NFL GAME DAY DISCUSSION Week 7 TNF: Steelers at Bengals

[ViperGTS]

Watching last night's game reminded me why I am glad the Patriots never went the Steelers' route. They are in an endless doom loop of being good enough to contend for the playoffs, but not good enough to win a playoff game. The Patriots have won a Super Bowl more recently than the Steelers won a playoff game.

I was never really all that upset that the Pats sucked for the last few years because I knew that in the NFL it is what it takes for a team to get their franchise QB to become a contender. It isn't a guarantee because a lot of teams like the Jets spend decades in their endless doom loop of sucking and drafting QBs high only to ruin them. But teams with good ownership like the Patriots tend to pull themselves out of those doom loops.

The Pats have gotten their next franchise QB only five years after Brady. Roethlisberger was toast before Brady left the Pats and the Steelers are nowhere close to finding a new young franchise QB. They will not be able to draft one next year unless they get lucky and one falls to them. Odds are good they will get a veteran QB as a short term solution in the offseason who will be good enough to help the Steelers to win 9-10 games and unable able to draft a franchise QB in 2027. And the doom loop continues.

Bingo, Thats why I loathed the so called "fans" rooting for wins when the team was 2-12 or whatever. If you are in the suck, you need to SUCK and keep sucking until you hit the QB and then even suck for another season to get more high end talent. Mayo and the Angry Leprechaun ****ed the Pats last year.

 

[Vindicate]

Watching last night's game reminded me why I am glad the Patriots never went the Steelers' route. They are in an endless doom loop of being good enough to contend for the playoffs, but not good enough to win a playoff game. The Patriots have won a Super Bowl more recently than the Steelers won a playoff game.

I was never really all that upset that the Pats sucked for the last few years because I knew that in the NFL it is what it takes for a team to get their franchise QB to become a contender. It isn't a guarantee because a lot of teams like the Jets spend decades in their endless doom loop of sucking and drafting QBs high only to ruin them. But teams with good ownership like the Patriots tend to pull themselves out of those doom loops.

The Pats have gotten their next franchise QB only five years after Brady. Roethlisberger was toast before Brady left the Pats and the Steelers are nowhere close to finding a new young franchise QB. They will not be able to draft one next year unless they get lucky and one falls to them. Odds are good they will get a veteran QB as a short term solution in the offseason who will be good enough to help the Steelers to win 9-10 games and unable able to draft a franchise QB in 2027. And the doom loop continues.

Look at the Bengals. 8-8 hell with Marvin Lewis for so long. They finally crash, look for a new HC, get Joe Burrow.

Ahem, now, hopefully you get a HC better than Zac Taylor and an organization that can draft an OL to save who I think could possibly be the best QB in the league, but that's another discussion. Point being - the Bengals are great example of what being stuck in .500 hell can look like and how down years actually can replenish teams.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Zac Taylor coached his ass off last night. Beat the future 1st ballot hall of famer!
Huge win!

 

[Sciz]

Peppers again played 0 defensive snaps. In his 5 games with the Steelers:

0
43 (vs Pats)
0
10
0

 

[ErniesPinkStripes]

Rodgers is still a good QB but has been such a massive doosh for the last 15 years or so

Plus let's be real, he's a choker. 1 ring at the beginning of his HOF career is pretty fkin lame for the level of arrogance he carries.

 

[Rob0729]

Look at the Bengals. 8-8 hell with Marvin Lewis for so long. They finally crash, look for a new HC, get Joe Burrow.

Ahem, now, hopefully you get a HC better than Zac Taylor and an organization that can draft an OL to save who I think could possibly be the best QB in the league, but that's another discussion. Point being - the Bengals are great example of what being stuck in .500 hell can look like and how down years actually can replenish teams.

The Bengals has gotten to the AFCCG twice and the Super Bowl once since they drafted Burrow.

 

[mike_usagisan]

The Bengals has gotten to the AFCCG twice and the Super Bowl once since they drafted Burrow.

They're also destroying him with bad oline.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Bengals and Joe Flacco did us a solid last night. ****sburgh still owns the tie breaker on NE, but I think they'll slip along with Indy, LAC and Jax.

If the Pats take care of business with their easy schedule, they will get the #1 seed.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Bengals and Joe Flacco did us a solid last night. ****sburgh still owns the tie breaker on NE, but I think they'll slip along with Indy, LAC and Jax.

