Steelers/NFL
Browns 24 – 
Steelers 19 (F)
Brutal Loss, Embarrassing Loss, there’s a number of ways to chalk up the Steelers 24-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns Thursday Night. Falling to 0-8 in road divisional Thursday Night games, the Pittsburgh Steelers once again got the Mike Tomlin experience. I’m a major Tomlin backer. He’s perfect for this team, city, and his ability to deal with today’s type of player is significant asset in the building and wanting players to come to Pittsburgh. But this has to go down as one of Tomlin’s worst coaching performances in his great career and there’s no denying that. On National TV, Tomlin’s Coach of the Year chances took quite a hit in how just decision after decision backfired. Hard to remember a game where it felt like every critical decision went south. While the loss was a stain on Tomlin’s COTY chances, where do you start with Arthur Smith?
An atrocious night from the Steelers play-caller. Smith really went out of his way to honor Matt Canada on the one-year Anniversary of Matt Canada’s firing. For a guy who strives to re-emerge as hot coaching candidate again this off-season, Smith was so bad in prime time, this night will do a lot of damage to how he’s viewed in league circles, no matter how much good he does from here on out. For all of the head scratching decisions from Tomlin/Smith that constantly shot the team in the foot from the first series on, what team with the game on the line puts their back-up quarterback in the game to try to throw a bomb down the left side when you needed four yards?
The Justin Fields change of pace spark has to be an element of surprise like it was against the Baltimore. The Steelers tried to push it and push it way too much vs the Browns. Aside from the 30-yard Fields run that sparked a 6 play, 69-yard drive that got the Steelers life, the team was discombobulated every time Fields came on the field. If this is how it’s going to be moving forward, the Steelers have to find a happy medium. Running a QB out there for a play and one back on isn’t going to work. Russell Wilson had just delivered a go-ahead touchdown in a snowstorm and was 18 of 22 at the time with 3:30 remaining in the game. You need four yards and your QB1 was completing 90% of his passes, yet you keep him off the field for your backup quarterback to not try to use his best skill of running to keep the clock going or even a roll out, but a low percentage deep pass? That was insanity on so many levels.
Stat of the Game: Russell Wilson on 3rd/4th Down vs the Browns:
12/13, 203 yards, 1 TD, 144.4 QB Rating
Russell Wilson’s deep passing game is hiding a lot of warts with the offensive coordinator in that there remains little to no creativity from the Steelers offense, a problem since 2019. Smith is not fooling a good defensive coordinator with these mimic formations when he throws a Connor Heyward, Cordarrell Pattersson on the field.
At the end of the day, this was a game the Steelers needed at least a C-Level Coaching performance from their head coach/coordinators since a lot of their big guns were no shows. T.J. Watt had a dud performance while Myles Garrett was a game wrecker; Minkah Fitzpatrick was in no man’s land for much of the night in coverage and Joey Porter couldn’t make a stop down the stretch. The good news for the Steelers they still control their destiny for the AFC North. The negative is it’s not hard to see Joe Burrow torching this defense next Sunday and suddenly you’re sitting at 8-4. Not taking care of business against a then 2-8 Browns team could have consequences.
