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Let’s face it. In some important ways the Baltimore Ravens lost yesterday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers more than the Steelers won it. Don’t get me wrong the Steelers defense finally made a few plays in the fourth quarter which was nice.

But again the Steelers settled for field goals on key possessions and looked outmatched in the second half. Minus a number of critical penalties and a dropped touchdown the Steelers likely lose that game.

But I will take it.  The Steelers remain in the playoff hunt.

It comes down to beating Miami and then hoping the Bengals and Patriots win even with nothing on the line. Here is a scenario where the Steelers make it (you can change it to see how various scenarios play out).

Things are more precarious thanks to the, in my opinion, stupid way the Colts pissed away the chance for a perfect season by giving the lackluster Jets new life by sitting Peyton Manning and other key starters.

But if Cincinnati beats the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets! And the Patriots beat the Texans then the Steelers are in (provided they win as well). Normally you would say the odds are good but the Texans and Jets are playing for a playoff spot and their opponents are playing for nothing. That makes me very nervous. But the Steelers put themselves in this position so that’s life.

In some ways it doesn’t matter. If the Steelers win their last three games and finish 9-7 but miss the playoffs it will be disappointing for sure. But with two Super Bowls in four years it is hard to get irate about 9-7.

On the other hand, it would be interesting to see the Steelers in the playoffs with a healthy Troy Palamalu.  They are an experienced group and are very familiar with all the teams they might face. Be nice to have a chance to get hot and make another Super Bowl run.

In reality, the way the defense is playing I can’t see the Steelers getting to the Super Bowl against teams like New England, Indy and San Diego (picture Randy Moss and Wes Welker wrecking havoc in the secondary in the Wild Card game for example).

But we live to fight another day at this point. And as I said above, I will take it.

Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally managed to win a game.  They nearly killed me in the process, and it took every last second of the game, but they beat the Green Bay Packers in thrilling fashion to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Was it disturbing that the defense was clearly incapable of stopping the Packers and Coach Tomlin knew that and hence his decision to try an onside kick? Yes, it was.  Troy Polomalu’s absence is a killer in the middle of the secondary and big plays happen there with tragic regularity.

But that the Steelers came up with the plays they needed to win helps take the pain away from knowing the defense just isn’t up to its usual standards.

The Steelers playoff scenario as I understand it below.

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There is no other word to describe a team that was supposed to be fighting for its playoff life and the right to defend its Super Bowl title, yet was thoroughly outplayed by the 1-11 Browns, an opponent that — quoting safety Ryan Clark now — “even a bad Pittsburgh Steelers team should be able to beat every time.”

There is no other word to describe a team that has lost five games in a row, including three to the worst that the NFL has to offer — the Browns, the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs.

There is no other word to describe a team that, by all indications, has quit on the Rooneys, Tomlin, their fans and — most egregiously — themselves.

Losers.

– Ron Cook

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This strikes me as unhelpful and ultimately dangerous and counter productive:

The Gospel of Luke records that, as he was dying on the cross, Jesus showed his boundless mercy by praying for his killers this way: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

Not so fast, say contributors to the Conservative Bible Project.

The project, an online effort to create a Bible suitable for contemporary conservative sensibilities, claims Jesus’ quote is a disputed addition abetted by liberal biblical scholars, even if it appears in some form in almost every translation of the Bible.

The project’s authors argue that contemporary scholars have inserted liberal views and ahistorical passages into the Bible, turning Jesus into little more than a well-meaning social worker with a store of watered-down platitudes.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

There are of course cultural issues involved in Bible translations; and there is a debate to be had about how the translation and interpretation of the Bible has been warped and misused – on both sides – by political ideology over the years.

But bringing the political labels Liberal and Conservative into a debate about Bible translation, and adding it to the larger culture war, strikes me as very bad idea and one that takes away from the focus of faith rather than adding to it.

Tony Woodlief is worth quoting:

Did Jesus really ask the Father to forgive his persecutors, these people ask, or is that just another distortion from the Vast Left-Wing Hippy-Homo-Commie Conspiracy?

It’s funny how from the beginning, the people who claim to love God most zealously are the ones who get most upset about His loving unsavory types. I think rather than worrying over whether the sins of others will be forgiven, and over who is in and who is out of the Salvation Club, we ought to think more on the state of our own sorry souls, and meditate especially on the promise that the forgiveness we receive will be measured out according to the forgiveness we have offered others.

And so in that spirit, may God have mercy on these people who take it upon themselves to stand outside the one holy catholic and apostolic Church and rewrite the content and meaning of Holy Scriptures.

Amen.

And no, it isn’t made by Apple or Google …

Trying to get pumped up for Ohio State Michigan isn’t easy these days.  I offer the video below to help out [language warning]:

Michael Zuidema of  The Grand Rapids Press about sums it up:

Against Wisconsin, Michigan essentially followed the same script that’s resulted in its current 1-6 stretch.  A couple of sparkling defensive plays, followed by a second half filled with miscues and missed assignments. When the spread offense looks like it’s starting to click, it stalls and a tight game turns on a dime.

Either the Ohio State game will be a legendary upset or it will put this season out of its misery.  At least that is something.

For your Tuesday afternoon enjoyment:

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Stumbled upon a book/pamphlet at the library book sale called Duty by the famous Episcopalian Bishop Phillips Brooks.  It includes this quote which I thought worth passing along:

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.  Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God.