Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 24-19 loss against the Cleveland Browns Thursday night.
WINNERS
RB Jaylen Warren
Warren ran hard and was the better back between he and Najee Harris. His kind of game and his contact balance remain elite. He got over the goal line for the team’s first touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, the first Steelers’ TD since the Carter Administration (at least, it’s felt like that). His pass pro also looked solid, as usual.
WR Calvin Austin III
Austin provided repeated splash for the Steelers’ offense, a 46-yard catch down the middle in the first half. It would’ve been a touchdown had pressure not caused Wilson to throw the ball short. He followed that up with a clutch third-down touchdown after beating Cover 2 to give Pittsburgh the lead with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter, though it would soon be blown. A great leaping catch, playing big for his size and making a terrific combat catch in adverse conditions.
Austin doesn’t see much volume but he’s a popcorn player who can hit big when defensive backs guess wrong. His first catch was a nice stem to fake outside and get vertical down the seam.
And his fake fair catches on punts consistently fool the coverage, helping to create one touchback tonight.
WR George Pickens
Pickens came up with big plays, especially on third down in the first half. On a 31-yard downfield catch he used every part of his body to haul it in and a tough slant on the ensuing drive. Pickens continues to produce in the Steelers’ more subdued pass game and was a consistent bright spot throughout.
LB Patrick Queen
Queen had another nice day though we’ll need to check the All-22 for a better evaluation. A third-down tackle covering WR Elijah Moore and an, in the moment, key recovery and breakup on TE David Njoku on a 3rd-and-goal play-action. It probably wasn’t an awesome performance, and he opted against wrapping up on another third down, allowing another half-yard that gave Cleveland confidence to go for it on fourth down, but a nice day overall.
EDGE Nick Herbig
For three quarters, the only thing to touch QB Jameis Winston’s jersey was snow. Then Nick Herbig made a play. Dusting third-string LT Germain Ifedi, Herbig dipped the edge to force a sack/fumble on Winston. Recovered by the Steelers, it set up Austin’s go-ahead score several plays later. The pass rush was disappointingly quiet throughout the game, and not just before the snow slowed things down, but Herbig has a clutch gene that was on display yet again Thursday night. Even if it all ended in a bitter loss.
LOSERS
Mike Tomlin/Arthur Smith
Starting but not ending with short yardage. The Steelers were miserable in those moments with repeated failures. A 3rd-and-1 false start. Two failed 4th-and-short plays. Pittsburgh can’t get a push but worse, it can’t get out of the huddle. For the second-straight week, the Steelers were hurried breaking the huddle and late to the line, contributing to the failures. If Pittsburgh wants to run the “Justin Fields package,” it has to be more decisive and get calls in much quicker. Even Chris Boswell’s miss from 58 yards was rushed.
The Steelers opted against sneaks and tried more creative and drawn-out run calls, and it cost them. Situationally, red zone and short-yardage, this offense has a lot of work to do over the 10-day layoff.
Blame goes on Smith and Tomlin there. For Tomlin specifically, his end-of-half clock management was completely bungled. He opted against calling a timeout after a Browns third-down run, losing 40 seconds. His calculation was to keep his final timeout, but he didn’t end up using it on the ensuing drive, which ended in a Russell Wilson sack. Just a bad decision.
For Smith, his two-point fade to Cordarrelle Patterson was a weak call in a big situation.
Tomlin then decided to accept a third-down penalty to make things 3rd and 7 instead of 4th and 2, burning a timeout in the process and leaving the Steelers with only one. The Browns converted, used more clock, and then found the end zone to force Pittsburgh to have to score a touchdown on the other side.
Truly one of the worst games Tomlin has called in his Steelers tenure.
EDGE T.J. Watt
Despite the Browns entering the game as the most-sacked team in the league with Winston dropped nine times his last two games, T.J. Watt couldn’t take advantage.
Nowhere was it so obvious as Winston’s 4th-and-goal rushing touchdown. Pittsburgh covered well but the rush couldn’t get home. Watt got bodied by RT Jack Conklin, who was singled up on the play, and Watt was driven 10-yards upfield.
Watt had a very quiet game. Even knowing how often he’s chipped and spotlighted, he can and has made more plays in other games. Myles Garrett shined while Watt wilted, and that could be a deciding factor in voters’ minds when it comes to DPOY.
OT Dan Moore/OG Isaac Seumalo
Two linemen on the list. Moore’s struggles against Myles Garrett continue. Even with chip and help, Moore still struggled. He’s always had issues with Garrett and there’s no shame in that though it didn’t always appear in the box score the way it did tonight. By the half, Garrett was up to three sacks (the third came from the other side on a stunt up the A-gap, not on Moore).
Seumalo fell off a block on one of the failed fourth downs as Pittsburgh’s short-yardage struggles continue.
P Corliss Waitman
Kicking and punting in the elements is always tough. And Waitman, to his credit, got down a hold on a Chris Boswell field goal. But a 16-yard shank on his first – and only – punt of the game gave the Browns the ball in Steelers’ territory. That just sinks you. Even a halfway decent 40-yard punt would’ve been acceptable in the moment. Anything but a shank.
