American Sports Page

[PeteC]

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger gets wish, ends potential last game at Heinz Field with win

It was his last home game after an 18 year career. Last game in Baltimore next weekend, and a very slim chance they could go to the playoffs if several things happen, but it's doubtful. Video at link.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/329 ... -field-win

PITTSBURGH -- Minutes before what was likely his final game at Heinz Field kicked off, Ben Roethlisberger faced the Cleveland Browns game captains by himself at the Pittsburgh Steelers' midfield logo Monday night.

Fellow Steelers captains Cam Heyward and Derek Watt would normally flank the quarterback on the walk to the coin toss, but the pair stopped short, letting Roethlisberger go ahead without them.

When Roethlisberger realized what was happening, he playfully swatted at them, but they continued to hang back. Roethlisberger kept walking, until he stood by himself at midfield for potentially the final coin toss at Heinz Field of his 18-year career.

"We knew if we let Ben know ahead of time, he would've been like, 'No, don't do that,'" Heyward said. "So we took it out of his hands. He was a little bit annoyed, but we wanted to give him every bit of opportunity to celebrate this."

It was the kind of understated gesture fitting of the veteran, who said earlier he preferred winning Monday night to pomp and circumstance in what was likely a final farewell to his home field.

The Steelers then delivered Roethlisberger's greatest wish with a 26-14 victory against the Browns.

"I'm just so thankful for these fans and this place. There's no place like it,'' Roethlisberger said with tears in his eyes during a postgame interview with ESPN.

Roethlisberger kept his usual pregame routine Monday night, arriving four hours before the contest, but he didn't take the field for final warm-ups until 46 minutes remained before kickoff.

"Ben did a really nice job of setting the pace," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "He was singularly focused. It was business as usual, and so he was easy to follow, and I think that everybody got their vibe from him in that way. Obviously, it was an extremely emotional night and all that, but he did a good job kind of setting the post for that approach all week."

Roethlisberger embraced Steelers minority owner Thomas Tull, who took out a full, front-page advertisement in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Monday to thank the quarterback. Tull also wore a black Roethlisberger jersey.

Early in pregame warm-ups, Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II thanked Roethlisberger for a "great 18 years" on the video board, but outside of that, the Steelers went light on tributes to the quarterback. During the fourth-quarter playing of "Renegade," there weren't any extra Roethlisberger moments added to the highlight reel.

As expected, Roethlisberger was the last player individually announced, and he sprinted out of the tunnel to a loud ovation from the 63,624 fans, who broke out into a "Let's go, Ben" chant after his introduction. The chant rang through the stadium throughout the game as the fans, who came armed with farewell signs, bid goodbye to their franchise quarterback.

"Everything was pretty calm and collected throughout this whole week, throughout the pregame," Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt said. "Pretty normal. Until you walked outside and felt the energy. Saw all the 7 jerseys, all the 7 signs.

"It was truly an atmosphere that I've never felt here before. It was really, really special. The fans made it so amazing for him. I'm so appreciative they were able to do that for him. It was a special night."

The Steelers responded with an energized, complementary game.

While the pass rush racked up nine sacks, including a career-high four from Watt, Roethlisberger completed 24 of 46 attempts for 123 yards -- including 34 attempts in the first half -- along with one touchdown and an interception. With that performance, Roethlisberger set a record for fewest passing yards in a single game with at least 45 pass attempts, and he averaged 1.75 air yards per completion, his lowest in a game since ESPN began track air yards in 2006.

"It's funny because probably not the way you wanted it other than the win," Roethlisberger said. "And that's all that really matters. And that's been the story of my career: Not always pretty but we find a way."

To bolster the offense, Najee Harris had his best performance as a pro, gaining 188 yards on 28 carries. His massive night helped him break Franco Harris' franchise rookie rushing record from 1972, giving Harris 1,172 rushing yards this season. Harris also scored a 37-yard touchdown in the final minute.

"He's a heck of a football player," Roethlisberger said. "Tonight, it's like he ran possessed. Some of the things he did was just special, and he gave us that victory."

