INSIDE: Hall of Honor Unveiling • Tomlin Talks Offense
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INSIDE: Hall of Honor unveiling • Tomlin talks offense ä ä Ç{{Çä ÇÈÇnä ä FROM THE EDITOR | BOB LABRIOLA Steelers show great resiliency CINCINNATI — Their business is one where nothing means more than the final score, but for long stretches on this night that just didn’t seem to Linebacker Vince Williams came up with one of the two matter. The final score from Paul Brown Stadium Steelers sacks in the second half. was going to identify one of the teams as the win- ner and the other as the loser, and the Steelers Digest Photo/KARL ROSER needed the victory to get them one step closer to winning the AFC North Division and at the same time keep them even with the New England of adversity tonight, a lot of it created by us turn- Patriots for home-field advantage in the postsea- ing the ball over early and a lot of it created by son. Cincinnati. They came to play, and they got after us It was important for the Steelers to defeat the in the first half of the game. They dominated and Bengals here because doing that would put them won possession downs on both sides. They con- in a position where a win over the Ravens would verted third downs with their offense, and we clinch them another AFC North Division title. And weren’t able to get off the field. It was difficult for it’s important to win a division title because that’s us to win third downs on our side. the first step toward making a run in the playoffs. “You also probably have to acknowledge that it And it’s important to have a good won-loss record was difficult for those men to stay focused and play in winning a division title because that’s how a team with their brother laid flat. That’s an element of ball can earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs. as well. Thankfully, the guys stayed on task, and we And it’s important for them to keep winning to give were able to do the things necessary in the second themselves their best chance to capitalize on that half to have us march back, and that (deserves) upcoming date with the Patriots. credit.” All of that was very important, and then sudden- The Steelers played without Haden and Mitchell. ly it wasn’t. Shazier was injured in the first few minutes. They With 11:26 remaining in the first quarter of a still also lost Shazier’s replacement, Tyler Matakevich, scoreless game, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton to a shoulder injury, which meant they were down dumped the ball over the middle to wide receiver to their last healthy inside linebacker in L.J. Fort. Josh Malone. Ryan Shazier came up quickly and Antonio Brown was less than 100 percent with a made the tackle, only this time the play was not toe injury. A holding penalty wiped out a 96-yard routine. Shazier drove his shoulder into the receiv- 13 penalties — a 38-yard pass interference by Dre kickoff return by Martavis Bryant. er, and as soon as he hit the turf he reached around Kirkpatrick — and Chris Boswell’s 30-yard field goal “We have a no-blink group,” Tomlin said. and grabbed at his own back. As he laid prone on made it 17-3 at halftime. “We’ve been under duress in that stadium against the ground, his arms were moving but his legs were Then behind the closed doors of their locker that team before. Maybe that past experience not. room during the 12-minute halftime, the Steelers helps us in some way, but largely it’s the men and It soon became apparent that this was a poten- gathered themselves. Mike Tomlin pulled Coty the belief in each other — belief in our approach — tially grave situation, because as medical personnel Sensabaugh, who seemed to be wearing a target and making the necessary plays to make that belief rushed onto the field to attend to Shazier and play- that Andy Dalton exploited with seven completions reality.” ers from both teams went to their knees in prayer, to A.J. Green for 77 yards and two touchdowns in Maybe it was some combination of belief and his legs never moved. Not at all. When they that first half, and replaced him with rookie Cam wanting to win for a fallen teammate, and it was brought out the cart and the back-board, his legs Sutton. That was the only personnel move, but Bell and Brown and Martavis Bryant and Ben never moved. As Shazier took a ride off the field no there wasn’t much else to do, what with Joe Haden Roethlisberger making plays for the offense, and one ever wants to see anyone have to take to be and Mike Mitchell both inactive and Shazier in the the defense got second-half sacks from