polamalubeast
09-19-2016, 06:56 PM
» Let's be realistic, there are no must-win games in Week 2 of the NFL, even if that stat about 88 percent of teams missing the playoffs after an 0-2 start has become an early-season, oft-repeated bit of gospel. But make no mistake, there are some games of the you'd-be-wise-to-win variety in mid-September, if only because they can have such a dramatic impact on how the other three months play out on the regular-season schedule.
Like Pittsburgh's gritty 24-16 home win Sunday against Cincinnati at a rainy Heinz Field, where the latest edition of the NFL's most bitter and riveting rivalry played out in bruising, buckle-up style.
The Steelers and Bengals both entered Week 2 at 1-0, but Pittsburgh was determined not to allow Cincinnati to build an early divisional lead for the third year in a row, forcing Mike Tomlin's club to play a game of catch-up ball the rest of the season. Not this time, said the Steelers. These two AFC North favorites don't clash again until Week 15 on "Sunday Night Football" in the Queen City, and who knows what the landscape of the division will look by then? This time, September really mattered, as the Steelers sped off to their first 2-0 start since 2010.
"The last two years we've had to chase them down at the end of the year, and win out basically, and we didn't want that again," said Steelers safety Mike Mitchell by phone, minutes after Pittsburgh put the finishing touches on its home-opening win. "We had an opportunity to play them early in the year, and we knew how important this game was for us. We wanted to start 2-0 and 1-0 in the division, and make them climb out of a hole this time."
read more
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000705523/article/snap-judgments-steelers-jump-ahead-in-afc-north
Like Pittsburgh's gritty 24-16 home win Sunday against Cincinnati at a rainy Heinz Field, where the latest edition of the NFL's most bitter and riveting rivalry played out in bruising, buckle-up style.
The Steelers and Bengals both entered Week 2 at 1-0, but Pittsburgh was determined not to allow Cincinnati to build an early divisional lead for the third year in a row, forcing Mike Tomlin's club to play a game of catch-up ball the rest of the season. Not this time, said the Steelers. These two AFC North favorites don't clash again until Week 15 on "Sunday Night Football" in the Queen City, and who knows what the landscape of the division will look by then? This time, September really mattered, as the Steelers sped off to their first 2-0 start since 2010.
"The last two years we've had to chase them down at the end of the year, and win out basically, and we didn't want that again," said Steelers safety Mike Mitchell by phone, minutes after Pittsburgh put the finishing touches on its home-opening win. "We had an opportunity to play them early in the year, and we knew how important this game was for us. We wanted to start 2-0 and 1-0 in the division, and make them climb out of a hole this time."
read more
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000705523/article/snap-judgments-steelers-jump-ahead-in-afc-north