Cardinals at Steelers Game Recap: The Revenge of the Goat

via OU Blog

I’ll get into the nitty gritty of the game shortly, but first I’ll explain the title, if it isn’t obvious. Who is the player who has been at or near the top of most people’s short list to be cut? I’ll give you a hint if you’re having trouble making the connection. The Steelers were derided for drafting him. He has never, apparently, made anything like a positive contribution to the team in the three years he has been on it. And the Steelers coaching staff clearly didn’t feel confident enough in him to entrust the offense to him when Ben went down. I refer, of course, to quarterback Landry Jones.

I will freely admit I thought “Oh, bother” when it was obvious Vick was hurt. Nothing Jones showed during the preseason gave Steeler Nation a reason to expect much of anything. But lo and behold, the QB who looked tentative and shaky most of the preseason came out, threw a touchdown on his first NFL completion, and engineered another touchdown drive as a stunned Cardinals sideline looked on in disbelief.

Steelers Opponent Preview: Pittsburgh West Visits Pittsburgh East

via Post-Gazette/Bob Donaldson Tomlin and Arians, back in the day

It’s been a while since the Steelers have seen the Cardinals. A lot has changed since 2011. Especially for the Cardinals…

History of the Matchup:

Here is the lifetime win/loss record for Cardinals vs. Steelers:

Steelers: 22 Cardinals: 9, Ties: 3. This includes the post season.

The first five games (1933—1939) were actually between the Pittsburgh (football) Pirates and the Chicago Cardinals. The record was 2-3. The Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated their first game as the Steelers in 1940 with a tie, in a game that ended with a score of 7-7.

In 1960 games were now between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the St. Louis (football) Cardinals. The record in that era was 9-12-2.

The franchise moved to Arizona in 1988, where they were the Phoenix Cardinals, briefly, before becoming the Arizona Cardinals. The record since 1988 is 4-3, which includes Super Bowl XLIII.

The most recent win was in 2011. It was the second of the four NFC West games, and the Steelers were dominating the matchup. They beat the Seahawks first, 24-0. The Cardinals were more grist to their mill—they were beaten 20-32. Before the next NFC West game, the Monday Night Debacle at Candlestick Park, the Steelers visited the Chiefs, where they won the battle but lost the war.