Don’t throw this season away just yet, Steeler fans. There is still a glimmer of hope.
Just as fans were throwing in the towel, the Steelers promptly beat the Buffalo Bills, 23-10.
The defense seemed to take out their frustrations on the Bills, holding them to a mere 227 total yards and one touchdown late in the game.
The offense, although looking stagnant at some parts, played pretty well behind RB Le’Veon Bell’s 96 yards rushing and one touchdown.
But the real story came shortly after the end of this game. AFC North fans alike rejoiced at the Baltimore Ravens leading the Cincinnati Bengals 17-0.
But just like that, the Bengals trailed by only seven points with 30 seconds left in the game.
After quarterback Andy Dalton was sacked, they spiked the ball right around midfield with two seconds left. It would take a Hail Mary to send the game into OT.
Well, prayer answered. Dalton fired the ball into the end zone where almost every receiver and defensive back tried to get a hand on it.
The swarm of players tipped it up, tipped higher up by Ravens safety James Ihedigbo. The ball seemed to float in the air for an eternity until it fell right into the arms of the only player not in the scrum, Bengals WR A.J. Green.
“And I was just looking for someone to tap the ball so I could catch it. I stood off to the side and watched. I was thinking about coming back closer to the ball but I stayed right where I was and the ball found me. It would have been a great play had we won,” Green said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. This is according to www.profootballtalk.nbcsports.com.
A surreal moment like that surely should have given the Bengals momentum into OT, but it didn’t.
After failing to convert a 4th and 2, the Ravens drove the ball into field goal range. Kicker Justin Tucker sealed the victory for the Ravens, maybe a little later than expected, but their fans didn’t mind.
Like the Steelers and Browns, the Ravens were now right back in the division race.
It may be an extremely uphill battle for the Steelers especially, but 2.5 games out of the division lead is by no means an impossible goal to achieve with seven games left in the season.
Right now, no team in the AFC North stands out as the favorite, so it is up to the Steelers to rise up and take the division before the season’s end.
After all, Ryan Clark did predict a playoff berth shortly after going 0-4.
