly seized the ball so the Jets would get two points and not six.

The Jets had a safety in their win over the Steelers at Heinz Field last month. The quirkiest of football scoring plays seems to be a running gag whenever these two teams meet. Sort of like Maverick buzzing the tower in "Top Gun." Really annoying.

The safety made the score 24-12. And no, it was no consolation to me that it set things up for my predicted score of 27-15. Fuck that. Now, if the Jets got the two touchdowns they needed, they wouldn't just tie. They would win.

They got the first of those touchdowns after taking the free kick at their 42. Sanchez, who outplayed Roethlisberger, moved the Jets 58 yards in 10 plays and threw a 4-yard TD pass to Jerricho Cotchery, making it 24-19 with 3:06 left.

Fortunately, the Jets didn't touch the ball again.

Cooking up a comeback

After falling behind 24-0, the Jets had all the necessary ingredients for concocting a comeback.

They got a field goal to get on the board before halftime.

They got a touchdown less than three minutes into the second half when Santonio Holmes caught a 45-yard pass from Sanchez.

They got a turnover on the Steelers' ensuing possession when Brodney Pool intercepted Roethlisberger.

Meanwhile, the Steelers got the yips.

Pool's interception came right after Roethlisberger fumbled and recovered a snap.

The Jets went three-and-out on that possession, but Randle El muffed the punt and watched it roll out of bounds.

And after letting Rashard Mendenhall run wild for 95 yards in the first half, the Jets held him to 26 yards in the second half. The Steelers' passing attack wasn't used that much in the game. Roethlisberger completed only 10 of 19 passes for 133 yards to go with the two picks.

On this frigid Pittsburgh night, you got the feeling if the Steelers really needed to throw the ball, their aerial game would have been like a beer that hasn't been out of the freezer long enough. Still some ice in there.

Yuck.

In the second half, the Jets looked like the team that beat the Patriots. But the simple reason they couldn't beat the Steelers is because the Steelers scored more points in the half that they dominated.

Run, Rashard, Run

Am I the only one who forgot what Rashard Mendenhall looks like?

When he stood on the podium during the Steelers' celebration Sunday night, it was the most face time he's had since he got a call on his cell phone from the Steelers on draft day nearly three years ago.

Mendenhall's kind of been a man of mystery in his career. The Steelers' ability to move the ball through the air has at times made him an afterthought.

Jerome Bettis was The Bus. Willie Parker had the speed of a race car. What about Mendenhall? It hasn't been easy to identify him that way.

Sure, Mendenhall's had monster rushing numbers against porous run defenses like the Chargers last season and the Bills this season.

Mendenhall was seventh in the NFL this season with 1,273 rushing yards, just 25 less than Adrian Peterson. But he averaged only 3.9 yards per carry, and just hadn't passed the eye test that defines a top-notch running back like Peterson.

But he did on Sunday.

The Jets' first mistake came when they won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. While it worked out well for them in the second half, it kept dangerous Brad Smith, and the Jets' offense, off the field for the first nine minutes of the game.

Mendenhall carried eight times for 28 yards on the Steelers' opening drive. He scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in which he stuck his arm across the goal line with Bart Scott trying to take him down.

The touchdown gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead. It also softened any emotional blow from the loss of Maurkice Pouncey on the previous play. Pouncey left the game with a high-ankle sprain. Even though he's barely old enough to drink, the rookie center has been so good this year that many of his older teammates look up to him.

But The Big Legursky filled in admirably, and the Steelers' first-half fireworks had just begun.

The centerpiece of Mendenhall's performance was his 35-yard run in the second quarter, putting the ball on the Jets' 27. Isaac Redman gave Mendenhall a breather and got the Steelers deeper into field goal range with runs of eight and 13 yards. Shaun Suisham's 20-yard field goal made it 10-0.

