I watched this game from the comfort of home. Probably a good thing since my language and demeanor during the game not acceptable in public.
Tougher to Find Steelers Bars
It is getting tougher to find Steelers bars. Prior to the pandemic, there were at least a half dozen Steelers bars in the DC area. You could always count on going to houses packed with fans wearing black and gold on any given Steelers game. Since then, a number of those bars have closed their doors. Others remain open but can no longer afford the fees to carry the games. The NFL charges establishments by the number of total seats. For my old place, the Outta the Way Café, it cost them over $10,000 per season. And many fans began purchasing NFL packages. So, instead of going to a restaurant or bar and paying for a meal, fans stayed at home since they invested in the package.
Now I have to travel to Frederick, Maryland to spend a Steelers game among fellow Steelers fans. That is about a 40 minute drive. Unfortunately, they face the same problem. Many fans choose to watch the game at home. For this Thursday might game, not enough fans planned to attend to justify keeping their doors open late for the game. Hence, I remained in my living room for this game.
But there are still Steelers bars throughout the country. I hope your favorite places remain hotspots of Steelers fandom. Here is Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta:
Hating Thursday Night Football
I am probably in the minority. But I really hate Thursday Night football. In my opinion, the quality of the product is watered down by forcing teams to play on a short week. Normally, coordinators have a day to review the game just played as well as their upcoming opponent. Then they have Monday to tailor a game plan while the players begin to rest to recover from the bumps and bruises from the game just played. There is not enough time to walk through the entire playbook. Just a few days for the team to go over the plan and iron out the wrinkles on their upcoming game plan.
But with a Thursday game, the away team has one day to walk through a practice before traveling the next day. They are using plays from their playbook, but little time to tailor and have the team practice those special plays. Both teams face this loss of recovery and game planning time. But the home team does have the advantage of not having to travel. Early in this game, Cleveland was the more physical team. And Pittsburgh was not able to score early. But one benefit is that Pittsburgh will have a couple extra days to get ready for their next game.
I realize that the NFL is not going to give up the revenue from playing more days of the week. The NFL scheduled games on four different days of Thanksgiving weekend. And as soon as the college season winds down, the NFL will add Saturdays. That’s the wave of the future. But it is still watering down the product. The only way the trend stops is if viewership suffers. And that is not happening.
Snowy Game
I loved watching this game as the snow covered the windswept field. Some very memorable games I played as a youngster were during inclement weather. Amazingly, Mike Tomlin opted for Chris Boswell to attempt a 58-yard field goal that veered wide right. I believe Boswell adjusted his kick for the swirling winds, but the wind coming off the lake took a turn he could not account for. The weather did not prevent Wilson from throwing some long passes. His moonball was caught in the wind a few times but he threw the touchdown to Calvin Austin III magnificently.
George Pickens and Van Jefferson able to adjust to catch deep passes as well.
I talked to my buddy Roger before and after the game. He is a longtime Browns fan who saw Jim Brown play. He mentioned an editorial in local Cleveland newspaper that celebrated the snow game and decried the Haslam plan to build a domed stadium. According to Roger, Cleveland fans want to keep a stadium open to the elements. I share that view.
Steelers Shot Themselves in Own Foot
The Steelers really shot themselves in the foot too many times. A few things stood out to me.
Myles Garrett made a statement in this game. His three sacks, including stripping Wilson of the ball, impacted the game. One forced Boswell attempting a 58-yard field goal instead of 50 yards. His strip sack resulted in the Browns extending their lead to 10-3. And he ended the Steelers attempt to score at the end of the first half. T.J. Watt gave an ineffectual performance. David Njoku constantly chipped him, and tackle Jack Conklin finished the job. Aside from one tackle for a loss, he had little impact on the game. Watt hurt his chances for Defensive Player of the Year in this game.
It is very ironic that a special team play contributed to the loss. Steelers special teams have played lights out all season. Corliss Waitman brought consistency that had been lacking to the punting game. Horrible timing for his 15-yard shank with the team clinging to a 19-18 lead with 3:29 to play. That gave the Browns the ball in their own territory and ended up with the final touchdown to win 24-19.
