So pissed and disappointed right now

[jimnyc]

I hate the Patriots. I hate Bill Belichick. I hate Tom Brady. I hate Rob Gronkowski. I hate them because they're so good and generally won't let my Steelers in. Anyway, today, if they played by the old regular rules and not this new lame way they have of determining a catch, then I may hate them just a little less right now.

I'm not really complaining. I DO think it should have been a TD, but that's the way the cookie crumbles and that's the way the lame NFL calls them now. And then to add on top Big Ben's retarded choice. But 5 years ago today, that was a TD and likely end of game. But these lame changes do apply equally to everyone though.

So now the Patriots will likely end up with the home field advantage throughout the playoffs. And worse, Antonio Brown hurt his calf, but then was also taken to the hospital. So things may be even worse for the Steelers now.

So I went outside and did some screaming into the sky about all that ails me at the moment, I heard that stuff works!!
--

Did the Steelers get robbed on a controversial non-catch call?

It seemed like the Pittsburgh Steelers won and tight end Jesse James would be the hero with a game-winning touchdown catch in the final minute against the New England Patriots. But if you’ve watched the NFL long enough, you know that a catch is often not a catch.

The NFL’s oft-criticized catch rule might determine where the AFC championship game is held. In the final seconds of a thrilling game Sunday, James caught a pass just short of the goal line, and as he was going down he crossed the goal line for what looked like a touchdown. In the CBS booth, Tony Romo and Jim Nantz couldn’t figure out why it was taking so long for replay review to confirm it.

They should have known. On each replay, you could see the ball move as James hit the ground. It touched the ground and moved. Everyone watching might believe that the rule is bogus, but once you saw the ball touch the ground and move, it was clear how it would end up: The play was overturned. Then two plays later, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tried to pull the fake spike trick and was intercepted in a shocking finish.

The Patriots won 27-24, but Steelers fans will argue they won the game on James’ catch. It’s tough to watch that play and think it’s not a catch, but that’s now the NFL rules it. No big deal, it might just determine who wins the Super Bowl this season, considering the implications on the AFC seeding. The Patriots now have the upper hand to get the No. 1 seed after the win.

NFL rules schoolmarm Mike Pereira weighed in on Twitter, and yes, he brought up the infamous Dez Bryant catch/non-catch.

Rest - https://sports.yahoo.com/steelers-ge...003343632.html

[aboutime]

Watched the game too! Not happy with the results. But think about it. All the STEELERS lost was the Home Field advantage. Those TERRIBLE TOWELS can travel, and probably will. STAY CONFIDENT. STAY POSITIVE....New England will get their's soon. I HOPE. "THE KING IS DEAD....LONG LIVE THE KING" for N.E. this year. OKAY?

[SassyLady]

I went from
OMG when 69 yd pass/run happened to
AWESOME when touchdown catch happened to
SHIT when touchdown taken away to
WTF! when intrrception happened.

I need to stop watching the Steelers because every freaking week I have a heart attack by the time it's over. And all of this crap happens in the last minute.

[LongTermGuy]

"​Ok Jimmy...listen up"


".....​Oh...I understand Jimmy...weird call....some days we get the right calls (cause we want them to be so) and some days we dont get the right calls ....

The only thing that happened today is you didn't get the first seed....you guys (Steelers) are still snug as a bug in a rug and first in your divison...bad stuff / Good stuff happens to every team (I know you know) every week is different... just a reminder.

*Imagine...how boring it would be if your team never lost a game...week after week...month after month...year after year.....You would be in your own twilight-Zone...Loosing sometimes makes winning so much sweeter...."

[Black Diamond]

"​Ok Jimmy...listen up"


".....​Oh...I understand Jimmy...weird call....some days we get the right calls (cause we want them to be so) and some days we dont get the right calls ....

The only thing that happened today is you didn't get the first seed....you guys (Steelers) are still snug as a bug in a rug and first in your divison...bad stuff / Good stuff happens to every team (I know you know) every week is different... just a reminder.

*Imagine...how boring it would be if your team never lost a game...week after week...month after month...year after year.....You would be in your own twilight-Zone...Loosing sometimes makes winning so much sweeter...."

Uhh

did you type something long term?

[Black Diamond]

Darin may get banned next time he is on here from what I hear back west.

[LongTermGuy]

Uhh

did you type something long term?

"Long term? who is this long term you speak of? ...Today I identify as a women"

[jimnyc]

The other 28 seconds mattered, unfortunately. They should never have had Ben do the fake spike. Maybe should have tried one last play after a REAL spike, and then try and tie it up and send it to OT with a FG attempt.

The good news is that Pittsburgh showed it can hang with the big boys in that game. Likely if they do get lucky enough to play them again, it would be in NE, which I think will change things though. But still hung with them, and it was a great game!

But no, even the article says it, NE of course didn't cheat. The rule is the rule as well, and applies to everyone. So while folks DO feel cheated, based on this new retarded rule, it's been around and everyone in the league knows about it, and it's been applied and pissed many off before this!

---

Steelers were cheated out of a win vs. the Patriots, but so were fans of the NFL

The Steelers weren't the only ones cheated out of a win vs. the Patriots on Sunday. The fans of the NFL were cheated, as well.

I hate to use the word "cheated" with reference to the New England Patriots, at least as it pertains to their 27-24 victory over the Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday.

New England didn't cheat. Nobody did, really.

