Archives for January 3, 2005

‘In Buffalo, where the fans hold the NFL record for hurt, this one figures to sting a little longer than most.’

‘"I’m pretty angry," Bledsoe said. "I really felt we would play better than we did, to be honest. The bottom line is if we can’t beat them with backups on the field, then we probably don’t deserve to be in. I really thought you would see a better performance from us today."’

‘Buffalo turned the ball over three times, managed just 267 yards total offense, with seven three and outs and Rian Lindell missed a 28 yard field goal wide right late in the third quarter.’

‘With offensive starters Ben Roethlisberger, Jerome Bettis and Plaxico Burress inactive for the game, the Steelers controlled the ball for 35 of the 60 minutes, outrushing Buffalo 157-92. Pittsburgh also played without two defensive starters and substituted frequently.’

‘"That’s just the sign of a good team," Buffalo linebacker Takeo Spikes said, "when you have depth, when they come in and can still be efficient when the game counts. The credit goes to them." Said Buffalo coach Mike Mularkey, the Steelers’ former offensive coordinator: "If you’ve watched closely, when they’ve had guys go down all season — not just the last game — they’ve had guys come in and be extremely effective. This is not the NCAA, where you have guys that can’t play."’

‘Hope unraveled in a fashion that surprised most Buffalo observers, folks who counted the Bills as perhaps the NFL’s hottest team. In six games before yesterday, the Bills averaged 38 points. Yet, against the Steelers, turnovers and penalties sabotaged them.’

‘When the Bills got the ball back, Colclough blitzed, Harrison caught it and ran 18 yards for a touchdown. Game over. "It was a great call by the coordinator (Dick LeBeau)." Colclough said. "That’s all it was."’

‘With the Bills in a shotgun formation, Bledsoe dropped back and spotted wide receiver Josh Reed down field. Just as he went back to throw the ball, he was hit by Colclough at the 17. "I was trying to look for someplace down the field to get rid of the ball and was just getting ready to turn it loose to throw it at Josh, or at least throw it at his feet," Bledsoe said. "That’s when he hit me, and I only had one hand on the ball, and that’s when the ball came up."’

‘"It’s a nice achievement," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "The guys worked their tails off to get here, but now is not the time to reflect. The season isn’t over yet. All it means right now is we get to sit back and heal a little bit. Other than that, all I know is after tonight everybody’s 0-0 and our next game is at Heinz Field.’

Steelers’ subs super to the end (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Reed punctuates outstanding season with five field goals (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

An agonizing loss for surging Buffalo (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

QB subs capitalize on chance to contribute (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Steelers Sound Off (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Photo Gallery (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Steelers stick to standard (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Play of the Game: Harrison’s TD turned tide (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Ben watches, learns (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Bungling Burress burglars drop ball (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Play of the Game: Harrison’s TD turned tide (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

At 15-1, Steelers know they still have long way to go (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Steelers Report Card: Bills (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Steelers spotlight (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Steelers rally around Ben (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Steelers finish regular season with team-best 15 wins (Beaver County Times)

15-1 is nice, but now Steelers are back to 0-0 (Beaver County Times)

Maddox gets his work in (Beaver County Times)

Reed expects, achieves perfection down the stretch (Beaver County Times)

Steelers finish 15-1 as reserves KO Buffalo (Washington Observer Reporter)

Going from 9-point underdogs to Super Bowl favorites (Washington Observer Reporter)

Well-rested Parker has first 100-yard game (Washington Observer Reporter)

Steelers defeat Bills (Uniontown Herald Standard)

Steelers don’t plan on anything different (Uniontown Herald Standard)

WellSteelers finish season 15-1, eliminate Bills (Erie Times News)

Even The Backups To The Backups Find A Way To Win (Erie Times News)

Oh So Close And Yet… (Erie Times News)

Playoffs unravel for Bills (Erie Times News)

Steelers’ reserves help deliver win (Erie Times News)

Steelers end regular season with 29-24 win and improve to 15-1 (Steelers.com)

Steelers-Bills Post-game quotes (Steelers.com)

‘During their depressing and season-killing 29-24 loss to the Steelers, the Bills played like the Bills of September and October, the Bills who started 0-4 and 1-5 and had no business even dreaming about a trip to the postseason.’

‘It’s inexplicable how a team with everything to play for would lose to a team that had little at stake.’

‘The Bills were ultimately confronted with a third-and-one at the Pittsburgh 11. Here was a chance to send Willis McGahee into the line against a second-string Steelers defense that was tired and ready to break. But there was Bledsoe, dropping back and throwing to Shelton. Yes, Shelton made the catch and picked up the first down. Too bad it didn’t count because Josh Reed was called for offensive pass interference.’

‘This was a chance for Buffalo (9-7) to convince anyone skeptical of its six-game winning streak, built against a string of NFL misfits, that it was a legitimate playoff contender. Instead, the Bills suffered the ultimate indignity, not just losing to the Steelers (15-1), but to their second-, third- and in some cases, fourth-string players. They were exposed, just as AFC East Division champ New England exposed them twice.’

‘”Drew didn’t perform as well as he should have,” said Beth Gardner of Hamlin. “There were too many turnovers. It’s time to turn the page. It’s J.P.’s time.”‘