Mendenhall found a couple of other ways to help on the Steelers' next possession. With the Steelers at the Jets' 16 and all the receivers covered downfield, Mendenhall got open in the flat, caught a pass and rambled to the 2. That set up Roethlisberger's 2-yard touchdown run. Jets' linebacker Bryan Thomas was too worried about Mendenhall, and that opened a lane the size of the Tuscarora Tunnel for Roethlisberger, who scored to make it 17-0.

Then came the grand finale of the Steelers' first-half spectacle. How many times over the years have we seen one Steeler mug an opposing quarterback and another Steeler pick up the free ball and take it the other way?

It's quite a sight to behold.

It happened again Sunday when Ike Taylor strip sacked Sanchez, and William Gay cleaned up. Gay didn't just fall on the ball. Oh no. He hovered over it and positioned himself to grab it and take it to the house. With his dreadlocks, Gay has a little (and I do mean a little) of the flair that Troy Polamalu has on his takeaways.

Gay ran it back 19 yards for a touchdown to increase the Steelers' lead to 24-0 with 1:23 left in the first half, and Heinz Field was awash in an ear-splitting, Terrible Towel-waving celebration of Steelerism.

Little did anyone know that the reaction to Gay's touchdown would serve as the Steelers' sendoff party as they were deployed to a treacherous second half.

It was time to hunker down.

But they survived. Next stop: Dallas.

I guess Randle El can come, too.

Brown bags Ravens

AFC divisional playoffs: Steelers 31, Ravens 24

By Mike Batista

The Baltimore Ravens looked scary during the offseason, having acquired wide receivers Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. This gave them some pop in their offense to go with their always stellar defense.

The Steelers, however, trumped the addition of those two stars with a sixth-round draft pick.

With the score tied 24-24, the Steelers faced a third-and-19 from their own 38 with 2:07 left in the game. The first playoff overtime under the new rules loomed -- until Ben Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown.

The rookie from Central Michigan caught the ball on a fly pattern, then went all David Tyree and used his helmet to secure the ball before going out of bounds at the Ravens' 4.

Since returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the Steelers' 19-11 win at Tennessee in Week 2, Brown has been overshadowed by draftmate Emmanuel Sanders, who was chosen in the third round.

Sanders had 28 catches this season. Brown had 16. Sanders dressed for 13 games this season. Brown dressed for nine.

But on Saturday, Brown did what Boldin and Houshmandzadah couldn't. He held on to the ball when it mattered most.

The Ravens could have gone ahead 28-24 with four minutes left, but Boldin dropped a 6-yard Joe Flacco pass at the goal line, so they settled for a game-tying field goal.

After Rashard Mendenhall's 2-yard touchdown run gave the Steelers a 31-24 lead, the Ravens' last chance came on fourth-and-18 from their own 44. Flacco threw what would have been a first-down pass right into Houshmandzadeh's chest, but proving you can take the player out of Cincinnati, but you can't take the Cincinnati out of the player, Houshmandzadeh let it bounce to the ground.

Game over. Steelers back in the AFC championship game.

The Steelers, however, dropped the ball their fair share of times on Saturday. In fact, infamy beckoned as they faced a 14-point deficit.

An immeasurable comeback

This was one of those games that gets me in a ranking mood.

The Steelers' dramatic win, in which they came back from a 21-7 halftime hole, got me going through the file cabinet of my mind, trying to think of other Steelers playoff comebacks and where this ranks.

I've been watching the Steelers since 1979, but I must admit I needed the Internet the morning after to jog my memory and dust off the Steelers' 36-33 win over the Browns in a 2002 AFC wild-card game. Maybe it's because it was pre-Roethlisberger and pre-Polamalu, but I kind of forgot about that game.

Mathematically, that was a bigger comeback. They trailed 24-7 in the third quarter and 33-21 with less than five minutes left in that one.

But Saturday's comeback can't be measured with a calculator, a slide rule or an abacus. The Steelers not only needed to come back on the scoreboard, they needed to come back emotionally.

In a play that would have been talked about for decades had the Steelers lost, the Ravens' Cory Redding picked up a fumble at the Steelers' 13 and ran it in for a touchdown late in the first quarter.

