In the blink of an eye, the Pittsburgh Steelers went from being down 18-6 to being on top of the Cleveland Browns 19-18 in the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of splash plays from some young contributors.
Second-year outside linebacker Nick Herbig had a strip-sack fumble on Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston, and then Steelers QB Russell Wilson threw a perfect strike to wide receiver Calvin Austin III for the go-ahead touchdown, making it 19-18 Steelers.
The Steelers made the right decision to go for a 2-point conversion. It was just the wrong call, as it ended up being a fade route to veteran running back/receiver Cordarrelle Patterson that fell incomplete.
That failed 2-point try loomed large as Cleveland scored a touchdown late to go up 24-19, which held up as the final score.
After the frustrating loss in poor conditions, Wilson explained the reasoning behind the 2-point conversion pass to Patterson.
“I mean, we almost had it. We had a shot at it. “Obviously CP [Cordarrelle Patterson] is Hall of Fame player. He’s played receiver, he has played running back, he can do everything. He caught a sweet one in practice, two days before in the back corner just like that,” Wilson said, according to video via Steelers.com. “Almost had it. It was contested. We knew it was gonna be a contested play. We gotta find somebody to get it up to and give ’em a chance. And unfortunately we didn’t come down with it.”
Patterson can do all the catching he wants in practice on plays like that, but in got-to-have-it moments, he’s not the guy the Steelers should be targeting, especially on a fade route to the back corner of the end zone. There has to be something better on the play sheet than that.
Here’s a look at the play.
The fact that the 2-point conversion didn’t target someone like George Pickens, Mike Williams or Darnell Washington in a contested-catch situation is rather frustrating. And it brought up a lot of negative connotations with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and some of his past struggles in Atlanta where he didn’t scheme up ways to get his top playmakers the football consistently, and in big spots.
That failed 2-point try came back to bite the Steelers, and it wasn’t as close as Wilson tried to positively spin it. Patterson was trying to draw the flag more than actually make a play on the football, and it was an easy bit of defending for Cleveland safety Grant Delpit.
I hope that play gets deleted from the play sheet immediately. Don’t bring that one out again.
