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The Pittsburgh Steelers once again defied the talking heads and “experts” as they rose to above .500 with a 15-10 win on the road vs. the Cleveland Browns. The win was spearheaded by perhaps the best defensive effort on the season, as the defense controlled the line of scrimmage and held the #1 rushing offense (170 yards per game) to only 96 yards and a season low 10 points.
The defense sacked Baker Mayfield four times, held the Browns to only 306 total yards, stifled Nick Chubb to only 61 yards and never let the Browns gain momentum in their home stadium. The Browns finished 3 of 10 on third down, 0-2 on fourth down (including a key defensive stop late in the game) to secure the win.
While many talking heads emphasized the matchup between rookie Dan Moore Jr. and Myles Garrett, it was T.J. Watt who was the best defensive player on the field again – registering 1.5 sacks and recovering a key fumble forced by Taco Charlton when the Browns were threating.
Offensively the Steelers 2021 success formula once again channeled through the talent of Najee Harris, who finished with 120 total yards, including 91 rushing yards and a TD. Harris also converted a 4th down by gaining 2 yards after the Browns had him stopped with 6:16 in the third quarter and finished the drive with an explosive 8-yard TD run. Ben Roethlisberger struggled to find a groove in the first half but dropped 192 yards passing on the Browns in the second half, thanks in part to a particularly nasty 20-yard catch and run by Harris, who stiff-armed LB Anthony Walker and lowered the shoulder on DB Troy Hill.
Roethlisberger showed the stuff that only a veteran QB would, talking Mike Tomlin out of a field goal attempt on the play, and demonstrating the leadership and confidence to complete the score on fourth down. Roethlisberger has quickly developed chemistry with TE Pat Freiermuth, who each week continues to perform like a first round draft pick as he hauled in 4 receptions for 44 yards, the biggest of which was catching the game-winning TD, despite being interfered with (yet no flag was thrown).
Big Ben’s heroics were necessary after Tomlin decided upon calling a fake field goal attempt which led to kicker Chris Boswell being knocked out of the game with a concussion on a late hit that was not called.
Overcoming bad officiating was a theme of the day, with the hit on Boswell clearly being helmet-to-helmet and how the referee couldn’t see it was beyond egregious. Boswell had his helmet knocked off, forcing the Steelers to play without a kicker, something both the Browns defender will be fined for as should the referee. To make things worse, Kendrick Green was called for a soft holding call when Roethlisberger was crossing the goal line on a two-point conversion.
Special kudos should go to Steelers WRs Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool. Johnson sealed the game by hauling in a Roethlisberger pass and taking it down for a 50-yard gain to seal the game. Claypool, who has struggled with inconsistent play all season, had a quiet but effective game, highlighted by just running through would be Browns tacklers on a 14-yard gain to the Cleveland 2, setting up the game-winning TD. The offensive line outplayed the Browns defensive line and continues to improve each week.
The Steelers have now won 3 straight and have knocked the Browns to last place in the division.
With the surprising New York Jets victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers are now a single game out of first place. With two home games in the next two weeks, the Steelers have an opportunity to compete for the division over the second half of the season and make things very interesting.
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The defense sacked Baker Mayfield four times, held the Browns to only 306 total yards, stifled Nick Chubb to only 61 yards and never let the Browns gain momentum in their home stadium. The Browns finished 3 of 10 on third down, 0-2 on fourth down (including a key defensive stop late in the game) to secure the win.
While many talking heads emphasized the matchup between rookie Dan Moore Jr. and Myles Garrett, it was T.J. Watt who was the best defensive player on the field again – registering 1.5 sacks and recovering a key fumble forced by Taco Charlton when the Browns were threating.
Offensively the Steelers 2021 success formula once again channeled through the talent of Najee Harris, who finished with 120 total yards, including 91 rushing yards and a TD. Harris also converted a 4th down by gaining 2 yards after the Browns had him stopped with 6:16 in the third quarter and finished the drive with an explosive 8-yard TD run. Ben Roethlisberger struggled to find a groove in the first half but dropped 192 yards passing on the Browns in the second half, thanks in part to a particularly nasty 20-yard catch and run by Harris, who stiff-armed LB Anthony Walker and lowered the shoulder on DB Troy Hill.
Roethlisberger showed the stuff that only a veteran QB would, talking Mike Tomlin out of a field goal attempt on the play, and demonstrating the leadership and confidence to complete the score on fourth down. Roethlisberger has quickly developed chemistry with TE Pat Freiermuth, who each week continues to perform like a first round draft pick as he hauled in 4 receptions for 44 yards, the biggest of which was catching the game-winning TD, despite being interfered with (yet no flag was thrown).
Big Ben’s heroics were necessary after Tomlin decided upon calling a fake field goal attempt which led to kicker Chris Boswell being knocked out of the game with a concussion on a late hit that was not called.
Overcoming bad officiating was a theme of the day, with the hit on Boswell clearly being helmet-to-helmet and how the referee couldn’t see it was beyond egregious. Boswell had his helmet knocked off, forcing the Steelers to play without a kicker, something both the Browns defender will be fined for as should the referee. To make things worse, Kendrick Green was called for a soft holding call when Roethlisberger was crossing the goal line on a two-point conversion.
Special kudos should go to Steelers WRs Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool. Johnson sealed the game by hauling in a Roethlisberger pass and taking it down for a 50-yard gain to seal the game. Claypool, who has struggled with inconsistent play all season, had a quiet but effective game, highlighted by just running through would be Browns tacklers on a 14-yard gain to the Cleveland 2, setting up the game-winning TD. The offensive line outplayed the Browns defensive line and continues to improve each week.
The Steelers have now won 3 straight and have knocked the Browns to last place in the division.
With the surprising New York Jets victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers are now a single game out of first place. With two home games in the next two weeks, the Steelers have an opportunity to compete for the division over the second half of the season and make things very interesting.
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