Terrell Suggs hit Roethlisberger and forced the fumble, although the ball was fumbled forward, making it look like an incomplete pass. Even though there was no whistle, everyone on both teams stood around thinking the play was over.

Except Redding.

The Steelers' flub gave the Ravens a 14-7 lead and was reminiscent of blooper clips from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first year as an expansion team. Or maybe the Steelers of the 1930s and 1940s.

Bucco Bruce would have been proud.

They once were lost

The Steelers and Ravens entered this game so closely matched that their previous four games all were decided by three points. The Steelers had won nine of their 17 meetings since 2003, and in those games both teams had scored 302 points.

So in a game where just a blink or a twitch could have been the difference, here was this big, fat gaffe that gave the Ravens seven points.

It was like a guy being on a date and getting caught looking at the women's breasts right after they sit down at the table. Makes it awfully hard to get a second date. The guy's probably one and done.

So it seemed with the Steelers. But their first-half ineptitude didn't end with that play. In the second quarter, Rashard Mendenhall, playing in his first playoff game, fumbled at the Steelers' 16. That led to a 4-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to Todd Heap and a 21-7 Ravens lead.

Even on the fumble, there didn't seem to be much awareness that there was a fumble. It seemed odd that the pile of bodies wasn't untangling like it usually does after an ordinary play. It turns out it was no ordinary play, and the Steelers were again asleep at the switch.

After the play, Mike Tomlin stared wide-eyed at the scoreboard. His mouth opened briefly, revealing the green gum he chewed throughout the game. But no words came out. He was out of challenges, although that didn't matter because Mendenhall clearly fumbled the ball.

Tomlin, as well as his team, seemed lost.

Now there's a turnabout

The second half didn't start out much better. The Steelers didn't do much with their opening possession and had to punt.

Then, CBS showed its little graphic saying the Ravens had seven road playoff wins, tied for third most in the NFL all-time.

It's funny how having your ass kissed by CBS often turns into the kiss of death in the NFL.

Right after that, James Harrison sacked Flacco. Two plays after that, Ryan Clark forced a Ray Rice fumble, and LaMarr Woodley recovered at the Baltimore 23.

I watched the game at Bob Hyland's Sports Page in White Plains, which is not far from Rice's hometown of New Rochelle. The fumble quieted Rice's homies, who weren't wearing Ravens gear, but to that point had a lot more to cheer about than the dozen or so of us wearing black and gold.

It also led to a 9-yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller, cutting the Ravens' lead to 21-14.

Late in the third quarter, Clark intercepted Flacco at the Ravens' 42. The pick, along with the forced fumble, absolved Clark for his role in the Steelers' first-half follies, when he tried to help out Ike Taylor covering Derrick Mason and hit Taylor instead, nearly taking him out of the game.

This turnover set up an 8-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward, tying score at 21.

Flacco, clearly shaken by the events of the third quarter, fumbled a snap at his own 23 two plays into the Ravens' next possession. Brett Keisel recovered, and it turned into Shaun Suisham's 35-yard field goal, which gave the Steelers a 24-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.

After the Steelers held the Ravens to the field goal thanks to Boldin's drop, Mendenhall provided the winning points on his 2-yard run.

Bang for the buck

Mendenhall had only 46 yards on 20 carries, but most of those yards came at crucial times. His winning TD was his second short-yardage score. He opened the scoring with a 1-yard run on a second effort in the first quarter.

More than half of Mendenhall's yards came on two carries that sparked the Steelers' touchdown drives in the third quarter.

Immediately after Rice's fumble, Mendenhall ran 14 yards to the 9. Then came the 9-yard pass to Miller that made it 21-14.

On the first play after Clark's interception, Mendenhall went 13 yards to the Ravens' 12. Three plays later, Ward tied it with his touchdown.

It was the first time the Steelers came back from 14 points down in any game since their last playoff loss, in 2007 at home to Jacksonville. They trailed 28-10 in that game and took a 29-28 lead before losing 31-29.

But that Steelers team was decimated by injuries and not expected to go very far in the playoffs.

