The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped a disappointing game against the Cleveland Browns by a score of 13-10. Neither offense could gain traction, but when it mattered most the Browns were able to string together 48 yards in seven plays to get within field goal range and win the game.
Despite only allowing 259 yards of total offense to the Browns, the Steelers’ defenders all carried the same tone in the locker room after the game — the effort wasn’t good enough. ILB Mykal Walker may have just played in his first game after being signed to the 53-man roster on Saturday, but he still felt the Steelers should have won and that the defense left plays on the field.
“We laid an egg,” Walker said via Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. “We know we should have won this game. We’re gonna look ourselves in the mirror. There’s plays here and there that we let go.”
It’s not often a defense takes responsibility for a loss after forcing punts on eight of 12 possessions. They also forced a turnover, but the plays they didn’t make will haunt them throughout this week. Particularly on that final drive where they allowed Dorian Thompson-Robinson to drive into field goal range.
Walker is right, the Steelers should have won. The Browns are down multiple key offensive linemen, their star running back, and their very expensive starting quarterback, but in the end, they made just enough plays to win. To make matters worse, the Browns had a handful of dropped passes by David Njoku and Jerome Ford. The Steelers have to refocus and shut out the noise as there will be plenty of chatter surrounding this defense dropping a game against a rookie quarterback.
The Steelers’ offense did not hold up its end of the bargain, either. The Steelers were once again outgained, albeit by just 10 yards, but they had the ball in their hands with under two minutes remaining and the score all tied up at ten. They had three straight incompletions, which only killed 14 seconds of clock and set up an opportunity for the game-winning drive by Cleveland. Special teams share some of the blame, too. Pressley Harvin III had a rough day punting the ball with one shanked out of bounds for just 20 yards. In a tight, defense-dominated game, that aspect of the field position battle is significant. It was a loss in all three phases.
