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The battle in the trenches occurring as the Steelers eventually defeated the visiting Eagles in a 16-14 game was obvious from the first whistle.
Typically, fans of both sides accuse the other other dirty play (for example, calls on BTSC regarding biased officiating toward Philadelphia's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and remarks on Bleeding Green Nation of several missed holding penalties on Steelers CB Ike Taylor). The players don't often get into much of it after games.
Steelers left guard Willie Colon sure did, and he seemed to be the one officials were watching the most.
Colon was flagged for holding four times in a game he otherwise performed at a high level. He also felt the Eagles were "cheap shot artists all day," according to Ron Cook of the Post-Gazette.
Upon watching both the first half and the second half, I didn't see much to suggest that was the case, but the film isn't commonly trained on the line of scrimmage after pass plays - when hits to quarterbacks rankle the ire of offensive linemen most often.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got in the face of Eagles defensive linemen Brandon Graham at the end of one play, after it appeared Graham may have made some contact with Roethlisberger's head.
For as fired up as Colon seemed to be on the issue, his performance in this game will be remembered for the penalties. Colon wasn't shy to speak on that topic either, according to Cook.
"It would be easy for me to say the refs suck. But I know it's on me to get better. The holding calls are hurting my team. I've got to clean things up. I have to get back to the lab and do a better job with my technique."
Two of them look like the correct call, the other two were kind of iffy, but the fact they drew flags shouldn't be seen as a shock. Colon has provided pretty solid pass protection this season, his first at left guard. He was much more dominant in the run game in Week 5, something the Steelers will lean on as they prepare for their Week 6 Thursday Night game at Tennessee.
The Titans are ranked 28th in the NFL against the run, allowing 144 yards per game. With a rejuvenated Steelers rushing attack, and what appears to be a pissed off Colon, expect their game plan to center around running the football.