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It wasn’t the pregame talk about New England.
Or the seemingly weekly distractions that piled up one on top of the other Authentic P.K Subban Jersey , some of them self-created and others the byproduct of circumstances far beyond their control.
The Pittsburgh Steelers spent Monday cleaning out their lockers instead of getting ready for the AFC championship game because they were outplayed and outclassed by Jacksonville in a wild 45-42 loss .
That’s it. That’s all.
”I don’t think (the outside noise) had anything to do with it,” guard David DeCastro said. ”They just made more plays than us. I don’t mean to sound cliche, but I thought we did a great job blocking all that stuff out all year and didn’t make too big a deal of it.”
If anything, the Steelers seemed to thrive off adversity while going 13-4 and earning a second straight AFC North title.
Yet all that swagger, all that confidence eroded over the course of three difficult hours against the Jaguars.
The defense that set a franchise record and led the NFL with 55 sacks couldn’t get a hand on Blake Bortles.
The offense piled up 534 yards, but also committed two turnovers that gift-wrapped Jacksonville 14 points.
Running back Le’Veon Bell stressed there were ”no excuses” heading into the postseason.
And as they met for the last time before the cycle begins anew in March, they didn’t offer any.
Four consecutive playoff berths have yielded zero parades through downtown in mid-February with the Lombardi Trophy in hand.
They’re well aware the issue isn’t talent.
”Every time you don’t win the Super Bowl, it’s a wasted opportunity,” linebacker Vince Williams said.
Asked if he believes the pieces are in place for the current core to take the step that’s proven elusive, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he ”absolutely” does while promising to return for a 15th season.
It’s an assurance that at least will help the Steelers avoid the weeks of ”will he or won’t he” Roethlisberger put the team through while he pondered his future last spring.
”I don’t know about contracts and who’s coming back, but I know the guys up front are,” Roethlisberger said. ”That makes it good for me.”
It just might not make it good for everyone.
A look at what went wrong and what may be in store between now and when the Steelers report for organized team activities in May.
RUN OVER: The Steelers finished fifth in the league in total defense and 10th against the rush, but had issues getting dominated at times. Jacksonville combined to pile up 395 yards on the ground while winning twice at Heinz Field.
”The things that happened this year can’t happen next year,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. ”There are going to be new problems and new things we need to correct, but let’s find a different problem.”
REPLACING RYAN: Pittsburgh linebacker Ryan Shazier’s season and likely his NFL career ended when he suffered a spinal injury against Cincinnati on Dec. 4. He underwent spinal stabilization surgery two days later and his upbeat approach to his recovery (highlighted by the (hash)Shalieve hashtag) gave the Steelers an emotional rallying point.
The business side of the equation, however, will need to be addressed in the offseason. Pittsburgh signed Sean Spence to take Shazier’s place in October, but the defense as a whole struggled at times over the final weeks.
A major priority heading into the draft will be finding a player who can inherit Shazier’s spot in the huddle, though Shazier’s role as a leader will be far more difficult to fill.
WHAT ABOUT TODD?: Offensive coordinator Todd Haley has helped Roethlisberger put together the most productive seasons of his potentially Hall of Fame career.
And while the two have never been close, they’ve found enough common ground to help the Steelers and their ”Killer B” offense rank among the most consistently dynamic attacks in the league.
It may be time Authentic Ryan Johansen Jersey , however, to move on. The Steelers made a pair of questionable play calls on fourth-and-1 against Jacksonville, both of which ended with Pittsburgh failing to convert.
Throw in Haley’s peripheral involvement in an incident at a bar on New Year’s Eve in which he was injured and Pittsburgh could decide to find someone else to run an offense that includes Roethlisberger, Bell, Antonio Brown, rookie wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and Martavis Bryant.
HAPPY RETURNS?: Bell skipped training camp while waiting to sign his one-year, $12 million franchise tender. The Steelers will have a chance to sign him to a long-term deal or franchise him yet again next year, a move that Bell told ESPN would force him to consider retiring or sitting out the entire season.
Bell, who led the NFL in touches this season (404) said Sunday his preference is to remain in Pittsburgh. Bryant, who made an ill-advised trade request in September after returning from a drug suspension, has one year left on his deal and wants to stay in Pittsburgh. Bryant came on late and made a spectacular diving touchdown grab against Jacksonville.
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The Detroit Tigers lost much more than a game on Tuesday night.
Miguel Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon in the third inning of a 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins and will have season-ending surgery later this week.
