It’s nothing new for the Pittsburgh Steelers to drop a game to a much lesser opponent. It’s become a staple of the Mike Tomlin tenure with at least one or two of those every season. You could argue two or even all three of the Steelers’ losses were like that this year. But this year was supposed to be different with a stellar defense and a revamped offense with pedigree and talent all over the roster.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers, we know that they’ve been treading on thin ice and shallow water for the last seven years,” former Steelers CB Patrick Peterson said via his All Things Covered podcast on YouTube. “This was the opportunity to put yourself above all that, give yourself some wiggle room, and then again we dropped the ball.”
It can certainly be debated how much a Thursday Night Football loss in inclement weather on the road against a division opponent should be held against the Steelers. Certainly some, but they probably deserve some grace given the circumstances and their 8-3 record still having them atop the AFC North. But it was the way they lost to the Cleveland Browns that was concerning. There was almost a level of arrogance with some of the decisions throughout the game.
Tomlin having Chris Boswell attempt a 58-yard field goal in the snow. Going for it on fourth down multiple times. Accepting a penalty at the end of the game to give the Browns multiple plays to convert instead of just one. Those were some of the decisions that were perhaps too aggressive.
“You cannot play with your food,” Peterson said. “And that’s what the Pittsburgh Steelers did. They played around with they food, and that was a loss that could possibly come back to haunt them.”
The Steelers are in a tight battle with the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North crown. If the Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals this week, they are guaranteed to enter the final four weeks of the season with the division lead. Both the Steelers and Ravens have an unforgiving final stretch, so it could very well come down to the fact that the Steelers dropped a game to the Browns to decide who hosts a game in the playoffs. Though, to be fair, the Ravens also dropped a game to the Browns just a few weeks prior.
“I was very disappointed but not surprised that the Cleveland Browns won that game,” Peterson said.
