TheBrownBear

As far as I'm concerned, if you can definitively end the game with 1 yard, you take those odds (with some caveats, like if they had been in easy FG range to stretch the lead from 1 to 4 or something). So much of that decision came down to them having only a 1 point lead. If it's a 3 point lead, he almost certainly punts, since you're highly unlikely to lose the game in regulation.

Of course, it's situational. I assumed you were talking about the same scenario - 1 point lead, facing a Mahomes-led team that has already scored 35 points on your defense (and would have scored more if not for the CEH fumble the moment before). McDermott is absolutely going for it on 4th in that situation. Now, if it's 3-0 Buffalo, and Mahomes has played the worst game in his life and our defense hasn't let him get past midfield, then maybe he punts? But in that scenario, Mahomes isn't "Mahomes", at least not on that day.

It's a 17 game season. I'd rather take my lumps early than start out white hot and have the rest of the league catch up to us near the end of the season. I have faith in our guys to get this figured out and get back to being the offensive juggernaut and trendy SB pick we were 9 days ago.

He knew his defense wasn't stopping Mahomes in that situation. It's an easy call when you're looking across the field at one of the 5 GOAT QBs. And I believe McDermott makes the same call there.

No team from Buffalo has ever won a Super Bowl. Interesting stat and something to keep in mind as the season progresses.

Why not Christian Wade or Ertz in the backfield. For as much as we talk about these guys, the coaches never seem to utilize them.

How many has Bass made in a row as of now? I think it's highly unlikely, since McDermott trusts him to attempt some really long kicks, and he kicks in the Buffalo winds. Still, he's an amazing kicker, so there's a chance. Not sure Allen breaks that record, but I do expect him to have a couple of 450ish yard games this year.

Yes, somewhat. Because I really, really, really hate the kneejerk threads that appear after the loss. I'm okay with kneejerk reactions in the live game or dedicated post game thread, but the posters who create their own separate thread for their hot takes drive me insane.

vomit emoji is getting a workout this week

No offense to you personally, but god almighty, this is one overreactive and stupid take. We played subpar and we were still leading against a playoff team for more than 3 quarters. Our D held them to 4.6 yards per play. We outgained them by 120 yards. Yes, Josh was "meh", our o-line had a ton of holding penalties and we lacked balance, but the game essentially hinged on a blocked punt touchdown, which probably happens every 3-4 years, if that.

Fine. Guess we'll just have to con our way to the Super Bowl.

Do you mind sharing what the mistake was, so we can avoid it?

We were a top-3 offense last year. I think Daboll deserves a little bit of time to get this back on track. And even if you're looking at a four game trend, consider that Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Indianapolis were the #1, 2 and 3 ranked defenses (yards per play) in the AFC last year.

How long ago is that? He's still in Browns gear. Might as well post a picture of David Boston if beach muscles is what were after in a WR.

Is that really the "most important thing?" I think we need to really deconstruct that for a bit, especially in light of....

My 12 year old got vaxxed in June and he's already grown 2 inches and his grades have gone from C's to A's! That was a joke, of course. But, seriously, me, my wife and my son are vaccinated. I recommend it to everyone. I would have been dead by age 10 from cancer, if I had trusted my natural immunity to heal me, instead of the scientists at Roswell.

It's because the policy isn't all about you. Does that not make sense?

I thought they were fine. Didn't distract from what was an awesome game.

Any time your defense holds the opponent to less than 300 total yards and/or less than 20 points in the modern NFL, they did a damn good job. They made the Steelers earn every inch of turf.

WTH are you talking about dude? Have you been asleep at the wheel for the past three years? This team is ascending (6-10, 10-6, 13-3) and just last year finally reached legit playoff contender status. They have a young head coach and a very young QB. Yes, yesterday sucked. Daboll clearly designed an ineffective game plan and our offense never found their footing. We were the better team. We outgained them by 120 yards. We just coached/played a dumb game at critical moments. If we look like this at week 7, then we can start talking about the team having real problems. As for now, I'll continue to contend that the future is insanely bright for this team.

Criticism is fine. He didn't play a great game, but there are people in here calling him "horrendous", which is just laughable. This was a tight game between two tough defenses. The 50/50 type of plays/calls all went the Steelers way in the 2nd half and the punt block was the nail in the coffin. Josh's miss of Sanders on a 50 yard throw early in the first half had very little to do with the outcome, as we still managed to build a 10 point lead at the half.

I don't get the Allen hate either. Not a great game, but he didn't lose it for us. We outgained the Steelers by 120 yards. We lost because of o-line and secondary penalties, our inability to convert on the Steelers side of the field, and because all of the "big plays" seemed to go in favor of the Steelers. This game doesn't worry me too much on its own. Also, Tre White's holding call that negated his INT was a very suspect call. If that play stands, there's a good chance that we win this game going away and it's a weeklong party here on TSW.

The defense was fine. Yes, Wallace got picked on a bit in the second half, but he was right there on a couple of those plays. The Johnson TD was good coverage. It was just a great play by Johnson. The Steelers have a great group of receivers and overall the D held up their end of the bargain. We lost this game for three reasons: 1. Terrible offensive playcalling, especially in short yardage situations. 2. Horrible offensive line play. (But some of this falls at the feet of Daboll for not sprinkling in more Singletary runs until it was too late) 3. And obviously, the blocked punt TD. Overall, I'm not too worried. And this might have been a good wakeup call for the team that nothing comes easy in the NFL.

Yikes.

I won't stick a fork in their season and the Wilson kid yet, but damn, the Jets appear horrible. BTW, nice to see Tyrod get off to a good start with the Texans. Would love to see him have some success this year.