It was not pretty and at times it was downright painful but in the end the Steelers did enough in all three phases of the game to pull out victory, defeating the Browns 26-22 on Monday Night Football.
The Steelers’ defense was tough and physical all night, forcing four turnovers, including three fumbles and one interception. Alex Highsmith had a pick-six on the first play of the game, and T.J. Watt returned a fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, the eventual game winner. Larry Ogunjobi held down the middle and was dominant in the first half.
While the Browns rushed for 198 Yards a huge chunk of that was 69 yards on a busted running play, where Levi Wallace failed to contain. The secondary struggled with tackling but played well for the most part. They were willing to give up the short plays and had tight coverage. Joey Porter Jr. had his first Steelers moment ending the Browns last comeback attempt with tight albeit somewhat questionable defense.
The offense struggled to get going again, but they were able to make enough plays to win the game. Kenny Pickett struggles continued very similar to last week and his late season swag from last year, seems all but gone, with throws that were inaccurate when he was not running for his life.
Pickett did manage to throw for 222 yards and a touchdown, and Najee Harris rushed for 43 yards with little to no openings. George Pickens had four catches for 127 yards and one touchdown. Jaylen Warren chipped in with four catches and had 66 yards. The offensive line had a tough night in both protection and in run blocking. It looked as if they were playing on ice skates.
The Browns lost running back Nick Chubb, who suffered a left knee injury in the second quarter after getting drilled by Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick also left the game with an injury. Noted sex offender, Deshaun Watson threw for 235 yards and a touchdown, but he was out of sorts all night and made several key mistakes, including the pick six interception and two fumbles one of which resulted in the touchdown by Watt. He also was flagged for a face mask twice. It was a Browns self-destruction kind of night.
Pressley Harvin III finally delivered and hammered two punts that pinned the Browns inside the five. It was his best performance as a Steeler to date. Chris Boswell hit two long field goals 50 and 52, respectively. The coverage teams were solid, the return teams…not so much. Overall it was a very good night for the Special Teams unit.
As for the coaching, they are going to get roasted in the mainstream media this week. The Steelers problems though are more about execution than schemes. The offense is awful, and the play calling is lousy, but there were several missed opportunities that left points on the board where the Steelers could have executed starkly better. It will be a continued work in progress.
It was the usual hard hitting, physical AFC North and as Coach Tomlin says, they aren’t going to apologize for victory.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: T.J. Watt who scored the winning touchdown and broke James Harrison all-time Steelers sack record! Honorable Mention: This easily could have gone to Alex Highsmith, we went with history, but Highsmith absolutely had a huge game, forcing the fumble and starting the game with a pick six.
Beer of the Game: Went with Modello Chelada, KGB went with Yuengling…No strategy on these selections, cleaning out the summer beer fridge.
“Steel the Snacks”: We stole the Cleveland classic Corned Beef Sandwich and Pierogies, the corned beef was not cold cuts, it was an actual oven roasted corned beef that KGB made. It makes a huge difference! We had the not so Little Miss Tailgate and D-Man with us for the game.
My Stat of the week: With Monday’s victory Mike Tomlin now is 20-3 all-time on “Monday Night Football”. They have also won 21 straight “Monday Night Football” games at home.
My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers have the personnel and the ability to beat The Raiders, both teams sit at 1-1. Obviously, the offense needs to step it up, the performance on Monday night will not be enough to beat a dangerous Las Vegas team.
Jersey of the Week: Went with my first jersey that I ever purchased #36 Home, “The Bus” Jerome Bettis, while you can’t argue with results, I was hoping it would spur the running game!