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PITTSBURGH – Do not tell Matt Ryan, of Atlanta, that the Pittsburgh Steelers in contention are a mess and distracted on the way to their first losing season in 15 years. He will not listen.
Minutes after the Steelers had sacked Ryan six times 41-1 on 17-17 on Sunday, he headed for the small underground radiography room at Heinz Field.
The door was closed. Ryan might have considered that it was a metaphor for the Steelers' defensive effort, which was meant to obstruct and harass the Falcons throughout the match.
Rolling his eyes, Ryan, with his red arms and neck, turned around and entered the Falcons' locker room. Over his shoulder, the music of a famous steelers cloakroom crossed the concrete corridor that separated the teams' quarters.
Yes, it is too early to write off the Steelers. Preoccupied, anemic and confused, as Pittsburgh did in the first month of this season, Sunday's defeat proved that the Steelers (2-2-1) may have enough talent to remain viable for the fifth time in a row. Or at least the Steelers have enough top players to keep this race alive until Le'Veon Bell returns.
"Hopefully this will be a catalyst for us as we move forward," said Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin. Always entertaining, Tomlin added, "But we recognize that it will take some time before we can have the stench of September from us."
During the first weekend of matches of N.F.L. in October, the Steelers again looked like the team that had scored 45-19 in the previous four seasons. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger turned around and lifted the ball over a line some 30 meters into the air. A pass so perfect that Atlanta's double cover did not make sense.
The balloon skillfully and accurately seated in the wide and streaked Antonio Brown's wide receiver for a 47-yard touchdown along the sideline. For weeks, the N.F.L.L. The community wondered if there was a gap between Roethlisberger and Brown, a first-team All-Pro pick for the past five years.
On Sunday, Roethlisberger responded by sending two of his three touchdown passes to Brown. The first of these scores, a perfectly justifiable and indefensible corner trajectory and a quick pass that resulted in a 9-yard touchdown, was as exquisite as the bomb on the sidelines.
"It was about my frustration with the way I played and my confidence to make those shots because it was not easy," said Roethlisberger afterwards. "So, it shows that we are still on the same page."
If Roethlisberger and Brown tried to make a statement, Bell's replacement, James Conner, who had lost 36 holes in both Pittsburgh defeats this season was a source of dissatisfaction for the Steelers fans.
On Sunday, Conner racked up 21 yards for 110 yards.
"I think James was tired of hearing about Le'Veon, so he made a hell of a performance today," Roethlisberger said.
The same could be said of all Steelers players: even the special teams blocked a punt in Atlanta. Late Sunday afternoon, the steelers' locker room had an air of redemption. Things were becoming hopeless.
"I do not like to say that it was desperate," said defensive tackle Cameron Heyward in disagreement. "I would say that there was an emergency. In practice all week, we knew we had to win this game at home. We had to do things well.
Or, as goalkeeper David DeCastro said, "When you do not win, guys start questioning things here and there. This can hurt the mood. So, you want to stay the course and stay on track. But a victory corrects a lot of that. It was at the right time.
Rest assured, Sunday's victory has appeased the Steelers, who, because of the record number of six Super Bowl championships dating back to 1974, are both massive and international.
Two members of this Legion, Jim Petropoulos and George Provias, left Montreal for a weekend before Canada Thanksgiving Day to attend Sunday's game at Heinz Field.
Petropoulos, 48, is convinced that keeping Bell has been a distraction for the chemistry of the team, but he is convinced that what has always been a playoff team – the Steelers have a losing season this century – will rediscover the formula that kept them in the Super Bowl conflict. most years.
"It's still early in the season," Petropoulos said. "Anything can happen again."
Brandon and Sherry Stanley of Kingsport, Tenn., Are two of the Steelers fans who grew up in southwestern Virginia, where local TV channels aired N.F.L. Pittsburgh games for decades.
"I told him that he had not been a Steelers fan, I would not have married him," Sherry told Brandon with a laugh and a pat on the arm.
The Stanley, who played seven-and-a-half hours in Sunday's game, also believe in a Steelers revival this season, confident in a collective bond that has permeated many teams in the Pittsburgh championship.
"It's deeper than football," Sherry said. "It's a team dynamic."
In Pittsburgh and beyond, Sunday night, a minimum of harmony had returned to a season of football that had been relaxing for a month. The Steelers have not lost a record.
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