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| A HUGE gold star thank you goes out to Barry Blyler for generously contributing the 2015 season for the rest of us to enjoy. Kudos, Barry!
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2015 Steelers 43 vs 49ers 18
Big Ben is nearly perfect, hitting 21 of 27 for 369 yds and 3 TDs, DeAngelo Williams ties a team record with 3 rushing TDs and Antonio Brown shreds the Niners secondary with 9 catches for 195 yds and a TD. The explosive Steeler offense scores early and often and even convert a pair of early 2-point tries, undeterred by the absence of starters LeVeon Bell and Martavis Bryant (out due to substance abuse violations). Ryan Shazier tallies a career-high 15 tackles and 1 of Pittsburgh's 5 sacks of Colin Kaepernick. Despite moving the ball well at times, the Niners fail to covert yards into points as drives of 17 and 18 plays net only 3 points.
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2015 Steelers 38 vs Raiders 35
In a must-win thriller, Antonio Brown runs Charles Woodson ragged for a team record 284 yds on 17 catches, none bigger than his 57-yd catch-and-run in the final minute of the game to set up Boswell's game-winning FG with 2 seconds left. The Steelers have a scary moment when Ben Roethlisberger, who passes for 334 yds and throws 2 TDs in a span of 71 seconds in the 4th quarter, injures his left foot on a sack and has to be helped (and eventually carted) off the field. DeAngelo Williams fills in spectacularly for an injured Le'Veon Bell, piling up 170 yds and 2 TDs on 27 carries and adds 55 yds receiving as the Steelers overcome Oakland's 4th quarter rally to get their season back on track.
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2015 Steelers 30 vs Browns 9
For only the 2nd time in his career, Big Ben enters a game as a backup. Still nursing a badly sprained foot and wearing a special protective shoe, Ben comes off the bench midway through the 1st quarter when backup Landry Jones goes down with an ankle injury. With limited mobility and playing almost exclusively from the shotgun, Roethlisberger is immediately awesome, shredding Cleveland for 286 yds and 2 TDs by halftime and finishing with 379 yds and 3 TDs, a record for the most passing yds ever by a QB who didn't start the game. Johnny Manziel has the most productive game of his brief NFL career with 372 passing yds, but suffers an INT, a fumble and 6 sacks and nearly has his head ripped off on a facemask by Arthur Moats. Martavis Bryant catches 6 passes for 178 yds and a TD on a beautiful rainbow bomb, and Antonio Brown grabs 10 passes for 139 yds and 2 TDs, including a 56-yd TD catch-and-run in which Brown does a complete flip as he crosses the goal line, punctuating the win by sticking the landing.
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2015 Steelers 33 at Bengals 20
A scuffle breaks out before the game even starts when @$$hole extraordinaire Vontaze Burfict wanders onto Pittsburgh's side of the field during pregame warm-ups. Burfict's douchiness continues throughout the game with after-the-whistle hits, constant instigating and worst of all, a flagrant cheap shot clearly meant to injure Ben Roethlisberger. Burfict dives full steam into Roethlisberger's lower legs after Ben throws a pass, but amazingly, Ben picks himself up and goes on to the next play. Equally amazing, no flags are thrown despite the obvious penalty. Ironically, flags fly everywhere in response to William Gay's "excessive celebration" after his perfectly timed 23-yd pick-6 blows open the game early in the 3rd, extending Pittsburgh's lead to 23-7. Ben is sharp, especially in the first half (although the Steelers settle for too many Chris Boswell FGs) and the defense picks off 3 passes, the first of which (by Stephon Tuitt) results in a broken hand for Andy Dalton when he tries to make the tackle, ending his season.
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2015 Steelers 34 vs Broncos 27
After falling behind 27-10 in the first half to the 10-3 Peyton Manning-less Broncos, the Steelers explode for 24 unanswered points on the arm of Big Ben (40 of 55, 380 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT). Pittsburgh's running game is non-existent (just 23 yds on 17 carries), but Antonio Brown is unstoppable, catching 16 of the 18 balls thrown in his direction for 189 yds and 2 TDs. Denver backup QB Brock Osweiler shocks the Steelers for 4 TDs in the first half (3 passing, 1 rushing), but struggles in the second half (7 of 26 for 84 yds) and throws a devastating 4th quarter INT to Ryan Shazier, setting up AB's game-winning TD catch.
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2015 Steelers 28 at Browns 12
Pittsburgh's defense forces 7 sacks and 4 turnovers, Ben Roethlisberger hits 10 of his first 11 passes en route to 3 TDs and 349 yds (including 187 yds on a team record 13 catches by Antonio Brown) and the Steelers get the help they need from the Bills (who knock off the Jets) to slip into the postseason. Leading just 17-12 in the 4th quarter, Lawrence Timmons forces a sack-fumble inside Cleveland's 10-yard line. Arthur Moats recovers and Roethlisberger hits Markus Wheaton for a TD on the next play to blow the game open, setting up the rubber match with Cinci in the playoffs.
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2015 AFC Wildcard Steelers 18 at Bengals 16
Question: Who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals? Answer: Vontaze Burfict and Pac-Man Jones. lol :)
The Steelers seem to have the game firmly under control late in the 3rd when Roethlisberger beats a blitz with a quick pass to Antonio Brown, who spins out of one tackle, steps over another and races 60 yds to the Cinci 10. Two plays later, Martavis Bryant makes a RIDICULOUS head-over-heels catch, snagging the ball high then doing a complete flip while pinning the ball to his butt to extend Pittsburgh's lead to 15-0.
But on the last play of the 3rd quarter, everything changes. Vontaze Burfict sacks Ben, bringing him down HARD on his right shoulder and knocking him out of the game. With Ben sidelined and the rain coming down harder, the Steelers rapidly blow their lead, doing nothing on offense behind backup QB Landry Jones while allowing Cinci to score on 3 consecutive drives, capped by A.J. Green's 25-yd TD catch with 1:50 left.
On Pittsburgh's next offensive play, Landry Jones throws an INT right to Burfict. With 1:36 remaining, Cinci has the lead, the ball, and a 1st and 10 at the Steeler 26. Game over, right? Wrong.
Cinci is Cinci. Instead of taking a knee, RB Jeremy Hill takes a handoff with one job: hold onto the ball. He can't. Amazingly, Ryan Shazier rips the ball away from Hill and the Steelers pounce on it at the Bengal 9.
With 1:23 to play, in comes Roethlisberger riding a white stallion to save the day. Playing through the pain, Ben completes 5 of 7 passes and guides the Steelers to the Cinci 47 with 22 seconds left. Ben's next pass to Antonio Brown falls incomplete, but Burfict cheap-shots the defenseless receiver with a brutal shoulder to the head and flags fly for unnecessary roughness.
As Steelers trainers tend to AB on the field, the Bengals argue with the officials and for some reason, Adam "Pac Man" Jones attacks Steelers assistant Joey Porter, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct call. 30 yds in penalties, and just like that, the Steelers move from the 47 to the 17. Out trots Chris Boswell, who drills the 35-yd chip shot to win the game. And the rain falls like tears in Cincinnati. LOL. Same old Bungles.
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