Expectations are much higher for this team, a team that on Saturday not only escaped the Ravens, but also infamy.

Sign of the times

By Mike Batista

Baltimore and Pittsburgh were nice little sports rivals in the 1970s. They met in the World Series in 1971 and 1979, with the Pirates winning both times, I might add.

Friendly mascots ran around and umpires wore burgundy blazers. The Orioles sported their flaming orange shirts with the cartoonish Oriole logo on their caps, while the Pirates donned their bright yellow jerseys.

Such was life in the flamboyant 70s.

This is a little different.

The Steelers and Ravens wear the foreboding colors of black and purple, which will form a nice ensemble with the black and blue that is sure to develop.

Bad things happen when the Steelers and Ravens play. Ray Lewis broke Rashard Mendenhall's shoulder in 2008, costing him his rookie season. In the AFC championship game that year, Willis McGahee was carried off on a stretcher. Last month, Ben Roethlisberger's nose was mashed up and Heath Miller got a concussion.

For all the talk about Roethlisberger's escapades last March in Milledgeville, let's not forget Ray Lewis' exploits 11 years ago in Atlanta. There are going to be some bad boys battling on that field today.

It will be cold and there will be snow. Or maybe those flakes will be nuclear fallout.

This ain't "We Are Family." This is Armageddon.

Bad date

Jets 22, Steelers 17

By Mike Batista

This was like "Hitch" in reverse.

Mike Tomlin, who despite looking like Omar Epps could be played by a bulked-up Will Smith, might be smoother and more articulate than blowhard Jets coach Rex Ryan, who could be played by a bulked-up Kevin James. But on Sunday, Ryan outwitted Tomlin in the Jets' win over the Steelers.

With the Steelers leading 17-10 in the third quarter, Ryan decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Steelers' 7-yard-line. Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez, a pretty boy who probably doesn't need Hitch-type counseling, faked a handoff to Shonn Greene and ran untouched around the left side for the game-tying touchdown.

Riverboat Rex gambled and won. And so did the Jets.

Hopefully the postgame handshake between Tomlin and Ryan didn't go like this:


Safety pin

There's something emasculating about a safety, considering the indignity of being tackled in your own end zone, then having to give the ball to the other team.

But emasculation was the least of the Steelers' problems when Jason Taylor, another Jets' pretty boy, tackled Mewelde Moore in the end zone. Those two points increased the Jets' lead to 22-17 and took away a field goal as an option as the Steelers tried to come back with 2:45 to play.

Because of his sure-handedness, Moore often gets the ball when the Steelers are deep in their own end. But Taylor, who by the way was born in Pittsburgh on Sept. 1, 1974, exactly two weeks before the Steelers opened their first championship season, got through because there was a missed blocking assignment on the left side of the Steelers' offensive line.

It's too bad, because the O-Line was just one of the problems the Steelers seem to have solved in this game.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

Ben Roethlisberger was sacked just once in the first three quarters, but twice in the fourth quarter to stunt Steelers drives after they had fallen behind.

The Steelers even curbed the penalties. They were good boys in the first half with no infractions. Unfortunately, they got stupid in the second half. An unnecessary roughness penalty on Ryan Clark (and yes, it was a penalty) added 15 yards to a 15-yard reception by Braylon Edwards, putting the ball on the Steelers' 16 and leading to Sanchez's tying touchdown.

On the ensuing possession, Flozell Adams apparently let Darrelle Revis get under his skin despite having eight inches and 140 pounds on him. The personal foul just about negated a 17-yard pass to Mike Wallace and dragged the Steelers back to their 31.

The Steelers regained their discipline, but that brief flurry of knuckleheadedness proved costly.

Even Rashard Mendenhall didn't make me want to hit myself in the head with a hammer for a change. His dance moves were actually effective Sunday as he gained 100 yards on 17 carries. He also had a touchdown to give the Steelers a 17-10 lead in the third quarter.

