5 overreactions from the Steelers’ 24-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns

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Takeaways, overreactions, and random musings from the Steelers’ Thursday night loss.

The Steelers fell to 8-3 after an ugly road loss on Thursday Night Football to the rival Cleveland Browns. As always, there are plenty of takeaways to be had.

1. The season isn’t over

Pittsburgh’s performance against the Browns was so laughably incompetent at times that I’m less annoyed than usual at the expected “fire Tomlin/Smith/everyone and everything” crowd following the loss. Thursday’s game was an absolutely brutal watch.

However, it’s entertaining to watch the same fanbase that wisely predicted this exact outcome prior to the game be the same ones to react incredulously to the loss. Yeah, it was worse than most expected, but most figured a short week, bad weather, and rivalry matchup would result in a sloppy game. It’s the Thursday Night Football M.O.

Pittsburgh is still 8-3 following the loss, and in the exact same spot in the AFC North and AFC as a whole that they were going into the week — and that won’t change following the rest of Week 12’s games. Good teams losing the occasional stupid game they shouldn’t is hardly a rarity in the NFL, and it’s hard to find a more stupid game than what happened Thursday night.

Pittsburgh had plenty of self-inflicted wounds on Sunday, but some things you just have to chalk up to weather being the great equalizer. On the play that set up the Browns’ game-winning touchdown, Minkah Fitzpatrick had a chance to make a play on the ball but looked like he was learning how to ice skate. You can’t draw too many dire conclusions from a game that served as the unofficial Ice Age 6.

The Steelers were on a five-game winning streak entering Week 12. They were bound to lose eventually, and this was one of the better times to do so. Their playoff position hasn’t changed a bit, and there’s a mini-bye afterwards to recuperate.

Objectively though, it’s kind of hilarious that Pittsburgh has gone 2-1 following the bye week, with wins over the 7-2 Commanders and 8-3 Ravens but a loss to the 2-8 Browns. The NFL is a weird place, man.

But don’t forget, this is still that exact Steelers team that beat the Commanders and Ravens, and if we’re throwing all the current playoff teams in there, the Chargers, Broncos, and Falcons as well. The problems that the Steelers had against the Browns haven’t defined the season, or otherwise there wouldn’t be so many wins over postseason-caliber teams. There are plenty of issues to dive into, and we will, but let’s not hit the panic button just yet.

2. The loss falls on the coaching

My seven-paragraph caveat above doesn’t mean that the Steelers’ Thursday performance was excusable. Pittsburgh’s loss would’ve been bad enough if the game had ended the same way it was played through the first three quarters. But instead, the Steelers managed to gain the lead and control of the game late in the fourth just to lose it all in an even more heartbreaking fashion.

That fumble falls squarely on the coaching staff. Largely, head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The list of mishaps is a long one: multiple must-have short yardage plays that went absolutely nowhere (my favorite being a two-point conversion attempt that was a… fade to running back Cordarrelle Patterson?), Tomlin choosing a Browns’ third-and-seven over a possibly game-ending fourth-and-two, and of course, botched time management at the end of both halves that left the Steelers with either not enough time or not enough timeouts. Just inarguably bad management.

Then, of course, there’s the decision to put Justin Fields at quarterback on a must-have third down late in the game, just to have him throw a 50/50 ball deep into a snowstorm. I’ve been a proponent of using Fields and still am, and I even see the logic — the element of surprise as Fields generally runs, Pickens is a contested catch wizard, etc. — but that’s a reckless play-call in such a pivotal moment.

If you have to throw deep, keep the guy on the field who’s excelled at that all year. But Fields wasn’t the main issue there — it’s calling such a low-percentage play when only a handful of yards are needed with the game on the line.

The Steelers were penalty-ridden, unprepared, and bafflingly illogical on Thursday. Pittsburgh fell short on nearly every play that mattered. Tomlin has been a good coach this year, but he and Smith had a horrible day against Cleveland.

3. The pass-rush disappeared

OK, Nick Herbig had an impactful strip sack that temporarily gave the Steelers momentum in the fourth quarter. That was cool.

But nearly every other defensive snap on Thursday was a disappointment for the Steelers pass-rush. Jameis Winston had all day to throw for much of the game, only being sacked once on the night.

Don’t forget, the Browns were down their top two left tackles — even without Alex Highsmith, this was a great matchup for the Steelers. Instead, there were hardly any pressures, barely any blitz calls, and T.J. Watt was largely shut down as a rusher. For a team that’s built around its pass-rush, that’s a death knell for the defense.

I was predicting Pittsburgh to struggle a bit in this game, but if you had told me Cleveland would score their second-most points this season against this Steelers defense in horrible weather conditions, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

The Steelers needed to get pressure on Winston to win the game. Instead, the Browns, averaging 16.2 points per game, put up 24 on the scoreboard.

4. O-line problems rear their head

To add insult to injury, the Steelers offense responded to a quiet day from T.J. Watt by single-handedly putting Myles Garrett back in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. Garrett had three sacks and a forced fumble against Pittsburgh. Russell Wilson was sacked a total of four times and was constantly pressured; the run game was inconsistent and wildly ineffective in short yardage.

Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. was schooled by Garrett, but more concerning was how much the Steelers’ interior offensive line, generally seen as a strength, struggled. The Browns’ defensive line wrecked the game all night, and paired with a few cases of Wilson holding onto the ball too long and some putrid run calls, it was a disaster.

If Pittsburgh continues to lose the line of scrimmage like that, it’ll be hard to win football games.

5. Odds and ends

• One play that’s not being talked about enough is Calvin Austin III’s fourth quarter touchdown catch. He’s a small, speed guy not known for his catch radius, but he made a tough contested catch in adverse conditions during a pivotal moment. Great stuff from the young wide receiver.

• Amazon Prime’s virtual line markers in the snow had the Steelers’ white jerseys looking like checkered PNGs for the last half of the game.
• Russell Wilson didn’t have a perfect game, but it was a bounce back from last week against the Ravens and nearly an impressive comeback. Much has been made of his deep ball, but his veteran leadership and late game heroics are just as key to the Steelers’ success.
• Punter Corliss Waitman has had a great year, but his late-game 15-yard shank really changed the game’s momentum in favor of Cleveland. An average punt there, and Pittsburgh’s winning chances skyrocket.
• Another game with takeaways from Donte Jackson and DeShon Elliott. The offseason additions have been the Steelers’ top splash play guys in the secondary.
• Jaylen Warren ran well on Thursday. It was good to see him finally reach the end zone.
• The litmus test for how bad the conditions are is if Najee Harris is having a hard time holding onto the football. He never fumbles, but did once, nearly twice, against the Browns. That football was slick.
• Joey Porter Jr. gave up a lot of completions against the Browns’ receivers. No reason to panic, but it was a rough performance with Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase just around the corner.
• Patrick Queen is starting to become a consistent playmaker in the Steelers’ defense. With time, the decision to sign him is looking like a good one.
• Another game with no catches from Mike Williams and a low number of snaps. He may not be his old self, but Pittsburgh did trade a fifth-round pick for him and he caught a game-winning touchdown in his first game as a Steeler — his lack of usage is a bit concerning.
• The Steelers have a chance at revenge in just two weeks when the Browns visit Pittsburgh in Week 14.

It’s a bad loss, but the sky isn’t falling yet. On to Cincinnati.

What are your takeaways from Steelers vs. Browns? Agree/disagree with the ones above? Join our Behind The Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!