This NFL season has come and gone, with only the Super Bowl left to play. Fans were treated to many classic games, with multiple contests doing to enough to be called the best game of the year. The Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves in several entertaining games, but earning the title of best game of the year is tough. However, former NFL offensive lineman Justin Pugh believes the Steelers’ Nov. 21 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football was the best game of the season.
“The Browns showed up, and this place was electric,” Pugh said recently on the Clean Pocket YouTube channel. “Snowballs are flying, they’re throwing snowballs at the Pittsburgh Steelers. It kind of was the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season.
“I just remember walking out of that game thinking, ‘This is what makes the NFL so great.’ You might be 3-8. You might be the worst team in the NFL, even though I claimed they were going to win the AFC North, but you can still come out and put on a performance like that.”
It’s debatable if their loss to the Browns was really when the Steelers’ season started to nosedive. They won their next two games after that. That included an offensive explosion against the Cincinnati Bengals and getting their revenge on the Browns. The Steelers were 10-3 and on stll top of the AFC North after beating Cleveland.
Although the results didn’t make Steelers fans happy, it was likely an exciting game for most of the general audience. The Browns were one of the worst teams in the NFL while the Steelers were absolutely rolling. It was a classic David and Goliath story. The outcome wasn’t decided until the game was almost over, making it an exciting contest.
The weather probably helped the atmosphere too. Things started off a little messy, but the snow didn’t start coming down until the game was off and running. It looked like they were playing in a snow globe. The Steelers might have lost, but it was a beautiful sight.
It also served as a good reminder that any team can win any given game in the NFL. The Steelers had just come off their best win of the year, beating the Baltimore Ravens. They looked poised to make a serious run in the postseason. However, the Browns showed that they weren’t without flaws. It wasn’t the end of the Steelers’ season, but it was a hint at things to come.