But the lead was short-lived, and the Steelers (10-4) lost despite looking better in a lot of areas than they have in a few weeks. Perhaps looks don't matter and "Hitch" was full of shit.

Nothing special

No, the Steelers didn't lose because Troy Polamalu was out, even though he might have been able to cover some ground on the perimeter when Sanchez scored his touchdown.

Somehow I can never get through a column without mentioning the Steelers' Five-Game Losing Streak of 2009. It's hard to forget considering its Titanic-like effect.

Polamalu's injury wasn't the only reason the Steelers lost five in a row last season. Special teams was another culprit. The Steelers allowed two touchdowns on kickoff returns during that slide, including one on the opening kickoff against the Chiefs.

That's exactly what happened Sunday. The Jets came into Heinz Field with their heads hanging after a 45-3 loss at New England and a 10-6 loss at home to the Dolphins. But on Sunday the Steelers allowed Brad Smith to return the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. That got the Jets (10-4) back on the right track a lot more effectively than Ryan burying the football after the loss to the Patriots.

Tomlin might make empty promises to unleash hell, but he wouldn't do anything that cheesy.

The Steelers eventually answered Smith's touchdown. But they had no answer for Nick Folk's 34-yard field goal with 10:11 left in the game, which gave the Jets the lead for good at 20-17.

As debilitating as it was, the safety didn't finish off the Steelers. They forced a three-and-out and got the ball at their 8 with 2:08 left and one timeout. A 22-yard scramble by Roethlisberger and a 29-yard pass to Emmanuel Sanders on third-and-24 highlighted the Steelers' march to the Jets' 10 with nine seconds left.

But that's as far as they went. Perhaps Heath Miller would have come in handy.

Minimal Damage

Funny how there's less Pittsburgh talk-radio chatter about the Steelers getting another shot at the Patriots in the playoffs.

But somehow the Steelers clinched a playoff berth Sunday, and to figure out the mathematical formula that got them in the playoffs, we need the help of this New Englander:

There's no need to fill a blackboard to figure out how the Steelers get a first-round bye. They just have to win their last two games.

Even though there's been talk about Polamalu sitting out the rest of the regular season, from Tomlin's press conference Monday, it sounds like he could be back Thursday against Carolina. I say let him rest for two more weeks, and have him ready for Cleveland if the Steelers need that game. If the Steelers can't win at home against the 2-12 Panthers, Polamalu or no Polamalu, they don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

The Steelers might have lost five in a row without Polamalu last season, but they also won three in a row without him to end the season, two of those wins coming against playoff teams.

Considering their playoff berth and the fact they control their own destiny, the Steelers got off light with this loss. Losing to Carolina or Cleveland would be a lot more costly.

Finding religion

Saints 20, Steelers 10

By Mike Batista

It figures God finally got me when the Steelers played the Saints.

In 2007, my rookie year as a Steelers blogger, I coined the nickname "Hands of God" for Heath Miller after he helped the Steelers come from behind for a 31-28 win over the Browns.

He now has been stripped of that moniker, just like he was stripped of the ball Sunday night.

The Steelers trailed 13-10 with less than seven minutes left when Miller took a pass from Ben Roethlisberger near midfield and rumbled to the fringe of field goal range.

The Saints' Marvin Mitchell jarred the ball loose. Darren Sharper recovered the fumble before it even hit the ground, and the Saints eventually scored the clinching touchdown in their 20-10 victory.

That's what I get for comparing the skills of a Steelers player to God.

Miller's gaffe is my penance for violating Section 2, Paragraph 12, Line J of the First Commandment.

Or maybe it's penance for my blatant disregard for the Second and Third commandments every Sunday during football season.

Or maybe it was just God's way of telling me that He never would have fumbled in that situation.

On KDKA the Fan, Vinnie Richichi and Ron Cook were preaching forgiveness for Sunday night's loss. Oh, the Saints (5-3) needed this game more than the Steelers. Oh, the Steelers are still 5-2.

Folks, in this era of Steelers football, it's very difficult to excuse a loss. The Steelers have won two of the last five Super Bowls and are expected to make a run at a championship every year as long as Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu are healthy.

