If your a Steelers fan you know that if safety Troy Polomalu and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger both stay healthy, the Steelers are a playoff-caliber team that can beat any opponent on any given day.
But on this Halloween night with a packed crowd, Pittsburgh lost to the New Orleans 20-10, and nothing was more exciting than watching the matchup of the past two Super Bowl champs.
The Saints struggled to run against a Steelers defense that came in ranked first in the NFL against the run and allowed New Orleans only 30 yards on the ground.
With Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith out, the run defense did not miss a beat. They held the Saints to an impressive 30 yards with a 1.4 average. Brees was sacked twice and intercepted once, giving him 11 interceptions and matching his total from last season.
The communication on offense seemed to be difficult because of the crowd noise, and the defense eventually succumbed to the pressure of trying to carry the team for four quarters.
“We better get used to these kind of environments; it comes with the territory when you’re trying to be world champs,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’ve got to play good people in their place and play better than that moving forward.”
Not to worry, we have another week coming up and the Pittsburgh Steelers will be taking on the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, November 8th.
GO STEELERS
