What a Difference a Play Makes

With the game still in the balance, New England started the second half by driving into field-goal range. All looked dismal for the Steelers (who were already down by a touchdown)...and then, Casey Hampton was called for holding. It was indeed a hold, but Hampton was infuriated by the call. Two plays later, still in a lather about the penalty, on a second-and-one play, Casey unleashed his anger, by bull-rushing New England's center, and sacking Matt Cassel. [Note: After the ensuing incompletion, the Patriots had to punt.] As strange as it may sound, the game was decided, in Pittsburgh's favor, due to Hampton's penalty.

Simply, Hampton's energy spread through the rest of Pittsburgh's defense. As much as I hate statistics, here are a few worth mentioning:

-- Pittsburgh held their opponent (i.e. New England) to under 300 yards of total offense for the twelfth straight game. [Note: The record is fourteen games. Furthermore, Pittsburgh's streak is all the more impressive, considering that the Steelers are playing the toughest schedule in the NFL since 1976.]

-- New England only gained TWO yards in the entire third quarter.

-- New England only converted one third down (out of thirteen).

-- New England turned the ball over on five consecutive drives in the second half.

-- On back-to-back drives, James Harrison stripped the ball from Matt Cassel.

-- On back-to-back drives, Cassel threw interceptions to Troy Polamalu and Lawrence Timmons.

Speaking of which, after his interception, Timmons has not yet reached the end-zone. Seriously, either the kid is out of shape, or he simply gave up on the play, or he did not know where the goal-line started...because, Timmons stopped running at the five yard line. Similarly, Ike Taylor had his fifteenth "possible" interception of the season slip right through his fingers.

In short, it was an outstanding defensive effort by the Steelers. That said, Randy Moss dropped some easy passes, which had a lot to do with New England's ineffectiveness. Then again, the Steelers dropped just as many balls. In turn, the drops washed each other out.

Speaking of drops, despite making three nice grabs in the first half, Nate Washington dropped a perfectly thrown pass from Ben Roethlisberger, that would have been an easy touchdown.
See also: Willie Parker.
See also: Santonio Holmes.

In fact, even the uber-reliable Heath Miller dropped a catchable ball. I repeat, Heath Miller dropped a catchable ball. In other words, I can now check that item off of my "unlikely to see/do before I die" list. [Note: Heath's drop was located on my list, right between: "Play a golf with Sasquatch" and "Go on a date with Jessica Alba."] In other words, for anyone trying to spin this loss by New England entirely on Randy Moss (who regularly drops balls), I will whole-hearted point out Heath Miller's uncharacteristic dropped pass. Again, it is a wash.

In summation, one play can indeed make the difference in the outcome of a game. Luckily for the Steelers, they have a cabinet full of players on their defense who regularly "alter" the game.