Outside of Pittsburgh, you could feel the frustration of every sports fan. It was like we all hit the couch at the same time. You could hear it in the wind.
Everyone was rooting for a tie between the two teams. It would have been different. Something we had not seen before. And positive. The Raiders and the Bolts get into the playoffs, so we don't have to listen to the talk about Ben Roethlisberger anymore. There is a place called Valhalla.
As you are reading this, the Bears have already fired their coach. I have sat through seven Bears coaches. They couldn't manage the clock to save their life. When you find a bunch of fruit flies by the sink, you're always forced to take a time out. It was almost as if they couldn't count. Matt Nagy would just get rid of his timeouts early in each half, either before or after his team took a penalty, so he wouldn't have to worry about them with less than two minutes remaining.
Brandon is from us. His pro coaching career began here. He got the job in San Diego after following Fangio to Denver. He was here long enough to have the brain worms, or their seeds, implanted. You can not escape. We are here every time.
By a miracle, and by forcing his receivers to catch the ball by drilling it into their chests at every turn, and through a marathon last drive that took 18 plays, the Chargers had forced overtime after being down 15. Tying a game when trailing by 15 is unique. It had to mean that we were getting our tie.
It was even more unlikely that the Raiders and the Bolts had kicked field goals in overtime. We had a dream. A tie at the end of the season is the kind of farce the NFL deserves, one that would see each team get what they want.
The Raiders were happy to let it go. They were facing a third down on their last drive, and it looked like they were happy to just let it go. A field goal would have been difficult. It is important to note that the clock was running. Everyone was ready to dive for three yards when one knee was needed.
Staley took a timeout.
The Raiders can't just take a knee without losing face because the clock is stopped. They ran a real play on third down, got into the field- goal range, and the game was over. It makes everyone dumber because it means more football for the Steelers.
Football coaches try to overdose on their own genius. We all lost because Staley fell into that trap. It was within our grasp. Maybe it wasn't the kneel-fest we wanted, or the three yards and a cloud of dust-a-thon we might have hoped for to stall out for the tie nakedly. We still had it.
There was one stupid timeout. Most of the teams are the same, so the season is decided on such margins. This is the way he wants it, but not the way we want it.
Ja Morant is becoming a booster rocket.
This is a better angle.
That doesn't look right. We can see him jump with his legs, but he just keeps going. Morant should start coming down again at some point. He doesn't.
We can sit here and just piss ourselves. The distance in ability is what matters.
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