Behind the Steel Curtain
Winners and losers from Week 12
The Steelers’ loss to the Browns is hard to swallow after they mounted a comeback and let it slip away. Now at 8-3, the Steelers have a mini-bye week to prepare for a trip to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. Before then, though, let’s dive into the winners and losers from Week 12.
Russ played well. He wasn’t perfect, taking multiple sacks that were more on him than the offensive line, but he was nearly flawless through the air. He went 21-of-28 for 270 and the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter to Calvin Austin. He had four completions of 20 or more yards downfield and consistently hit Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens for sizable gains. The problem was the Steelers didn’t lean into the passing game more than the run game, which came back to bite them as the Browns (and everyone else in the building) knew the Steelers were running on every first and second down. Regardless, Wilson played well.
Well, there’s a first - two quarterbacks highlighted in the same game. Fields provided the Steelers a spark in the second half. After going down 18-6, Fields had a 30-yard run and helped the Steelers get inside the five before Jaylen Warren capped the drive off with a score. I liked how Fields was more involved in the offense and I’d expect to see more of this going forward.
Warren was the only back finding success on the ground, averaging over four yards per carry and a touchdown. For some reason, though, the Steelers refused to just lean into his success and kept feeding Najee Harris for carries that went nowhere. Warren has played incredibly well over the last month since getting over his injuries and should continue getting more touches.
Elliott has been the Steelers’ best defender this season and he had another big game on Thursday. He forced a fumble on the Browns’ first drive of the second half and finished with six tackles.
Jackson recovered the Elliott forced fumble and had an interception late in the game that could have helped seal a comeback win for the Steelers. Unfortunately, a drive that stalled out followed by a bad punt did the Steelers in.
Herbig had a strip sack that set up the Steelers’ go-ahead score from Calvin Austin. He finished the night with five tackles.
Multiple missed blocks and chips, plus a penalty in the first half. Why is he still getting offensive snaps when Ben Skowronek was playing that role well against the Ravens? If his last name wasn’t Heyward, he likely wouldn’t.
Zero run game and Myles Garrett did whatever he wanted, finishing with three sacks. This was a rough outing.
This was the most pathetic performance from the...