The Steelers showed no quit. The Steelers were down 18-6 with field conditions getting very bad in the fourth quarter. But they drove down the field with Jaylen Warren scoring from the red zone.
Nick Herbig strip-sacked Jameis Winston, and the Steelers scored again to take the lead. Then Donte Jackson intercepts. Even after the Browns exploited the shanked punt, the Steelers placed themselves in position for one final pass to steal the victory away from Cleveland. But it was not to be.
Teams Targeting Pickens
Teams are targeting George Pickens. Not physically but trying to draw out his penchant to physically retaliate. After a loss on a Cordarrelle Patterson run, safety Grant Delpit taunted Pickens and took a swipe at his face. He snatched the mouth guard out of Pickens mouth. George did not react, and the unsportsmanlike penalty gave the Steelers another first that Warren scored off of. Had Pickens acted out it may have drawn offsetting penalties. Pickens did react after being bull rushed out of the end zone on the final hail Mary pass. How that was not a penalty, I simply do not know. But Pickens reacted and Cleveland security guards had to restrain him. The NFL will likely fine him. But the NFL should fine the officials that failed to flag that blatant penalty.
Game Review Resources
Here are some regular Steelers Depot articles that I read before and after games. If you want more blow-by-blow accounts or details of the game. Check these out:
Steelers Five Keys to Victory
Steelers versus Browns Prediction
Tom’s Ten Takes on Steelers versus Browns
Steelers versus Browns Winners and Losers
Kozora Reaction to Steelers versus Browns
Stats of the Weird Steelers versus Browns
Positional Grades Steelers versus Browns
YOUR HOT TAKES DURING THE GAME
Thank you, Ross McCorkle, for keeping us up to date on the game’s Live Update and Discussion Threads. Steelers Depot respondents contributed 1,184 first half comments. Respondents added 2,035 more second half comments. Here are the top three comments from each half. I don’t know the algorithm used by Disqus but here is how they stacked it up:
The top first half comments:
- First, Shminone upset with Wilson holding onto the ball too long: “Russ simply cannot take that sack there. Awful”
- Nelsonator762 wanted to see Mount Washington chipping Garrett: “I may not be an NFL coach but one would think using Darnell Washington to block Garrett would work, and after that, leaking him out into the middle of the field would work”
- And finally, EdJHJr summed up the Steelers first half performance: “That was a JV half”
The top second half comments:
- Hypo Cycloid gave the top comment of the game: “Quick throw to Pickens would have worked. But wow what a stupid decision to go for it.” Play action on third and one or swing it out. Cleveland was stuffing the box.
- And Yinz Guyz says refs cost the Steelers the game: “Get a stop, get some points. Refs – do you F’ing jobs and referee the game fairly. There were at least four huge calls that went against the Steelers:
- 15 yard penalty against Kazee when Browns player was yanking him OB.
- Missed facemask against Najee in Browns territory.
- Missed OPI / hands to face on Jeudy on Browns TD drive.
- Missed DPI against Pickens at end of half.
These missed calls directly led to points being scored or taken away. Material impact on the game. Call it fair.”
- Dant wants more Fields: “Why isn’t Fields in on the 2 pointer????”
We easily met the 1,000 comment standard in both halves. Hope you all enjoyed the banter if not the game result.
CONCLUSION
It was a game the Steelers would like to do over. But Cleveland deserved the win despite trying to give it away towards the end. Some big plays by the defense, but Pittsburgh allowed the Browns to go 4-for-4 on fourth down including a touchdown. The offense made some big plays, too, including two fourth quarter touchdowns. But the inability to make first downs with just one or two yards needed frustrates me. Mike Tomlin should have made Cleveland go for it on 4th and 2 instead of giving them an extra play.
The team has a few extra days to purge this game from their memory banks. They must be ready to play in Cincinnati. Here we go.
Your Song Selection
I always like to include a bit of music. This loss will sting. And now extra time for fans to evaluate what the Steelers did wrong. They will be listening to every word from Mike Tomlin. And they will be watching every move the team makes before the next game. Indeed, we may be monitoring every breath they take. Here is Every Breath You Take performed by The Police.