The Steelers will need to go to confession for this loss. They easily could have won this game. Momentum was squarely on their side when Miller coughed up the ball.

Rashard Mendenhall ran 38 yards for a touchdown to pull the Steelers to within 13-10 with just under 11 minutes left in the game. The Saints reached the Steelers 20 on their ensuing possession when Bryant McFadden sacked Drew Brees and forced a fumble. LaMarr Woodley recovered at the 27.

A 12-yard pass to Matt Spaeth (yes, he's still on the team) and a 2-yard gain by Mendenhall was followed by Miller's flub.

A turnover into the hands of Darren Sharper almost would have been forgivable last season, when the Saints seemed blessed during their championship run. Turnovers were a big part of the Saints' success, and Sharper seemed to be in the middle of it all.

But this isn't 2009. The Saints struggled going into this game and were slapped around by the Browns in the Superdome the week before.

That's hard to swallow. The Browns beat the Saints in New Orleans but the Steelers couldn't. It's like going out with a girl you know put out for previous boyfriends, but never getting any yourself.

The most basic sign of football virility is the ability to penetrate the end zone from the 1-yard line, and the Steelers again failed to measure up in that department Sunday.

Antwan Randle-El finally did something besides fair-catching punts when he took a 12-yard pass from Roethlisberger and scored an apparent touchdown early in the second quarter. But it was overturned by replay, giving the Steelers a first-and-goal from the 1.

On first down, Isaac Redman lost a yard. Redman, an undrafted free agent from Bowie State, was dubbed "Red Zone" Redman in 2009 for his prowess in goal line drills during training camp.

Guess what. There's a big difference between practicing on the campus of a quaint little college in August and playing for real in front of Guinness world record mass of Halloween revelers in New Orleans.

Not even in the Big Easy is scoring in goal line situations easy for the Steelers. It never has been since Jerome Bettis retired.

Mendenhall, who ended up with 71 rushing yards on 15 carries, might turn out to be a better overall running back than Bettis, but he couldn't get the ball into the end zone, either. He at least made up for Redman's lost yardage on second down. Then on third down, he was stopped.

What I can't understand is why Mendenhall went to his right on both of those plays and not just up the gut. The Steelers were in their power formation with tight end David Johnson lined up in front of Mendenhall.

The Steelers settled for a field goal (not even Jeff Reed is going to miss from 19 yards out) to take a 3-0 lead. That's at least four points the Steelers left out there. Who knows how many points Miller's fumble cost?

After Miller's fumble, NBC ran a graphic that said Miller didn't fumble in the first 58 games of his career, but has fumbled four times in the last 27 games.

Maybe it's time for Miller to carry the ball everywhere he goes around the Steelers' practice facility, with $100 going to anyone who can take it away from him.

Hopefully Miller won't need that treatment. Maybe the steep price of Sunday's fumble will be a wake-up call for him to take care of the ball like he did earlier in his career.

Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise that the Steelers got this stinker out of their system now. Next week, they're at Cincinnati in a division game and the week after they host the Patriots in The Game You Must Not Lose.

Wins in those games might put me in a more forgiving mood.

Jolly good fun

Steelers 38, Buccaneers 13

By Mike Batista

The Steelers' September Sweatfest Tour took them from the heat of Tennessee last week to the heat of Tampa Bay on Sunday.

If Tennessee had been a House of Horrors for the Steelers before they punched the Titans in the mouth last week, Raymond James Stadium has been a Fun House for the franchise over the past decade.

The Steelers' last two visits to the home of the Jolly Roger included a Super Bowl victory two years ago and an electrifying Monday-night mugging of the Super Bowl-champions-to-be Buccaneers in 2002.

On Sunday, the Steelers returned to their favorite Florida getaway and came back with more cherished memories for the scrapbook.

Charlie Batch will be able to tell his grandkids (and I wouldn't be surprised if he actually was a grandfather) about the game he had Sunday. In his first start since the meaningless regular-season finale in 2007, Batch completed 12 of 17 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns. It was one of the best games of his workmanlike, 13-year career.