If the Pats take care of business with their easy schedule, they will get the #1 seed.

That is such a crappy division, they might win it with barely a winning record.

 

[KCSVEN]

The Bengals has gotten to the AFCCG twice and the Super Bowl once since they drafted Burrow.

I look at it as 2 times since they drafted Chase. Burrow without Chase isn't the same.

The Bungles management has been unable to develop/sign/draft defensive players. IN 2022 they might have been a top 5 defense, straight downhill from there where in 2025 they might be the worst defense in the NFL.

You can average 30 a game but if your defense is also giving up 30, you'll eventually run into a high caliber defense in the playoffs, and you won't be able to keep up.

 

[Vindicate]

The Bengals has gotten to the AFCCG twice and the Super Bowl once since they drafted Burrow.

Because of Burrow and haven't been back because of Taylor and co. Under him the defense is abysmal, their OL is abysmal, and yet they have the best WR1/2 in the league by quite a bit. Haven't yet replaced Mixon's production. Lots to be desired from a coaching standpoint.

 

[Rob0729]

I look at it as 2 times since they drafted Chase. Burrow without Chase isn't the same.

The Bungles management has been unable to develop/sign/draft defensive players. IN 2022 they might have been a top 5 defense, straight downhill from there where in 2025 they might be the worst defense in the NFL.

You can average 30 a game but if your defense is also giving up 30, you'll eventually run into a high caliber defense in the playoffs, and you won't be able to keep up.

I don't know if that is a fair assessment of Burrow. He had a very good rookie season without Chase. And Chase missed four games in 2022 and the Bengals won three of them scoring 42 and 37 in two of the four. They went to the AFCCG that year.

And I don't disagree that the Bengals have mismanaged their roster and Taylor is is a boob, but they are still contenders most years because of Burrow, Chase, and Higgins.

Having an elite QB doesn't guarantee anything. Look at Indy with Andrew Luck. The odds are just far better. But Brady and Mahomes overcame a ton of deficiencies on their roster to win or go to the Super Bowl.

 

[Rob0729]

They're also destroying him with bad oline.

Yes, an elite QB can only do so much. Complete incompetence by the front office is something that can ruin an elite QB. See Andrew Luck.

 

[BobDigital]

Steelers lose!!! Yes!!! There’s 2 AFC teams I hate and that’s Pittsburgh and KC!

Hated teams in order... (Fan base factors in a lot... not entirely)

#1 Ravens (Hate their fans, hate their organization and culture)
#2 Colts (All the **** they pulled over the years in the Brady era still pisses me off)
#3 Eagles (Hate their fans... and you know they have to be bad for an NFC team to be 3rd)
#4 KC (Hate their fans and also how the NFL treats their team... though that isn't there fault)
#5 Jets (But they are so bad... it is hard to hate them as much as i should)

I don't hate the Steelers... but I am still pissed they never go punished for their coach interfering with a return TD. Their fans are rowdy... but honestly not the worst. Not great but not the worst. I see them as more of a rival than a hated team.

One team i really kind of don't like is GB.... Why? GB gets a free pass on every single thing. They are the darling of the NFL. Never get called out for anything the other 31 teams pull and everyone makes them out to be the best fans in the world and a team culture that is free of corruption. Don't get me wrong, they aren't a bad team and i don't hate them, but it is entirely unfair how much of a pass they get.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Watching last night's game reminded me why I am glad the Patriots never went the Steelers' route. They are in an endless doom loop of being good enough to contend for the playoffs, but not good enough to win a playoff game. The Patriots have won a Super Bowl more recently than the Steelers won a playoff game.

I was never really all that upset that the Pats sucked for the last few years because I knew that in the NFL it is what it takes for a team to get their franchise QB to become a contender. It isn't a guarantee because a lot of teams like the Jets spend decades in their endless doom loop of sucking and drafting QBs high only to ruin them. But teams with good ownership like the Patriots tend to pull themselves out of those doom loops.

The Pats have gotten their next franchise QB only five years after Brady. Roethlisberger was toast before Brady left the Pats and the Steelers are nowhere close to finding a new young franchise QB. They will not be able to draft one next year unless they get lucky and one falls to them. Odds are good they will get a veteran QB as a short term solution in the offseason who will be good enough to help the Steelers to win 9-10 games and unable able to draft a franchise QB in 2027. And the doom loop continues.

