The Pittsburgh Steelers took a gut-wrenching loss to the Cleveland Browns in an AFC North divisional matchup. The final score was 13-10 as neither offense could find momentum throughout the game, but it came down to the final drive. With 1:28 remaining, the Browns, led by rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, were able to pick up enough yards to get into field goal range and win the game.
The Steelers’ defense allowed 81 yards on the first two drives of the game, but clamped down until the final drive of the half where they allowed 77 yards and a field goal.
Pittsburgh reporters asked OLB T.J. Watt in his postgame press conference on the Steelers’ YouTube page if it was frustrating going against a Browns passing attack that was getting the ball out so quickly.
“Yeah, but we have to stop it,” Watt said. “If he is able to convert five-yard throws all day, that’s an issue as well. Teams have been doing that all season, it’s just a matter of stopping it so they’re not able to continue to do it and that’s the issue right now.”
Thompson-Robinson finished the day with 43 pass attempts, completing 24 of them for 165 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. That is an average completion of just 3.8 yards. His longest passing play was an 18-yard completion to TE David Njoku, so a majority of the damage was dealt through short gains. Teams around the league are well aware that the Steelers’ pass rush can change the game if you let them, so offenses are engineering ways to limit the impact of players like Watt and OLB Alex Highsmith.
The Steelers only got home on Thompson-Robinson one time in this game, with Watt registering the only sack. There were a number of quarterback hits, but overall the Browns were able to execute their gameplan well.
On the final drive, Thompson-Robinson completed four straight passes that covered 39 yards. Up to that point in the second half, the Steelers’ defense had allowed just 58 yards, but the offense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain and the defense finally succumbed to pressure to allow a game-winning drive.
The Steelers are now 6-4 and have another inexperienced quarterback up next in the Cincinnati Bengals’ Jake Browning. The Bengals will no doubt be taking notes from this game on how to limit his exposure to the Steelers’ defense.
