Steelers 15 Browns 10

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                             Steelers prevail over Browns 15-10

[Cleveland,Oh] It has been said that revenge “is a dish best served cold.” And on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers endorsed that statement as they travelled to Cleveland, Ohio on a cold Halloween day to exact their revenge over the Browns in a 15-10 win and avenging their 48-31 Wild Card loss in the 2020 season.

“Whew, man – AFC North Football. I’m just really appreciative of the efforts of the guys in that locker room there.” Said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “Everybody just played a selfless game. They put the collective in front of personal agendas. We fought. That’s the only way you get out of those environments, particularly with some of the adversity we faced today, some of which was created by us. Some of which was created by me.”

 

How did the Steelers do it? Fundamentals. They stuck to the basics with the run: Rookie RB Najee Harris rushed for 91 yards and a TD. The pass: QB Ben Roethlisberger passed for 266 yards (22/34) and his TD to rookie Pat Freiermuth gave the Steelers a lead that they would never relinquish. WR Diontae Johnson also had a good game as he caught 6 passes for 98 yards and his 50-yard catch-and-run late in the 4th quarter helped put the game out of reach. And on defense: They held All-Pro RB Nick Chubb to 61 yards and kept the pressure on Browns QB Baker Mayfield (20/31, 225 yards, 0 TD) by sacking him 4 times.

On the success of the running game, Tomlin replied “There is no secret sauce. You have to come off blocks. You have to hit, wrap, and make tackles. You have to get multiple people to the football. We did that today.”

 


All-Pro LB TJ Watt had 1.5 of those sacks and recovered a Jarvis Landry fumble in the 4th quarter. (Steelers CB Justin Layne also had a fumble recovery) The other sacks came from DEs Chris Wormsley and Isaiahh Lowdermilk (1 apiece) and DT Cam Heyward (Half-sack).

When asked about if the Steelers forced the Browns to pass more than they wanted to, Tomlin replied: “I don’t know what their intentions were. I know what our intentions were. We were trying to minimize Nick Chubb.”

The only mistake the Steelers made was with K Chris Boswell as they had him pass on a fake- FG attempt on 4th down. Not only did the pass fall incomplete, but Boswell also suffered a concussion and missed the 2nd half.

 

“The fake field goal was a bad call because we poorly executed it, so I take responsibility for that.” Said Tomlin “We were just playing to win. We were playing aggressively. The ball was on the left hash. We had a look that we liked. We just didn’t execute it very well. The ball wasn’t snapped in a timely manner, and it allowed them to take a picture of it. When that happens, you’re not going to be successful. Again, I take responsibility for it. I shouldn’t have called it unless we were ready to run it with detailed execution and it’s obvious that we weren’t. That’s on me.”Rookie P Pressly Harvin III was inserted as the emergency kicker, but he was not pressed

into service as the Steelers tried two 2-point conversions after their 2 TDs. (Both were unsuccessful)

When asked about the possibility of using Harvin for placekicking, Tomlin replied “I was aware of it. I hope that you never have to use it, but I was aware of it.”

After a 1-3 start, the Steelers are now 4-3, good for 3rd in the AFC North Division. They know they have more work to do, but they like the direction that they are heading.

“It is days like today that give you an indication of what you could be. We’ll continue to write that story positively or negatively, but today was a good day.” Said Tomlin “I appreciate the guys backing my play, fighting for 60 minutes, and delivering a victory and making it a side note. Awesome win. Hopefully, we grow from this. Every time you step into stadiums you do. It’s good to grow when you’re doing so with a victory.”

Ray Porter Jr July 2021

Please e-mail Ray at [email protected]

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