Week 5 Steelers 28 Lions 20 @ O'Keefe's Bar & Grill

So this is shaping up to be one of those "Don't take anything for granted" type of years. Even though the Lions have been the worst team in the NFL for the past 50 years, owing of course to The Curse of Bobby Layne, and even though the Steelers have moved in an exponentially different direction than the Lions in the 51 years since Bobby made his way from the Motor City to the Steel City, this isn't the kind of season where the wins come easy. We all know that anything can happen on any given Sunday, and the Black and Gold seem to have set about proving it this year, but a win against the Lions should be as close to a sure thing as you can find in today's NFL. I mean, the Detroit Lions shouldn't even be in the same league as the Pittsburgh Steelers.Sure enough, though, what could have easily been a pad the stats throw away game got way too interesting, but the Black and Gold managed to hang in there and keep the season heading back in the right direction. In the mean time, I had great game watching experience, courtesy of O'Keefe's Bar and Grill on Court St., right on the border of Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn.

Until this year, O'Keefe's was set up to be the perfect Brooklyn sports bar, but it just couldn't pull the trigger. The space is big enough that it can hold a really good crowd without really jamming people in. There's a big bar, a long row of oversized four person tables, plenty of standing area between the two, and a medium sized dining area in the back. On top of that, the wings are really good. To make it even better, the place is literally crowded with big, new, high definition tv's, everywhere you look. Seriously, it's the kind of place where there isn't a bad seat in the house, and you practically have a private TV no matter where you sit (or stand). The only problem was that, until this season, O'Keefe's couldn't get DirecTV reception. So basically, you would generally walk past, look inside, see the Jets doing there December slde toward irrelevance on 25 beautiful televisions, and keep walking to a place that had the Steelers on their tiny, inferior TV's. It was heartbreaking.

Finally, though, O'Keefe's was able to get an all clear on the Sunday Ticket, so now they've got every game going, and the place is starting to get a pretty good Sunday afternoon crowd, dressed in jerseys from every football city you can think of, cheering on their favorites. Even though the Jets weren't playing, which no doubt made for a little more space inside, I walked in a little late, and so for a second it looked like a couple of other late arriving Steeler fans and I might be standing for the game. Just then, somebody behind me said that we could grab a seat at his table, since he had plenty of room. The other fans passed, waiting for a seat to open up at the bar. I was skeptical at first, too, but I did a quick check of the guy's shirt and saw that it was a Super Bowl XV jersey, so I knew that I could sit down in good company and enjoy the game.

Of course, to get started I ordered some hot wings when the waitress came over, and I wasn't disappointed with what I got. The wings came quickly, hot and fresh out of the kitchen. I've eaten O'Keefe's wings before, so I knew what to expect, and I got eactly what I expected. The wings are nice and big, and they're cooked really well, good and crispy. When I'm given the choice, I always order a place's hot sauce, and that's really the only place that I run into a problem with O'Keefe's wings. They seem to come from the school of thought that says hot sauce equals more sauce, so you end up with that kind of thick, bright red paste on your wings. I'm starting to think that this is just what a Brooklyn (NYC?) style wing really is. One option is to order the wings extra crispy, with the hot sauce on the side. You won't get your wings as spicy this way, but you can be sure that you'll get a good wing to sauce ratio. Really, the wings at O'Keefe's are so big that, even if you get them without the sauce, you can just throw some salt on them and you're basically eating some awesome fried chicken. All told, you'll be happy with the wings at O'Keefe's, and an order of ten does me just fine.

So everything was good early on. The Steelers weren't exactly dominating right out of the gate, but I was confident that they would establish a rhythm. It seems like the the team is really settling into its identity, and we're starting to see the same guys make big contributions week after week. You've really got to be happy with what Rashard Mendenhall has been doing so far. It's funny that a lot of the same people who were calling him a first round bust a couple of weeks ago are now demanding that he gets more touches every game. Personally, I think that the coaching staff is just bringing him along at a pace that they believe will give him the best chance for success, and it seems to be working. Let's not forget that any time that your offense has Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Heath Miller, and Santonio Holmes, you're going to be a serious threat throwing the ball, and I'm very happy with what I've seen of the Steelers' passing offense this season. I'm still confidant that Holmes will be able to put together the kind of offensive production that everyone, including me, was expecting from him this year, but Hines and Heath  are really coming up with some huge plays. Those two seem like all around great guys, great teammates, etc., so it's awesome to see them coming through in such a big way this year. You really have to like the fact that, even after what could have been a big pick six interception (which came, incidentally, a couple of playes after a drop that would have been a sure touchdown), Ben came right back out there and led a no-nuddle touchdown drive. We also can't forget everyone's favorite Rookie of the Year candidate, Mike Wallace, who is playing at a level that is higher than just about anyone could have predicted. Anyone, that is, except for Mike Wallace himself. He seems like he's cut right from the traditional Steeler mold: confidant without being arrogant, hardworking, eager for the opportunity to help the team succeed, and humble about the success that he has had so far.

So even though thing were looking good, with the Steelers up pretty good in the second half, things started to get a bit close when the offense seemed to sort of lose direction, and the defense gave up a touchdown drive. The whole time, I was saying that I wasn't worried, and it was the truth. I definitely won't say that I was totally comfortable with what was going on, but I was confident that the Steelers would be able to hold it together. I just couldn't believe that the Lions were going to be able to put together the kind of offense that it would take to come back and take the lead. Sure enough, though, the Lions were actually moving the ball down the field again, but the defense really stepped up and made some huge plays. Just when it was really starting to look really bad, LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, and William Gay (twice) all got to Culpepper, and Ike Tayor sealed the whole thing up with his interception. It was the kind of dominant defensive series that we've been waiting to see from this unit all year, and they really came through at a cruicial moment. When the game was on the line, the Steelers did what we all expect them to do: they stepped up and won the game.

So while it's true that, on any given Sunday, a team like the Lions can get right in there and play with the Steelers, this game made a simple, but important, point. Great teams make great plays at the most important times. In some way, the fact that the Steelers kept their focus and kept battling against a team that nobody expected to have half a chance, even when the game was getting dangerously close, is even more impressive than a huge blowout win. This week showed that, with the level of talent and experience that they have, the Steelers can win even when they aren't playing anywhere close to their best football. Now that we've established that, let's get out there next week and blow the Browns out of the water.

This week, in summary:

•  Steelers win (3-2)
• Good passing offense, good rushing offense, extremely clutch fourth quarter defense
• Wings from O'Keefe's Bar & Grill
• 62 Court St (Livingston/Joralemon), Brooklyn NY
• Very good wings, decent Steelers crowd (plus one to the dude who shared his table), perfect TV's, perfect TV placement