Vince loaded into an ambulance and transported to a hospital. Williams and Bud Dupree in allowing the Bengals trauma center at an area hospital, the final score of On the first play of the second half, Dalton again only three more points and 100 yards of offense a game and the ramifications of that final score went to Green, but Sutton broke up the pass, and over the final two quarters. The Steelers did pull could not have seemed more insignificant. maybe that set a tone. The Bengals went three- out the victory with a second straight game-ending Between then and the final 30 seconds of the and-out on that possession, and following the punt field goal from Chris Boswell, and then they got first half the Steelers played like a group that had a the Steelers went 78 yards in nine plays, and after some very good news. vision of a teammate fighting for his quality of life Bell turned another dump-off completion into a 35- Shazier’s condition was improving, and he would stuck in their heads as they saw their deficit grow to yard touchdown, it was a ballgame, 17-10. not need surgery. As the Steelers left here with a 17-0, but in those final 30 seconds Le’Veon Bell “I can’t say enough about the mental toughness seventh straight win and a 10-2 record and their took a dump-off pass and turned it into a 33-yard of that group that’s in the locker room,” Tomlin said seeding atop the AFC intact, that was what really gain and then the Bengals committed one of their during his postgame press briefing. “We faced a lot mattered to them. STEELERS DIGEST • 3 ON THE COVER VOLUME 30 • NUMBER 9 (681) Wide receiver Antonio Brown had another strong per- formance for the Steelers in the Monday night game DECEMBER 16, 2017 • $4.95 | against Cincinnati, topped by his game-tying touchdown INSIDE in the fourth quarter. Cover Photo/KIRBY LEE/AP STORY LINES 9 Steelers-Bengals game coverage 15 Steelers-Packers game coverage 27 Hall of Honor unveiled 30 Hall of Honor profile: Dick Hoak VOICES 3 Bob Labriola 5 Coach Mike Tomlin 25 Just My Opinion DEPARTMENTS 35 Steelers roster 37 Steelers Stuff 38 Coming Up NEXT ISSUE The next issue of Steelers Digest will be print- ed Dec. 18 and will include complete recaps of CLEATS FOR A CAUSE: Several Steelers players took advantage of the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats campaign in the games against the Baltimore Ravens and New Week 13, with Martavis Bryant showing his support for the city of Las Vegas and linebacker Bud Dupree looking to bring atten- England Patriots as well as analysis on all the lat- tion to Shriners Hospital for Children with the message “Love to the rescue.” Digest Photos/RYAN MEYER est developments involving the team. THOMAS N. CURTIS, Publisher ANDREW E. COHEN, Managing Editor BOB LABRIOLA, Editor ARMANDO MATO, Creative Director ALAIN POUPART, Associate Editor JIM WEXELL, Associate Editor TERESA VARLEY, Assistant Editor KARL ROSER, Photographer BILL DALEY, Design & Composition ANNE MARIE FLORENCE, Customer Service STEELERS DIGEST subscription information 1-800-334-4005. STEELERS DIGEST is a member of the Professional Football Publishers Association. STEELERS DIGEST (USPS 003-803) (ISSN 1044-2855) is pub- lished twice a month Sept. through Dec., Monthly Feb., April/May, July and August by Steelers Digest, J.V., at 53 Curtiss Parkway, Miami Springs, FL 33166, (305) 594-0508. Periodicals postage paid Miami, Florida and additional mailing offices. Annual subscription rate in USA 12 issues/$49.95. Newsstand rate of $4.95 per issue. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited without permission from the publisher. POSTMASTER: Send Address changes to STEELERS DIGEST, P.O. Box 526600, Miami, FL 33152-6600. STEELERS DIGEST is the official magazine of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and is published by Curtis Publishing Company. COACH’S CORNER | MIKE TOMLIN Discussing play-action, the no-huddle, and how young players see NFL history Q. Let’s start by talking about play- action. How would you explain play- action to the average fan? A. The best way to explain it is that offenses generally have a base set of core running plays, plays they run that fit their personality. Different offenses might have different core running plays, but whatever your core running plays are often- times your play-action passes off those actions. So whatever your base-core high-volume runs are, most teams have coordinated play-action passes off those to lean on that and utilize that in an effort Play-action for Ben Roethlisberger and every to get chunks of yards in the passing game.