Pittsburgh had problems coming into this game.  They were coming off a loss where the offense looked pretty anemic, had 3 Pro Bowlers out in Casey Hampton, Troy Polamalu, and Hines Ward, and lost their best offensive weapon Santonio Holmes in the pre-game warmups to an injury.

The Seahawks apparently didn't get the memo though, as the Steelers stumbled through a lackluster first half and then proceeded to put Seattle in the sleeper hold for most of the third and fourth quarters for a never-in-question, 21-0 home win.

The Goods: Big Ben played as well in this game as he's ever played.  He was 18/22 with 1 TD, didn't make bad decision, never pressed, and consequently the Steelers won.  I realize he wasn't really in many situations where he absolutely HAD to make a throw in this game, but lesser QBs in this league have screwed up easier games than this one.  

Willie Parker got his 102 yards but was largely ineffective for most of the day, most of which wasn't his fault.  Najeh Davenport looked good again as the COP back, scoring twice.  Also giving credit where credit is due, Ced Wilson hauled in six passes in the absence of any really good wideouts.  

The Bads: It's hard to harp on anyone much when you're talking about a shutout home win, but I'll try.  Nate Washington was pretty unspectacular at wideout, but what do you expect when he's playing against anyone's starting corners?  The aforementioned Ced Wilson got his six catches but he really only seemed to get open on second chances when Roethlisberger shook pressure or otherwise bought time.  That however is classic Wilson, it's just what he does.

The offensive line was pretty substandard again this week, but obviously wasn't bad enough to lose the game.  Willie Colon had a pretty rough day at right tackle and across the board, the Steelers didn't appear to have a linemen athletic enough to get anywhere near Seattle LB Julian Peterson.

Bulleted spectacles of the day:

• The TV crew comprised of the unbearable Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, a man with double digit lifetime concussions, barely mentioned that Santonio Holmes was out but had a mini wake when Seattle's Deion Branch had to leave the field.  It was a pretty boring game, you'd think they'd at least mention it to waste some time.
• The Steelers held the ball for 40+ minutes in the game and scored on a drive that totaled 110 yards with the penalties they took on it.  It's hard to lose when you do that.  Really, really hard.
• Pittsburgh's O-line was no peach, but Seattle's was downright atrocious.  The Steelers front seven diced them up, putting a lot of pressure of Matt Hasslebeck and perpetuating the thought that Shaun Alexander is washed up as a feature back.
• There was a crazy punt coverage sequence where a Seattle player swatted a punt back across the goal line and while the ball was rolling around, Steelers KR Allen Rossum ran in and touched the ball insighting a near riot while causing what was perceived as a near turnover.  However, as the rule reads, once a Seattle player touches the ball, Rossum can grab the punt and run without fear of turning the ball over no matter what.  Since all Rossum does is return kicks, I assume he's the only guy on the field (or in the stands) that knew the rule.

There was a contingent of people out there maintaining that Seattle was maybe the 2nd best team in the NFC prior to this game.  I'm thinking they were wrong.  And if they weren't then the Steelers are freaking awesome.  I remain suspicious of the Steelers, they have yet to win a close game or even one against a quality opponent...however, 4-1 is 4-1 and it's hard to be mad about that.

Tags: allen rossum, ben roethlisberger, casey hampton, cedrick wilson, hines ward, najeh davenport, nate washington, NFL, santonio holmes, steelers, troy polamalu, willie colon, willie parker

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