OT: NFL

[Chuck Norris]

Rudolph's end zone pick didn't help matters much, but he at least got the Steelers into the playoffs. He's earned the chance to win QB1 in Latrobe this summer at the very least.



Yeah, TJ Watt didn't commit a costly first half fumble like George Pickens did, nor did Watt throw an end zone interception as Rudolph did. Could Watt have helped a depleted Steelers defense? Maybe. Then again, the Bills are a little more battle tested in the postseason compared to the Steelers.

Missing the best defensive player in football was a massive loss, there’s no maybe about that. Buffalo was a better team whether Watt plays or not, but he certainly could’ve made a few plays that affected the outcome.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Rudolph's end zone pick didn't help matters much, but he at least got the Steelers into the playoffs. He's earned the chance to win QB1 in Latrobe this summer at the very least.



Yeah, TJ Watt didn't commit a costly first half fumble like George Pickens did, nor did Watt throw an end zone interception as Rudolph did. Could Watt have helped a depleted Steelers defense? Maybe. Then again, the Bills are a little more battle tested in the postseason compared to the Steelers.

It’s unlikely Rudolph will be in Pittsburgh next fall. His contract expires and he probably showed enough to get interest from other teams. If one of them offers him the chance to compete for QB1, you have to believe he’s going to jump at it. Pittsburgh is likely to only have Kenny Pickett on the roster in the QB room heading into the draft. I can’t see them keeping Mitch around. I think that guy will be out of football.

The Steelers could have a real problem on their hands. Rudolph is the best QB they have, but I’m certain he won’t get a fair shot at winning the job because they have a first round pick at that position sitting there. I fully expect him to leave. That’s the business of the NFL. Not only does Pickett not look like a franchise QB, I’m not sure he’s an NFL QB for long. So where do they go from here? Do they draft another QB? Is the pool of QB’s coming out deep enough to warrant that? Anyone on the free agent market worth bringing in? Baker Mayfield sure looks good, but he’s a lot more expensive now and probably wants to stay in Tampa anyway.

For those old enough to remember, this sure feels like the 80’s when the Steelers struggled to replace Terry Bradshaw. Here are some names that should scare the hell out of Steelers fans: Cliff Stoudt, Mark Malone, Bubby Brister, Mike Tomczak, Kordell Stewart, Tommy Maddox. I’ll give Neil O’Donnell a pass. In other words, it could be a while before Pittsburgh has the type of team to make a serious run in the post-season.

[ctrabs74]

Interesting offseason upcoming in Pittsburgh. Tomlin walked out of his postgame presser when a question was asked about his future. He was probably just angry about getting asked the question a few minutes after the season ended, but speculation is sure to run rampant. The game was a microcosm of the whole season. They clearly weren’t good enough, but they fought hard. Mason started rough but hung tough and who knows what happens if the d gets them the ball back down 24-17. I think he deserves a real shot at the starting job, but I’ll be surprised if he gets it.

Rudolph's end zone pick didn't help matters much, but he at least got the Steelers into the playoffs. He's earned the chance to win QB1 in Latrobe this summer at the very least.

The point was made last week that making the playoffs might be a bad thing long term because it may lead to them sticking with the status quo. This game sort of played out along those same lines. They made just enough of a game of it after the bad start that you wonder if they’ll just say to themselves, “if TJ plays, we win that game”, and needed changes aren’t made.

Yeah, TJ Watt didn't commit a costly first half fumble like George Pickens did, nor did Watt throw an end zone interception as Rudolph did. Could Watt have helped a depleted Steelers defense? Maybe. Then again, the Bills are a little more battle tested in the postseason compared to the Steelers.

[ctrabs74]

I'm not surprised that Buffalo won, but I thought the Bills had been too inconsistent that the Steelers would've had a chance to steal a win. Those first half turnovers were way too much to overcome.

Meanwhile, the Iggles are getting bounced out of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion by Tampa Bay, 32-9. If Nick Siriani still has a job when the Iggles' plane lands tomorrow morning, I'll be shocked.

[Chuck Norris]

Interesting offseason upcoming in Pittsburgh. Tomlin walked out of his postgame presser when a question was asked about his future. He was probably just angry about getting asked the question a few minutes after the season ended, but speculation is sure to run rampant. The game was a microcosm of the whole season. They clearly weren’t good enough, but they fought hard. Mason started rough but hung tough and who knows what happens if the d gets them the ball back down 24-17. I think he deserves a real shot at the starting job, but I’ll be surprised if he gets it.

The point was made last week that making the playoffs might be a bad thing long term because it may lead to them sticking with the status quo. This game sort of played out along those same lines. They made just enough of a game of it after the bad start that you wonder if they’ll just say to themselves, “if TJ plays, we win that game”, and needed changes aren’t made.

[ctrabs74]

Yeah...they seemed to forget Big Dick Nick torched one of his defenses pretty good.

If you wanna talk about frauds, how 'bout them Cowboys defense? The Cheese-its ran Aaron Jones right through that vaunted defense which couldn't stop a run attack to save their collective lives and Dak Prescott (again) demonstrated that he's not the big game quarterback you'd want in a postseason game. Maybe the Cowgirls should stop chirping about how great they are and actually prove it during an actual postseason game.

[ctrabs74]

Why didn’t they move the Chefs/Flippers game too? A night game at -30 windchill. Brilliant.

Probably because the threat of snow wasn't as extreme in the Kansas City Metro area compared to Western New York and the region's notorious Lake Effect Storm threats.

Kinda reminds me of that Iggles regular season game against Minnys-odor back in 2010 which was moved to a Tuesday night because of heavy snows which struck Philly (the postponement drawing the ire of one Edward G Rendell, who I think was still governor at the time).

[IUPNation]

Why didn’t they move the Chefs/Flippers game too? A night game at -30 windchill. Brilliant.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

4:30 Eastern.

Whole lot of peeps calling in sick

[laker]

Steelers vs Bills will now play on Monday due to weather.

4:30 Eastern.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Steelers vs Bills will now play on Monday due to weather.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Fat Bastard doesn’t look quite the genius without Eric Bienemy. It’s just obvious that a good staff is necessary…and Sirianni doesn’t have two good coordinators .

All left standing are 0-0 now.

[IUPNation]

It hasn't exactly worked out well for Bienemy in Washington so far... maybe a new head coach will make things better, though nothing short of a complete rebuild is going to salvage the Commies at this point.

And, yeah, Matt Patricia isn't going to cut it in Philly unless the braintrust is gullible enough to keep him around.

Yeah...they seemed to forget Big Dick Nick torched one of his defenses pretty good.

[ctrabs74]

Fat Bastard doesn’t look quite the genius without Eric Bienemy. It’s just obvious that a good staff is necessary…and Sirianni doesn’t have two good coordinators .

It hasn't exactly worked out well for Bienemy in Washington so far... maybe a new head coach will make things better, though nothing short of a complete rebuild is going to salvage the Commies at this point.

And, yeah, Matt Patricia isn't going to cut it in Philly unless the braintrust is gullible enough to keep him around.

[IUPNation]

Because it looks like Siriani is being exposed as a bigger fraud than Potato Chip was with the Iggles. It's still a headscratcher that the Iggles started 10-1 and end up losing five of their last six. Haven't we seen that script before down at Broad and Pattison?

Fat Bastard doesn’t look quite the genius without Eric Bienemy. It’s just obvious that a good staff is necessary…and Sirianni doesn’t have two good coordinators .