So once the playoff race becomes part of the AI Maddeness picture, I’m naturally inclined to play more games—which means more previews, game recaps, actual Madden 2001 gameplay, and so on. That’s not exactly the best time management strategy as I try to hit 4,000 posts on the bava in just a week’s time (I have 16 posts to go counting this one). Still, I wanted to play the Raiders/Steelers game because I grew up in the era of the Steel Curtain. For most football fans coming of age in the late 70s it was always either Piitsburgh or Dallas, but I loved Mean Joe Green, Jack Lambert, and Coca-Cola—so it was a pretty easy choice.
To quote my ChatGPT-generated preview post for this game:
The Raiders enter at 9–3, sitting atop the AFC West with a two-game lead over the Broncos and firmly in the hunt for the AFC’s No. 2 seed, behind the 11–1 Jets.
The Steelers, meanwhile, are 7–5 and leading the AFC Central by a razor-thin margin. Three teams—Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Cleveland (all 6–6)—are stacked directly behind them. A win this week gives Pittsburgh breathing room. A loss could plunge the division into a chaotic 2–4 team tie.
I figured I’d play as the Steelers and give them a boost to get to 8–5 so they could create some space in the AFC Central race. At the same time, it was an opportunity to scout the Raiders given they’re a team the Jets could see in the AFC Championship. Turns out, I played a terrible game as the Steelers, and the Raiders eked out the win thanks to Sebastian Janikowski’s golden foot—he went 4-for-4 on field goals and earned Player of the Game honors. He even hit one from 53 yards out, that bastard!
I started to get the hang of things with Jerome Bettis and Troy Edwards late in the third quarter, but by then it was getting late. Still, I kept the Steelers in it, and with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh went up 17–16. That was way too much time for Rich Gannon who hit James Jett deep and then let Tyrone Wheatley run down the clock and move them into field-goal range. Janikowski hit his fourth and final kick of the day with 14 seconds left. Kordell Stewart did everything he could to lay the groundwork for a miracle comeback—but world enough and time, once again.