After taking a knee in victory formation, courtesy of Tre Norwood's interception, Roethlisberger wrapped up his postgame interview and lingered on the field for 12 minutes. He held up his hand with his thumb, index and pinky finger extended, slowly spinning in a circle to tell the crowd at Heinz Field he loved them. He walked along the perimeter of the south end zone, high-fiving and acknowledging fans who traveled, made posters and shouted "Thank you, Ben" and "Let's go, Ben" throughout the game.

"This is home," Roethlisberger said afterward. "I was born in Ohio, but I live here, and I'll always be here. These fans and this place means so much to me and my family and always will. I've always said they're the best fans in all of sports, and I'll stick by that until the day I die.

"To see all the signs and jerseys and towels, and to hear them cheer for me coming out of the tunnel, all that stuff, I don't know that I'll ever put it into words. I wish I could bottle it and have it forever. But I will in here and in my mind."

Tomlin watched as his quarterback made his way around Heinz Field and allowed himself to reflect on their relationship.

"I was appreciating the last 15 years with him," Tomlin said. "Man, we've been through a lot. We've seen a lot. It's been a heck of a ride. Been one that's been an honor to be a part of and enjoy."

Surrounded by cameras, Roethlisberger cut back across the field and over to the sideline and embraced Rooney before taking a seat on the bench, where he sat with longtime center Maurkice Pouncey a year ago after a playoff loss to the Browns. This time, he sat alone.

"Just wanted to sit down and take it in," Roethlisberger said. "Just try and absorb every minute of this place because it's so special, the fans are so special. I wanted to win this game more than anything for them. Obviously, we still have a bigger -- we got another game. There is a slim chance [to make the playoffs], but we've got to keep fighting."

After a moment, he got up and walked toward the tunnel, where he was greeted by his family. He hugged all of them and then walked into the tunnel with his wife and three kids.

[pharvey]

I must admit that I (like quite a few others I suspect) struggle with American sports - I'd honestly like to get a hold on American Football for example, but games seem to go on for an age and teams seem to have countless players.

Fully accept that I am a complete novice, but is there a starting point to watch - College Football for example and a (free) channel to watch?

[PeteC]

No, not really any free channel unless you can get into USA channels like Fox and CBS and some games on NBC I think. The best pay source is "Game Pass", which includes the NFL Network, and has all the games on demand, and more than enough analysis to give anyone a good working knowledge of the game. It costs $99.00 per full season. There is a "free" option which I think only includes the analytical side so that may be a start. https://www.nflgamepass.com/en

College ball could be confusing as some of the rules are different, and their season ended with the the New Year bowl games

It's a lot like Rugby for you, Pharvey in that you've been around and playing the game since a little nipper. The same holds true for me with American football and I still don't know it all yet, but my eye for things is 100% better than it is with Rugby.

It's an exciting time of the season as the final playoff berths are being decided in week #18 upcoming, followed by the playoffs and Superbowl.

[migrant]

https://ustvgo.tv/ has CBS and Fox plus other sports channels. With the time difference early morning here (not sure of your time) is the best to catch live games. Sunday and Monday the best, Sunday for college, Monday pro.

I grew up with football, played it in school and college, but don't watch a lot of it. These days lot's of commercial breaks to pay for the players astronomical salaries.

[hhinner]

NFL on UK TV in 2021 https://www.nfl.com/news/where-to-watch ... -in-the-uk

[pharvey]

^ Many thanks for the answers guys - will attempt to get to know (if not understand) the sport

[sateeb]

I posted this on the Documentaries thread. Well worth a watch.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=21004&p=551499#p551499

[PeteC]

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[PeteC]

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[PeteC]

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(Thai time)

[PeteC]

Now the bloodbath begins. Minnesota, Chicago and Miami NFL teams all fired their head coaches and most staff yesterday, with more to follow for sure. It happens every year. Some will disappear forever, but most will recycle into a position of the same or lesser responsibility with another NFL team.

