Niners Stomp Steelers; Can Pittsburgh Compete Against Contenders Away from Home?

Candlestick Park had a power outage, and that had the stadium in fear moments before the scheduled kickoff of San Francisco's Monday night clash with the formidable Steelers.

By the end of the night, the most notable power outage was the one that occurred within the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Aldon Smith and the 49ers dominated the Steelers in a 20-3 win, as San Francisco retained possession of a first-round bye in Monday night's game that brought out the 49ers' best.

Larry Fitzgerald and the Cardinals, winners of four straight, found a way to best San Francisco last weekend in Phoenix, stunning the NFC West champs 21-19. In desperate need of a victory, rookie linebacker Aldon Smith took charge.

Max Starks was lit up all night long by Smith, who recorded 2.5 sacks to tie the 49ers' rookie record of 13 sacks in a season. Smith also recorded four tackles and hit Ben Roethlisberger seven times while overpowering Starks, using pure strength and craftiness to best Starks and defeat Big Ben and the Steelers.

Pittsburgh was coasting through [weak] opponents, and after San Diego trampled Baltimore on Sunday night, the Steelers had the inside track to home-field advantage and a first-round bye. Now, after Big Ben threw three picks, and the offensive line was overpowered, the Steelers have questions to answer.

The Steelers and Ravens have both had bad days, as Baltimore has a miserable 3-4 road record (losses to San Diego, Seattle, Jacksonville and Tennessee) and Pittsburgh got blown out by Baltimore and lost a nail-biter to the Ravens.

Pittsburgh has been able to escape close games, and they almost failed to defeat Indianapolis in Week 3. Games against Jacksonville, Kansas City and Cincinnati also ended closer than Pittsburgh wanted them to.

We have seen Big Ben rise to the occasion repeatedly, conquering two Super Bowl championships and three AFC title victories. This time, however, against powerhouses, Pittsburgh can't escape those tight games.

Houston, Baltimore and San Francisco have all managed to beat up Big Ben and the Steelers front seven, forcing turnovers, causing a decrease in Pittsburgh's scoring total and ultimately finishing with a hard-earned victory.

This philosophy has been the key to besting Pittsburgh all year long. And once contenders unlock that key, Pittsburgh is done. If Pittsburgh lands in the Wild Card round, they will have to defeat teams with demoralizing pass rushes and big bodies.

Aldon Smith beat up Big Ben. Roethlisberger now has an agitated ankle, and as a Steeler fan, if you see any signs of a tight game against St. Louis on Christmas Eve, you have to be worried. 

The holidays are supposed to be a time of magic. For Pittsburgh and Ben Roethlisberger, it's a time of panic.

On defense, you have the Steel Curtain collapsing. Opposing quarterbacks are getting time to make big throws and come through, because Pittsburgh can't pressure the QB.

Pittsburgh is 19th in sacks, 24th in interceptions, and 29th in forced fumbles. They've held teams to a fair amount of points, but once the postseason comes, the Steelers awful turnover margin will hurt them.

For every opponent playing Pittsburgh, this is the key: Get to Big Ben and don't let the Steelers get to your QB.

Once the case is cracked by AFC playoff-bound teams, Pittsburgh will be in trouble. The Steelers enjoy football and they enjoy tight games, but if it has to go down like this, their opinion may change.

If they don't shape up fast, so will the winning ways of the Pittsburgh Steelers.