Pittsburgh Steelers Roller Coaster Season Continues After Monday Night Revival

In Section 534 at Heinz Field on Monday night, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan had enough of his team. He bought a hoagie and completely ignored his team. He was not alone.

With 6:11 left to play in the second quarter and the uninspiring Steelers down 13-0, four fans left Heinz Field ready to call it a night. They had seen this song and dance before and were not willing to helplessly watch their Steelers play uninspiring football for a fourth consecutive week.

You could almost hear the routine radio phone calls the next morning which would demand for head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Todd Haley to both get the axe and for defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau to just retire already.

Our hoagie-equipped friend had just about seen enough as he finally put his half-eaten sandwich down for a third-down play the Houston Texans converted. Instead of bemoaning the defensive scheme, the fan did what any other fan would have done, finish the hoagie in silence.

This has been what Steelers football had been reduced to lately, however just over three minutes of game action was about to change that.

The Steelers had won 15 consecutive Monday Night Football home games, a streak which dated back to 1991 and they were not going to go down without a fight.

In music terms, the crowd for the majority of the first half was pianissimo; however, that went away when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed a 43-yard pass to running back Le’Veon Bell. This crescendo was quieted to golf claps when Shaun Suisham made a 44-yard field goal, but the Steelers were on the board. They would not be completely embarrassed on national television.

This was just part of the 3:08 eruption that occurred. I believe every Steelers fan knows what happened next so I will bypass the play on the field which allowed the Steelers to comfortably take a 24-13 lead into the locker room.

I still am unsure what exactly woke the Steelers up, but the first 26:53 of the game was almost like a sleepwalk. It made my 31-10 Texans prediction look great. Houston running back Arian Foster was already over 75 rushing yards and it looked like an instant replay of the uninspiring loss to the Cleveland Browns.

In my mind, there is no doubt that last 3:08 of the first half saved the Steelers season. I know it, the fans know it and deep down so do the Steelers. The Texans are a talented team, they proved that in the first quarter. All of a sudden they became complacent and instead of the Steelers casually letting things happen, they reacted and fed off each other.

For the first time all season, the applause for Troy Polamalu was justified, the smiles for Brett Keisel running back an interception were justified and frankly football became fun again, not because the Steelers were winning, but because they were playing together as a team.

Now, the easy part of the schedule is over and two home contests with the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens await. To see the Steelers break out the way they did was imperative. It sends the right message to fans and will keep butts in seats which ultimately is perhaps the most important aspect.

The question now is whether the Steelers can keep this up. Fans have seen the good and the bad from this team but have to be encouraged at this point. If you are looking for me to give an answer on which version of the Steelers I expect to see, then you’ve come to the wrong place.

The only ones who have the answer are the Steelers. They better hope that their answer is the right one.