Falcons 41, Steelers 38

I thought we had worked this out, but apparently not.

Three turnovers committed by the Pittsburgh Steelers were turned into three Michael Vick touchdown passes, making today's game yet another example of what happens when each game is not considered precious.

In today's devotional, five of the ten virgins chose to wait until later to gather the oil to power their lamps. That would be the attitude of a team which has been among the most successful in the past several seasons.

When a team is used to playing between 9-12 home games a year because of the unprecedented ability of their fan base to take over visiting stadiums, it can fall into a false sense of security.

When, even with a 2-4 record, that team can STILL be heralded as the premiere team in their division, it is easy to assume the light will come on before absolute darkness descends upon the land. That is not the attitude of a champion. Running off 5-6 wins in a row will not mean a whole lot in a few weeks, because the hole dug by fumbles and mental errors will be too deep to ascend out of.

On a brighter note, obscured in this defeat is the continuing growth of the receiving corps. Santonio Holmes has been as effective as a receiver as he has been unreliable as a punt returner. Nate Washington has improved each week, although if he could get people to let him do his dance alone after he scores, that would be better for all involved. Hines Ward seems to be healthy and performing as he always has. So long as teams put 8-10 defenders in the box to stop the run, their performance will be instrumental to the growth of this team.

Unlike my co-contributor, I believed after the Chargers loss that there was some room for error with a 1-3 record. I do not think 2-4 is not insurmountable either, given the teams that remain. What is certain, is that the Steelers will be spending a large part of January away from Heinz Field. What has yet to be determined is whether or not the Steelers will still be playing in January in Denver or Indianapolis or sitting at home watching with us.