There was some confusion late in the fourth quarter after the Cleveland Browns failed to convert a 3rd and 2 and were called for illegal touching. The Steelers opted to accept the penalty instead of forcing the Browns to go for it on fourth down trailing 19-18. Cleveland converted on 3rd and 7 on a completion to WR Jerry Jeudy. While there was some confusion as to whether or not the Steelers accepted or declined the penalty initially, DL Cameron Heyward injected another layer into the sequence.
“Well I thought there was a holding too, because I was wrapped around my waist, but yet there was no call. So, I don’t know what we were confused about,” Heyward said via Steelers.com.
The decision to accept the penalty that was called was a questionable one, but Mike Tomlin explained they wanted the distance with Browns needing to kick into the wind on a snowy night in Cleveland. While Heyward feels like he was held, which would have cost the Browns 10 yards instead of five, the officials didn’t see it or didn’t feel it rose to the level of being a penalty. Ultimately it was just the illegal touching called. The play also appeared to be intentional grounding, and Tomlin said he initially believed that was the penalty called. Instead, it was just the rarely called illegal-touching penalty on an offensive lineman that was just a five-yard penalty.
It would’ve made more sense to take the penalty and knock Cleveland back into a 3rd and 12 if it was a holding penalty, but it’s a moot point since it didn’t happen. At the end of the day, Pittsburgh’s defense still needs to make a play, and it wasn’t able to do so, allowing Jeudy to get open on the 3rd and 7 as the Browns quickly marched deep into Pittsburgh territory and ultimately capped the drive with a touchdown.
The 24-19 loss was a disappointing one against a Browns team that entered the game at 2-8. It really doesn’t matter if Heyward was held or not, as the Steelers simply just didn’t do enough to win. They were stagnant on offense for most of the game, and defensively they gave Cleveland too many chances and couldn’t finish plays. The Steelers now have 10 days to rest and recover before another crucial divisional matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, and they’ll be looking for a better outcome.
