Motivated by losing last season's Super Bowl to Green Bay, Pittsburgh opened the season by getting blown out by Baltimore. But the Steelers recovered and will now make another run at a Lombardi Trophy. We kind of limped in and it would have been huge to get a bye and get guys healthy. Now we have to go and play better on the road. I believe this team can win anywhere. Phil Dawson kicked three field goals for all of Cleveland's points. Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward had five catches and became the eighth player in NFL history to reach 1, career catches.
Ward grabbed a shovel pass in the fourth quarter, and although it lost three yards, it got him to the milestone. Ward was embraced by his teammates when he came to the sideline after his catch, but it was one of the few things worth celebrating on a sloppy day for the Steelers, who dominated the stat sheet but couldn't put the Browns away.
But 1, catches and over 12, yards is not bad considering I was a third-round pick. Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison was well-behaved. New owner Jimmy Haslam already pushed out team president Mike Holmgren, and there's a good chance general manager Tom Heckert and head coach Pat Shurmur will follow Holmgren out the door.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, citing league sources, reported Saturday that both will be let go Monday. Shurmur, who is in two seasons, gave an emotional postgame address to his players after another competitive game slipped away in the second half.
While he hasn't spoken to Haslam about his status, Shurmur could sense his tenure is now measured in hours, not years. The Steelers were and rolling in early November. Their victory on Sunday was only their second in their last seven games, a collapse that will send them home before New Year's Day, well short of the standard set by the team with seven Super Bowl titles.
We've got to own it. A lot of letdowns, a lot of pluses too. We just didn't get it done. Yet even with nothing on the line than the chance to avoid the first losing season in nearly a decade, the Steelers found a way to beat the Browns. Pittsburgh's top-ranked defense forced four turnovers and Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown , Plaxico Burress and Leonard Pope for scores.
I'm proud of the way the guys finish. The line had no answers for Pittsburgh's pass rush. The play-calling inexplicably limited Nick Chubb, who actually gave them a chance when he touched the ball. And worst of all, Mayfield all but begged Cleveland to seek a QB upgrade this offseason, badly and routinely misfiring until the game was already out of reach.
Jadeveon Clowney had two sacks, including a near-safety, and Greg Newsome was among other defenders to show physicality and keep Pittsburgh within reach. But their defensive efforts fell short against the run and, frankly, didn't matter much anyway considering how little life they got when the ball was in their own hands. You might say, "Kickoff," because that's when the Browns apparently decided they weren't going to feature their best player, Chubb, and take the burden off Mayfield.
But if you wanna get specific, let's go with Cleveland's first drive of the second half. After struggling mightily to move or keep the ball through the first two quarters, Stefanski's squad fed Chubb twice to set up a third-and-3 at their own But then Heyward sacked Mayfield, forcing a three-and-out punt, and the Steelers responded with a field goal to extend their lead to Not insurmountable, by any means, but in this ugly game, it felt like it.
Harris was the offensive MVP for the Steelers on Ben's Pittsburgh farewell tour, in large part because of tough runs like this:. The Steelers will close their season in Week 18 by visiting the Ravens , who just fell to the Rams on Sunday.
Pittsburgh needs a win against Baltimore, plus a Jaguars upset of the Colts, to get into the playoffs. The Browns , meanwhile, already eliminated from the postseason, will finish the year by hosting the Bengals , who clinched the AFC North with a win over the Chiefs on Sunday.
Watt on the win over the Browns, Ben Roethlisberger and more. Coach Tomlin on the win over Cleveland, Ben Roethlisberger and more. Coach Tomlin addresses the media following our win over the Browns. This W just hits different. We know how many points the Cleveland Browns being alive for the playoffs is worth to the spread.
The answer must be 5. Before the Browns were mathematically eliminated on Sunday, they were 3. When the Browns were eliminated the line moved to Cleveland -1, a significant line move because it went through the key number of 3. Then overnight Sunday, it moved again to Pittsburgh That line move might be a little too much.
The Browns have prepared all week as if they were alive, and it seems unlikely they'll pull their starters. Maybe some starters sit next week, but eliminating the Steelers who can still get in by winning out and having the Jaguars beat the Colts next week There's still a rivalry there. Playoffs or not, players want to compete and win. I don't believe the Browns will roll over based on their elimination.
Therefore, I don't think the line should have moved much, if at all. On the other side, the Steelers looked like they were in some trouble last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. They looked like a team that has fought hard through limitations and might be out of gas.
The narrative that Ben Roethlisberger could have a big performance in his final home game as a Steeler ignores that Roethlisberger hasn't been very good all season and it's not like he was waiting until this week to try hard.
What we've seen out of the Steelers is what we'll get. It'll be an ugly game and they'll try to find a way to win, which they did at Cleveland earlier this season. I don't think we'll see a repeat of that. You'll hear the Browns don't have anything to play for but that's not totally accurate.
I believe they'll still want to win.
0コメント