”This is obviously a very sad day for Miggy and for the entire ballclub,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. ”It is obviously a huge blow to the team, both on and off the field, but we will have to find a way to overcome it.”
Gardenhire said Cabrera’s status for the 2019 season won’t be known until after the operation. He still has $154 million left on a contract that runs through 2023.
Cabrera swung awkwardly at Jake Odorizzi’s slider and immediately walked to the dugout with his arm limply at his side. When he was joined by team trainers, the slugger gestured to his biceps and continued walking into the Detroit clubhouse.
”At that end of that inning, I ran up to check on him in the clubhouse and he said he felt a pop on that swing,” teammate Nicholas Castellanos said. ”I knew that wasn’t good, but we didn’t find out how bad it was until after the game.”
Many of the Tigers had already left the clubhouse before it was opened to the media, more than 20 minutes after the final pitch.
”We’re all kind of stunned,” said JaCoby Jones. ”You don’t think anything like that is going to happen to Miguel Cabrera Authentic Will Butcher Jersey , especially on a swing.”
Cabrera has played through numerous lower-body injuries in the past few years, even while winning a Triple Crown, two MVP awards and four batting titles, but it started to catch up with him in 2017. He played 130 games, but hit a career-worst .249 with 16 homers.
This year, he missed three games with spasms in the same biceps tendon that ruptured on Tuesday, then was out for 26 games with a hamstring strain and back tightness. He returned on June 1, hitting .244 with no home runs and one RBI in 12 games before the latest injury.
Gardenhire didn’t think the earlier injuries played a role in what happened on Tuesday.
”He took BP before the game and he said he felt great,” Gardenhire said.
John Hicks, normally Detroit’s backup catcher, played first base during Cabrera’s previous absence and will return there for the time being. Gardenhire said the team will discuss long-term plans in the upcoming days.
”We’re all going to have to step up, starting tomorrow, to try to fill Miggy’s shoes,” Castellanos said. ”That means everyone, beginning with me.”
The mood in the clubhouse wasn’t helped by a late-inning loss. Detroit led 2-1 after six innings before Ehire Adrianza’s first career grand slam rallied the Twins.
Tigers starter Blaine Hardy allowed a leadoff single to Eduardo Escobar to start the seventh and was replaced by Louis Coleman.
”I understand that move completely,” Hardy said. ”I have just as much faith in Lou as I do myself, and that hasn’t changed.”
Coleman (3-1) only threw nine strikes in a 23-pitch outing, walking two batters to load the bases with two out. Gardenhire brought in Warwick Saupold, who went to a 3-1 count on Adrianza before throwing a fastball that ended up in the right-field stands.
”I’m not a home run hitter, so this is very exciting Authentic Taylor Hall Jersey ,” Adrianza said. ”It was a hitter’s count, so I was looking for a fastball and I hit it hard. I was emotional.”
The Tigers made it 5-4 with two runs in the seventh. With runners on second and third with two outs, Jones beat out an infield single and Escobar’s throw sailed past first baseman Logan Morrison for Minnesota’s second throwing error of the inning.
Miguel Sano gave the Twins a 6-4 lead with an RBI single in the eighth.
”We walked some people and we just let the game get away from us,” Gardenhire said. ”That was disappointing.”
Ryan Pressly (1-1) got the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 14th save.
”I think we’ve played better in games that we’ve lost, but winning is the important part,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. ”What Ehire did was obviously huge. We were hoping he’d get something to the outfield, and he puts it in the seats.”
Hardy pitched six-plus innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk. Hardy, who replaced Jordan Zimmermann in the rotation, is expected to make at least one more start before Zimmermann and Francisco Liriano return from the disabled list.
Odorizzi permitted two runs on four hits and four walks in five innings. He struck out four while throwing 102 pitches.
The Twins took a 1-0 lead by manufacturing a run in the third. With one out, Adrianza reached on an infield single, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Ryan LaMarre’s sacrifice fly.
Jose Iglesias tied the game with a one-out RBI triple in the fourth, and scored on Leonys Martin’s sacrifice fly.
STAYING IN SHAPE
While on third base after his fourth-inning triple, Iglesias had to dive to the ground to avoid being hit by teammate Dixon Machado’s line drive. He broke his fall with his hands and snapped off three quick push-ups before jumping back to his feet.
HEALTHY RESUME
Cabrera made his major league debut for the Florida Marlins on June 20, 2003, and played in 87 of their final 88 games. He averaged 153 games in the next 14 seasons, but will finish 2018 with 38.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: Minnesota signed RHP Matt Belisle to a major league contract and he joined the team in Detro