Not so much a film room but a compilation of a takeaway from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 24-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns Thursday night. It’s a good thing the Steelers have 10 days off because I can promise QB Russell Wilson needs all the time to recover.
Wilson was sacked four times, all in the first half, as the Browns recorded nine quarterback hits. Not all of them are created equal. Some hit more than others, and all the painful ones seemed to find Wilson Thursday night. In the snow and cold, making these hurt even more, the Browns’ rush teed off on him.
Below is a collection of the hardest hits. Some might not look as painful, but try having a 275-pound lineman land with his body weight on your shoulder. Others are clear knockout blows.
The last three are the nastiest-looking—credit to Wilson for hanging in there and taking those shots. One was Wilson rolling out and scrambling to hit TE Pat Freiermuth to convert a 4th, and 1 headed for another disaster. The following play was Wilson hitting WR Calvin Austin III for a 23-yard go-ahead touchdown in the driving snow. And the final came on the Hail Mary; a throw rushed because of the pressure with no receiver even attempting for the ball in the end zone.
Through five starts, Russell Wilson has been sacked 16 times. Three-quarters of those, 12, have come in the first half. Diving deeper into the metrics, he’s been sacked 9.7 percent of the time. If that number holds, it’ll be the fourth-highest of his career and close to the third-highest, 9.76 percent from back in 2013.
He’s still had a tendency to hold onto the ball and the first sack seems to be on him, taking one on the cusp of field goal range and forcing a 58-yard field goal attempt that K Chris Boswell missed. I don’t think much was open on that play, but it was a costly sack Wilson couldn’t take.
But that’s a separate point. The point is, and it’s a simple one, that Russell Wilson got the crap kicked out of him in this game. He’s no spring chicken. He’s turning 36 in a couple of days. The good news is he doesn’t seem to have been obviously hurt, speaking with reporters post-game, and he’s probably just sore. Still, the Steelers hope he doesn’t take another beating when they host the Browns in two weeks.
