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The Pittsburgh Steelers were winners vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14, but it probably shouldn’t have been that close when the dust settled. One of the main reasons the Cardinals were allowed to claw their way back into the game were two big miscues in the game.
The first, a Benny Snell Jr. fumble, and the second, and more egregious, the Jordan Berry botched fake punt.
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When the play happened, the vast Pittsburgh Steelers fan base let out a collective, “What the ____!” wondering what went wrong. In Mike Tomlin’s post-game press conference he spoke about how it was his decision, taking full blame for the play.
However, after the game Berry was able to say what really happened on the play. This per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
P Jordan Berry: “The guys up front called it off and nobody told me. I just tried to make a run for it and I ran straight into some guys. I was planning on getting ready to run up there and they all shot off to go cover and I was like, Aw (expletive).”
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) December 9, 2019
He added to Brooke Pryor of ESPN:
Jordan Berry on the fake punt snafu: "It was just some miscommunication, that's all. They called it off up front, and I didn't get the call. I'm 15 yards away. I can't hear what they say."
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) December 9, 2019
Tomlin took the heat, considering it did turn out the fake punt play was put into play, but Berry stating he didn’t hear the players get out of the play makes sense too. After all, it isn’t every day you see 10 players run to cover a punt with the punter tucking the ball and running right into a brick wall.
The Steelers were lucky in a multitude of ways in this game. Lucky Trey Edmunds hustled back to get the loose ball on Berry’s fumble, or else it would have been an easy scoop-and-score situation for the Cardinals.
The Steelers were lucky in other areas too, like when Kyler Murray didn’t try to run for the first down, or touchdown, instead throwing an interception to T.J. Watt in the end-zone. There is a certain amount of luck involved with winning, and the Steelers certainly had their share on Sunday at State Farm Stadium.
Nonetheless, you won’t hear much about this considering the team didn’t lose, but won their third straight game to improve their record to 8-5 on the season. They are in sole possession of the 6th spot in the AFC Playoff Picture with the Buffalo Bills coming to Heinz Field on Sunday Night Football next week.
Let’s hope the miscues stayed in Arizona...
Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black-and-gold as they prepare for the Bills to invade Heinz Field in Week 15.