If someone wanted to blame the Steelers loss to Chicago on someone, Jeff Reed is easiest target. Mr. Reliable missed two field goals, which led to the 17-14 loss on Sunday afternoon. A lot of Steeler fans have turned against Reed, cursing him out on random message boards, blogs, and Twitter. Yes, “Skippy” had a bad day, but that doesn’t make him a bad kicker.

Those same Steeler fans seem to have forgotten that Jeff Reed won the game against the Titans Week 1 in overtime. In fact, Skippy entered this season as the 10th-most accurate kicker in NFL history at 82.8 percent. Last year, Jeff Reed had a killer season. He made 27 of 31 attempted field goals. He even made a 53-yard field goal.

But yesterday wasn’t his day. He missed a 38- and a 43-yard field goal.

"I am just embarrassed because these guys fight their tails off to win the game, and if there is one player who can single-handedly lose the game, I will take credit for it," Reed said. "I know they have confidence in me. It hurts me because I let them down. ... I let them down twice today."

He then added that “There’s no excuse.” He didn’t blame it on the rain. If he can kick in the snow when it’s five degrees at Heinz Field, he should be able to kick it in the rain.

Maybe I’m silly, but I’ve always loved and had confidence in Jeff Reed. I know, he’s immature. I’ve heard the stories about his alcohol problems and the whole towel incident, but I love Skippy. I really, really do. I run around calling him the unsung hero of the Steelers, because he’s never — before Sunday — lost a game for the Steelers. I hung the Terrible Towel he signed in my dorm room, so it’s the last thing I see before I go to sleep. And I’m not going to go around hating on him, because he had a bad day. We all have bad days. It happens. He’s human.

It must suck being a kicker. Ben Roethlisberger has a bad day and everyone forgives him. So why is Jeff Reed any different?

I guess I share the same opinion as this one Steeler fan: “Last week, it was ‘Skippy was money.’ Skippy has built up plenty of goodwill over the years ON THE FIELD so to have one bad game is forgivable. Steelers won't be undefeated this year. So f**king what?”

Article Author: Maddy Pumilia

Maddy (Formerly CallmeMaddy) is a freshman at Cal State Northridge. Her major is Journalism. She has a twin and loves the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Visit Maddy Pumilia's author page — Maddy Pumilia's Blog