Pregame: Man, it takes a Bengal to call the Terrible Towels yellow flags, Cris Collinsworth. And I love how they mention these teams met in the 1983 game, like it means anything. THE SAINTS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR REVENGE FOR 24 YEARS!
The Steelers have been designated the home team. They're not kidding. Pittsburgh's practically right next door, and Steeler fans have turned out in droves.
1st quarter: 2nd play of the game is a 55-yard bomb from Roethlisberger to Cedric Wilson? Nice work upgrading that secondary in the offseason, Saints. And that was the "shutdown" corner, Mike McKenzie, who got smoked like a Virginia ham. Wilson burns McKenzie again to set up a touchdown splash for Najeh Davenport. 7-0, Pittsburgh.
Good pass defense by the Steelers, deflecting a couple of passes downfield to force a Saint punt. Lamar Woodley is officially the first player this year who's "having a great camp".
Charlie Batch in. Saint run defense has been sharp early with TFL's by Charles Grant and Will Smith. Josh Bullocks absolutely molests Wilson to prevent a bomb and end this possession, and it is VERY discouraging to see NFL referees ignoring awful, obvious DPI's like that seven minutes into the season. Back judge must have money on the Saints, or maybe the under.
Steeler secondary playing very strong so far. They're all over the receivers and the Saints aren't trying anything other than short routes. 3-and-out, New Orleans.
Willie Reid bobbled the first punt to him and nearly fumbled away the second. Not the path to job security.
Back-to-back sacks by Simoneau and Will Smith shut a promising Steeler drive down in the red zone. Smith's was a coverage sack. This was largely the Saint ones on defense vs. the Steeler twos. Nate Washington drops his second pass of the night on third down and Jeff Reed yanks the FG wide left, keeping it 7-0, Pittsburgh.
Jamie Martin in at QB. Brees completed only 1-of-6 for 6 yards. The Saints were awful last preseason, however, and look where they ended up. Martin starts out 0-for-2 and got no help on third down thanks to awful work from his RG Jahri Evans. 3-and-out, New Orleans.
Brian St. Pierre in for Pittsburgh, and he immediately gets sacked waiting for a long pattern to develop. Kerry Davis then takes a screen pass for 30+.
End of the first quarter.
Saints continue to shut the run down well, and St. Pierre underthrows Washington on 3rd down for a 3-and-out and a punt for Pittsburgh.
Martin throws a 3rd-down pass right at a leaping DE for his third straight incompletion and the Saints' third straight 3-and-out.
Santonio Holmes beats Jason David badly down the sideline for 41. David was their big acquisition in the offseason to bolster the secondary. Why they thought he'd be any good remains a mystery. Holmes then beats Jason Craft much too easily on a fade route for a short TD catch. Their run D may have improved but the Saint secondary is as big a disaster as it was last year. There is no reason not to pass, pass, pass on them. Good thing they drafted a WR in the first round.
Jamie's 0-for-5 now, and the Saints 3-and-out again. Better get the second-string punter loose.
Another big play for Kerry Davis, a 56-yard run. Two Saints miss tackles, and two more get knocked down by LG Chris Kemoeatu on the pull. Holmes slipped in the end zone on 3rd down, and the Steelers settle for a chippie FG to go up 17-0.
Halftime.
The Saints send in Jason Fife to try to nip this thing in the bud. They finally make a first down when Antonio Pittman converts a 4th-and-short. Anthony Madison has the hit of the night for Pittsburgh, submarining Kevin Dudley and putting him head over heels. The 4th-down conversion seems to have jump-started the Saint O, though, and they put together an 8-minute TD drive, with Dudley beating Ronald Stanley for a short TD catch. Fife, "Camper #1" in "Addams Family Values", had a nice drive there and made a nice play to beat a blitz for the TD.
Reid nearly broke the ensuing kick return for a TD. The Saints continue to play the run well but Walter Young beats Anwar Phillips for another 20+ gain by the Steelers. Reed's 2nd FG punctuates a blissfully-quick 3rd quarter that ends 20-7, Steelers.
Fife can't duplicate his previous success; his third down pass is off as the Saints are back to 3-and-outing.
Bryan Randall in for the Steelers. Good coverage by David Jones to break up a bomb attempt forces a punt.
Tyler Palko now in for the Saints, and he's the guy who throws Robert Meacham's first pro catch. Unfortunately for Meacham, he gets LIT UP by William Gay when Palko hangs him out to dry on the next play.
A Dante Ridgeway sighting! Scott Paxson stuffs a run, and Palko's third-down pass is to nobody to force another New Orleans punt.
Steelers have used a ton of trip formations tonight. Randall's 3rd-down pass is thrown much too hard, for an incompletion. Punt back to New Orleans.
Gay tops off a super night by picking off Palko just before the 2:00 warning.
Pittsburgh runs out the clock for the win.
The Steelers were a lot more ready for this one than the Saints were, really taking it to them physically. Mike Tomlin's set a good tone for his term as coach. Eye-opening nights for Cedric Wilson, Kerry Davis and William Gay. Pittsburgh's pass defense was extremely good, and Santonio Holmes showed some game-breaking ability.
Awful game for the Saints, who haven't improved a bit in the secondary and certainly aren't going to repeat last year with the kind of play they got back there. They were almost as brutal on offense, never really stretching the field well. Silver linings were that the run defense was pretty good and Pierre Thomas showed some spark late in the game.
One down, 64 to go! Next up: Indianapolis at Dallas Thursday night.
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