[PeteC]

Now the bloodbath begins. Minnesota, Chicago and Miami NFL teams all fired their head coaches and most staff yesterday, with more to follow for sure. It happens every year. Some will disappear forever, but most will recycle into a position of the same or lesser responsibility with another NFL team.

....add the New York Giants coach and staff to the list effective today.

[migrant]

Now the bloodbath begins. Minnesota, Chicago and Miami NFL teams all fired their head coaches and most staff yesterday, with more to follow for sure. It happens every year. Some will disappear forever, but most will recycle into a position of the same or lesser responsibility with another NFL team.

....add the New York Giants coach and staff to the list effective today.

Which was no surprise.

[PeteC]

Now the bloodbath begins. Minnesota, Chicago and Miami NFL teams all fired their head coaches and most staff yesterday, with more to follow for sure. It happens every year. Some will disappear forever, but most will recycle into a position of the same or lesser responsibility with another NFL team.

....add the New York Giants coach and staff to the list effective today.

It's getting hard to keep up with all of these, and more so when their replacements are named. This year may be a record.

The Houston Texans on Thursday fired head coach David Culley after just one season following the team's disappointing 4-13 record in the 2021 campaign.

[PeteC]

Freezing temperatures, snow, rain could impact NFL wild-card playoffs

https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/NFL/202 ... 642085734/

MIAMI, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- While two games will be played indoors during the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs, freezing temperatures, snow flurries, rain and strong winds could impact four others.

Games in bad weather are typically lower scoring. Snow and rain can make the ball slick, hard for quarterbacks to grip and difficult for others to catch. Wind impacts the passing game and field goal attempts.

The Cincinnati Bengals, the No. 4 seed in the AFC, host the No. 5 Las Vegas Raiders in the first game this postseason. That one kicks off at 4:30 p.m. EST Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati and airs on NBC.

Cincinnati's forecast for Saturday includes a low temperature of about 19 degrees and a slight chance of snow.

"I like it," Bengals coach Zac Taylor told reporters Monday. "We've laid out plainly what the temperature will be Saturday and our guys are ready for it."

The Raiders played 11 regular-season games in domes in 2021. The Bengals played 15 games in outdoor stadiums.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr owns an 0-5 career record in games played when the temperature was under 37 degrees. He never threw more than one touchdown in any of those games, and he also totaled five interceptions in them.

Taylor said the Bengals practiced outside this week, despite an option to meet in the University of Cincinnati's indoor practice bubble. They practiced last Thursday in the snow.

The No. 6 New England Patriots battle the No. 3 Buffalo Bills at 8:15 p.m. EST Saturday in Orchard Park, N.Y. That game airs on CBS. Temperatures are expected to be in the single digits Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.

The low temperatures could make the game the second-coldest ever played at the stadium. The Bills played the Los Angeles Raiders in 0-degree F weather in the 1994 postseason in Orchard Park.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen, known for his strong arm and mobility, said the cold temperatures could make his feet numb.

"I think the most important thing for me is, I don't know why, I've got bad circulation in my feet," Allen told reporters Tuesday. "My toes get really cold and they go numb a little bit.

"So just keeping those suckers warm and as dry as possible, as well as the hands -- obviously that's a big emphasis for quarterbacks. You need your hands to throw. So keeping those extremities as warm as possible [will be important]."

The No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs host the No. 7 Pittsburgh Steelers in another game that could be played in a winter mix. That game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. EST Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., and airs on NBC.

Snow is expected Saturday in Kansas City. Temperatures are expected to be between 25 and 33 degrees.

Cold weather isn't expected to play a major factor in the three NFC wild-card matchups. The No. 2 seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the No. 7 Philadelphia Eagles at 1 p.m. Sunday in Tampa, Fla.

The forecast Sunday in Tampa calls for temperatures in the upper-60s, with an 80% chance of rain and wind gusts of 23 MPH.

The No. 3 Dallas Cowboys host the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at their indoor/outdoor AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The No. 4 Los Angeles Rams host the No. 5 Arizona Cardinals at 8:15 p.m. Monday at their indoor-outdoor SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.