Honestly we kind of got lucky because that's exactly the loop that BB tried to keep us in. The Cam Newton year, as bad as people talk about it, we were only 7-9. The next year we were mid but made playoffs with rookie Mac. The Patricia at OC year, again for as bad as people remember it, they were win-and-you're-in for the playoffs in the regular season finale. His last year when they were 4-13, 8 of those losses were by one score. They were 4-8 in one score games but if the ball bounces a few different ways and they were 8-4, then decent chance Kraft keeps BB with a near 500 record and let shim go on an offseason spending spree where he'd have made a bunch of short-sighted moves and probably passed on a QB seen as raw in Drake Maye for a more "ready" option. We'd have stayed in the near .500 loop. Losing so many close games in BB's last year really set the stage for a real rebuild.

 

[BobDigital]

As for the implications of the Bengals beating Pitt... It is good and bad. Do we really believe the Pats will win the division? I honestly doubt it... Possible, but the Bills are a reasonably talented team and Josh will get right. Their run D shouldn't be that bad. It is possible but we may still end up in a wild card race.

The Bengals winning keeps their WC chances alive... but i don't think they have much hope to catch us at this point.. and if we beat them it won't matter. If we lose to them it gets interesting potentially. So this was a game to slam the door on them for the season, and it didn't happen. That is unfortunate. It also open ups a road for the Pats to get a high seed... maybe even... dare i say it... first seed.

 

[TommyD4207]

That is such a crappy division, they might win it with barely a winning record.

Bengals are only a game and a half out of first now. I bet Hendrickson's suddenly not available.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Bengals are only a game and a half out of first now. I bet Hendrickson's suddenly not available.

They're not nearly as out of it as the Ravens.

 

[BobDigital]

Since we are on this topic and what it does for the Pats... Lets talk seeding.. long way out but still

Steelers now 4-2... I think they end up 10-7 at best. Their schedule is no cake walk and i still question that offense, although they had a good showing tonight. i think we saw some cracks tonight in the Rodgers regime. They way he got pissy at his OL man for accidentally knocking him down during celebration... He will do what he does to all locker rooms... and kill this one.
Bills now 4-2.... 12-5 (assuming they beat the Patriots next time)
Colts now 5-1.... 11-6 (They aren't that good will lose most of their tough games)
Jags now 4-2... 10-7 (cupcake schedule but i think they show themselves to be mostly frauds).
KC now 3-3.... 12-5 (KC is about to make a run IMO now past the hardest part of their schedule and as they get healthy... but those 3 loses in the bank keep them from running away with the AFC)
SD now 4-2.... 11-6 (This assumes they lose to KC... If they beat them a second time.. they are 12-5 and in first place in that division with KC as 11-6).
DEN now 4-2... 10-7 (They end up 3rd in that division no matter what pretty much. KC 2 times SD 1 more... they lose 2 of those... Then they lose to GB and drop 2 more somewhere i think... probably 1 of Cowboys/Jags/WSH and won rando... So yeah)

So here to me are the 2 key games if we want to look far ahead. SD @ KC and BUF @ Pats..

One huge issue is the Pats lost to LV in week 1 when the NFL is always weird... and KC and SD play them twice Both probably win both games. Even if just 1 that matters for common opponents. SD also plays Pitt... If they win... they should have the tie breaker over us... KC might have it anyway... There may not no scenario where if we tie with either team we win the tie breakers due to the LV loss, but with SD i think it is more possible if they lose to Pitt.

In the end though... Pats probably need to finish 13-4 for the first seed... And that means they need to beat the Bills again. I have them losing to the Bucs and dropping 1 more along the way... cause this is the NFL and that is what happens... you'll drop a game you should win. They need another upset. So either they beat the Bucs or they Beat the Bills and pick up a game to go 13-4.

 

[varjao]

Bingo, Thats why I loathed the so called "fans" rooting for wins when the team was 2-12 or whatever. If you are in the suck, you need to SUCK and keep sucking until you hit the QB and then even suck for another season to get more high end talent. Mayo and the Angry Leprechaun ****ed the Pats last year.

But you have to suck in the right year or couple of years, in that regard we have to consider ourselves very luck that we were able to suck and get access to a nice QB class (and it's looking like we got the best of them) and also get a left tackle worth a #4 overall and solidify the position for years.

It's a shame the rest of the 2024 draftees suck, 2 years in a row with good drafts in higher draft spots it's life changing for a franchise, but we can't have everything.