Batch overcame an interception on his first throw with TD passes to Mike Wallace for 46 and 41 yards.

In between those touchdowns, Batch highlighted a drive by scrambling 24 yards to the Bucs' 24. Then, as if to prove he didn't need an oxygen mask after the longest run of his career, the 35-year-old Batch threw 21 yards to Heath Miller on the next play, setting up Rashard Mendenhall's 3-yard touchdown run and a 14-6 Steelers lead.

Playing behind an offensive line that had Max Starks back at left tackle and Doug (The Big) Legursky replacing injured Trai Essex at right guard, Batch wasn't sacked. It was the Steelers' first sack-free game since their Week 12 loss in Baltimore last season. Of course, they were protecting lightning-quick Dennis Dixon in that game. While Batch obviously doesn't have the mobility of Dixon, "slippery" might be a good word to describe his presence in the pocket.

Batch's third TD pass came with 19 seconds left in the first half, a 9-yard connection with Hines Ward to give the Steelers a 28-6 lead.

When watching the game at Public House, a Steelers bar in Manhattan, I saw Batch going into the locker room before the end of the half. I thought maybe he was hurt, but was relieved to find out he apparently just wanted to get an extra minute or two out of the brutal Florida sun.

You know things are going well for the Steelers when you worry about Charlie Batch going into the locker room.

Batch isn't the only Steeler who had a once-in-a-lifetime game.

Brett Keisel, a 285-pound defensive end, 315 pounds if you count the beard, opened the fourth quarter by intercepting a tipped pass and returning it 79 yards for a touchdown and a 38-6 Steelers lead.

The Steelers entered the game with an NFL-high eight forced turnovers and added two on Sunday. This is what was missing last season. Turnovers aren't just window dressing for a defense, they are a necessary element of winning. In the vast majority of NFL victories, the winning offense gets to work with a short field at least once or twice. Making teams punt the ball away is nice, but it's too passive of an approach for a championship defense.

Ryan Clark grabbed the Steelers' other turnover Sunday, recovering a fumble that was forced by James Farrior. It set up Wallace's second touchdown.

Troy Polamalu, who had an interception in each of the first two games, had an interception Sunday, too. It just didn't count.

Polamalu got off work early in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand when Bucs' quarterback Josh Freeman threw the ball out of bounds. Polamalu, with his helmet off and the Head & Shoulders locks in full regalia, caught the ball.

Not that the Steelers needed to provide any other form of entertainment for their fans on this afternoon, but Polamalu's off-duty catch added a few laughs to the show.

Along with the surprises of a clean game by the O-Line, Old Man Batch's scramble and Diesel Keisel's ramble, there was also the standard fare of Dancing With Rashard, and for once Mendenhall's steps were not just fancy but also functional.

Three plays before Batch's run, another 35-year-old figured prominently when Bucs' cornerback Ronde Barber tried to close in on Mendenhall. The running back spun his way into a different route, avoiding any contact with Barber, and completed a 15-yard run.

Mendenhall ran for 143 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown, a big reason why the Steelers finally found a way to put some real points on the board without Ben Roethlisberger, who will be back in the locker room a week from today.

More games like that will be expected from Mendenhall long after Roethlisberger comes back. Batch's body of work in Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is nearly complete. After almost being cut before the start of the season, Sunday's performance was an Abe Vigoda-like resurrection of his distinguished seven-year career as the Steelers' backup quarterback.

All he has to do is mind the store on offense for another week. If the Steelers can beat the Ravens at home on Sunday, it will give them their first 4-0 start since 1979. Regardless of the outcome, another game as the starter (and I think we'll be spared any hemming and hawing this week about who will start) will enhance Batch's role as sideline counselor to Roethlisberger.

If Roethlisberger hadn't already learned his lesson, hopefully he learned it Sunday. Like the one kid who couldn't go on the class trip, he missed out on a fun day for the Steelers.