But the Steelers surely were cheated, as were the fans who stood in a packed stadium and cheered their lungs out for what seemed like five-straight minutes, after JuJu Smith-Schuster took a crossing pass from Ben Roethlisberger and raced 69 yards to the 10 with just 34 seconds left, a play that was quickly followed by a 10-yard touchdown catch by tight end Jesse James to give Pittsburgh a bye-clinching 31-27 victory.

Or so it seemed.

But in the NFL, what used to be a catch hasn't been one for quite some time.

It's hard to say what a catch is these days, but even when one passes the eye-test, the technicalities of modern NFL football that have mostly to do with instant replay reviews get in the way and gum up the works, as Myron Cope used to say.

Sure, strictly by the letter of the law, James might have not maintained possession all the way to the ground after pulling in a pass just shy of the end zone (although, what evidence there was to overturn the initial call of a touchdown remains a mystery to me).

But you can't tell me what James did on that play wasn’t a touchdown. You can't tell me the Steelers shouldn't be 12-2 right now, with a top seed all but wrapped up, heading into the final two weeks of the season.

You can't tell me the Steelers didn't outplay the Patriots for 59:32 seconds and didn’t deserve to win on Sunday night.

Yes, the Patriots find ways to win, and two plays after the NFL overturned the James touchdown, Roethlisberger was picked off in the end zone with just five seconds remaining, thus putting control of the No. 1 seed in New England's hands, and perhaps setting up another trip to Gillette Stadium for Pittsburgh in a few weeks or so.

Now, instead of the Steelers being able to breathe a little bit over the final two games, they must find a way to reach 13 victories or hope the Jaguars don't reach 12.

Otherwise, they can probably kiss even a bye, bye-bye.

The entire playoff field could have been altered on Sunday evening at Heinz Field. It was, actually, by three players—JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jesse James and Ben Roethlisberger.

Unfortunately, the NFL stepped in and altered it in favor of the team everyone calls the Cheatriots.

Again, though, the Patriots didn't cheat on Sunday. The NFL didn't cheat, either.

But as I sit here, still numb from what I thought would be another fantastic finish in a season full of them, I really feel like I've been cheated as a fan.

If you're a Steelers fan, a football fan or anything but a Patriots fan, I'm guessing you're feeling pretty much the same way.

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...esse-james-afc

[Taco Junkie]

Correct me if I'm wrong.

A runner leaps over the pile and extends the ball and breaks the plane of the goal, then the ball is swatted out of his hands and there's a scrum and whoever recovers at the 5 yard line. But the touchdown stands because essentially the play ended when he broke the plane of the goal line so no fumble. Am I correct? I've seen this happen hundreds of times.

A receiver catches the ball, turns and extends the ball across the plane of the goal in one movement but the ball comes out on contact with the turf or another player and we have no catch. Is that correct? If so can anyone explain that logic (non) to me?

[gabosaurus]

We held a large luncheon to watch the game. My daughter cooked a large pot of spaghetti, made from a recipe and instruction she got from a friend's mom in Milan, Italy. It was DELISH!
The ending was, of course, agonizing. My daughter's boyfriend, being a linebacker, knew what the rule was. He blamed the loss on Big Ben for not throwing the final pass higher. You throw the ball into coverage, you get intercepted.
Nobody likes the Patriots. No one like Belicheat. But the loss sets up an epic beat down by the Steelers in Foxborough next month.
Now it is one to Houston for a Christmas Day slaughter of the unfortunate Texans, which will be witnessed by some pissed off and bloodthirsty Steelers fans.

--This Steelers PR moment brought to you by one of my best friends and bridesmaids.

[Taco Junkie]

By the way, this was the best game I've seen all year although I'm still in my NFL protest mode of not watching. It happened to be on and it was so good I didn't change the channel.

[Bilgerat]

We held a large luncheon to watch the game. My daughter cooked a large pot of spaghetti, made from a recipe and instruction she got from a friend's mom in Milan, Italy. It was DELISH!
The ending was, of course, agonizing. My daughter's boyfriend, being a linebacker, knew what the rule was. He blamed the loss on Big Ben for not throwing the final pass higher. You throw the ball into coverage, you get intercepted.
Nobody likes the Patriots. No one like Belicheat. But the loss sets up an epic beat down by the Steelers in Foxborough next month.
Now it is one to Houston for a Christmas Day slaughter of the unfortunate Texans, which will be witnessed by some pissed off and bloodthirsty Steelers fans.

--This Steelers PR moment brought to you by one of my best friends and bridesmaids.

[jimnyc]

Correct me if I'm wrong.

A runner leaps over the pile and extends the ball and breaks the plane of the goal, then the ball is swatted out of his hands and there's a scrum and whoever recovers at the 5 yard line. But the touchdown stands because essentially the play ended when he broke the plane of the goal line so no fumble. Am I correct? I've seen this happen hundreds of times.

A receiver catches the ball, turns and extends the ball across the plane of the goal in one movement but the ball comes out on contact with the turf or another player and we have no catch. Is that correct? If so can anyone explain that logic (non) to me?

Except when he turns into a runner. Normally just "breaking the plane" makes it a TD, but he went on the ground, and then reached across and lost control for a split little second, while never losing the ball of course, but enough for them to state it was an incimplete pass. If he stayed in the air, and just reached across with the ball, and then was tackled back at the one, it would have been a TD.

[jimnyc]

Congrats, Bilge!!! I knew you'd be in soon. Great game!! We may meet again, but then again the Steelers may not make it that far again.

[LongTermGuy]

​Watch....