Steelers Crush Rams, Parker Breaks Leg
Chris Stout |Dec 21,2007
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 Steelers Crush Rams, Parker Breaks Leg
And the Steelers crushed, but the thrashing came at a price.
On Pittsburgh’s first offensive play, Ben Roethlisberger launched an 83-yard bomb to Santonio Holmes. On the team’s second play, Willie Parker broke his right fibula.
Heading into Week 16’s Thursday Night showdown, Willie Parker lead the league in rushing. Life was good. Parker was even named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl this week. On his first carry of the game, linebacker Will Witherspoon twisted Parker down for a one-yard loss. Parker’s leg was somewhere in the turf, and snap – out for the year.
A couple plays after the injury, Big Ben found Nate Washington for the game’s first touchdown. St Louis answered quickly with a nice return and a solid drive that ended in a leaping Steven Jackson score.
The Steelers offense sputtered after they got the ball back, but a trickeration fake punt pass by rookie punter Dan Sepulveda kept Pittsburgh’s drive alive. The Steelers ate the rest of the first quarter and kicked a field goal.
On the ensuing kickoff, St. Louis return man Derek Stanley got another 40-plus yard return on Pittsburgh’s dodgy coverage unit. A little more than a minute later, Issac Bruce worked the sideline in the end zone and reeled in a 12-yard touchdown catch from Marc Bulger. The Rams went up 14-10.
The Steelers responded with another Nate Washington touchdown, and the Rams followed that with a 52-yard field goal from Jeff Wilkins. Bulger threw a meaningless Hail Mary pick to end the second half. The score at halftime was 24-17 Pittsburgh.
When the Steelers got the ball in the second half, Najeh Davenport took over. Najeh’s the type of running back that needs to get pushed around a bit before he gets going .The guy starts to find another gear after he’s been tackled like five times. Once he gets all fired up, the dude runs faster, breaks tackles and scores touchdowns. Davenport’s no sprinter, but he sure picks up velocity quick after he gets going. Davenport finished the game with 24 rushes for 123 yards. His third quarter touchdown put the Steelers up by 31-17.
The Rams were able to score before the end of the quarter, but they put up a donut in the fourth. Jeff Reed’s 29-yard field goal and Ike Taylor’s 51-yard interception return for a touchdown put the game beyond reach.
So the victory gave the Steelers a much needed boost, but they lost Fast Willie in the process. Parker won’t win a rushing title in 2007. He won’t contribute in the playoffs, and he won’t go to Honolulu. Parker will be missed, but the Steelers can rebound.
Pittsburgh needs Tennessee to lose this week in order to clinch a playoff spot. A loss by Cleveland will give the division to the Steelers.
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