Steel City Blitz
Deep down, you probably knew this was coming. As soon as the Baltimore Ravens put the finishing touches on the Packers in Green Bay last night, you could just kind of feel it. The Pittsburgh Steelers had everything to play for while the Cleveland Browns were playing out the string. What we got was another classic Mike Tomlin “play down to the competition” game that resulted in a 13-6 loss.
Tomlin’s team came out looking like a bunch guys who had really been hoping for a meaningless game. When the Ravens did their jobs, the Steelers struggled to answer the same call. Despite outgaining the Browns (291-262), outrushing the Browns (131-78) and winning the turnover battle (2-0), the Steelers couldn’t put the ball in the end zone. Aaron Rodgers threw the ball 39 times but for just 168 yards.
Credit the Cleveland defense however. With everyone focused on getting Myles Garrett the sack record, the defense played extremely well. They clearly understood the assignment with D.K. Metcalf and Calvin Austin III both out. They constantly forced Rodgers to get rid of the ball and throw it short. With no explosiveness whatsoever, the Steelers’ offense was a slow-moving locomotive moving through sand. Don’t blame it all on the players though.
Steelers’ Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith may have had his worst game as a play-caller for the Steelers. Twice on third and four he tried to run wide and the play went nowhere on either occasion. The true ‘masterpiece’ though came on a fourth and short in Browns’ territory as Aaron Rodgers tried to his Scotty Miller down the sideline and it wasn’t even close.
While the defense surrendered 10 early points, they played as well as you could ask. Given they were without T.J Watt, Brandin Echols and James Pierre, they played more than well enough to warrant the Steelers winning the game. As the final pass to Marques Valdes-Scantling fell to the wet grass of the end zone, it was tough not to dwell on what this game had turned into.
This was another classic Mike Tomlin loss. Yes, the Browns entered with a top-rated defense and they are of course a rival, but this was a game Tomlin couldn’t and shouldn’t have lost. All of the goodwill from the three-game winning streak that got them here disappeared before he had even left the field. His team is now faced with a one of two destinies. They either win, take the division and host a far superior team in the wild-card round or they finish the season at 9-8.
Short of a postseason victory, this season feels very similar to the last seven or eight and I’m not sure how much more of it the fan base can take. You can only smack yourself in the groin so many times before you become numb to it and no longer care. That’s where this team behind Mike Tomlin is headed once again but you knew it was coming didn’t you?
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