The Pittsburgh Steelers missed an opportunity to clinch the AFC North on Sunday, falling to the Browns in Cleveland for a fourth straight year.
Aaron Rodgers’ last-ditch drive came up 7 yards short. The Steelers drove inside the Browns’ 10 with less than a minute to go, but Rodgers threw three end-zone incompletions as Cleveland held on for a 13-6 win in wet and windy conditions.
The Browns grabbed an early 10-0 lead, scoring on each of their first two possessions. Though after Shedeur Sanders lofted a 28-yard touchdown to Harold Fannin Jr. to cap an 86-yard drive with a little more than five minutes left in the first quarter, the Browns’ offense struggled. Sanders threw two interceptions, and Cleveland failed to score points again until the final two minutes of the game, when Andre Szmyt made a short field goal set up by the Steelers turning it over on downs at their own 20-yard line.
Sanders finished 17-of-23 for 186 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Fannin left the game after his touchdown catch due to a groin injury and did not return.
The Steelers were equally inept offensively, particularly through the air. Operating without suspended No. 1 receiver DK Metcalf and injured No. 2 receiver Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh was further limited when tight end Darnell Washington left the game early in the second quarter (Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said postgame that Washington broke his arm). Rodgers managed just 168 yards on 21-for-39 passing. Only 60 of Rodgers’ passing yards went to wide receivers, and he had just 110 yards going into the team’s final drive, which began with less than two minutes left.
The AFC North title will now come down to Week 18, when the Steelers face the Baltimore Ravens in Pittsburgh. The winner will host a wild-card playoff game, while the losing team’s season will end. (In the event of a tie next week, the division will go to Pittsburgh.)
A prime opportunity blown
The Steelers entered the weekend with two chances to clinch the AFC North. Neither game went their way. First, they didn’t get any help from Rodgers’ old team, as the Green Bay Packers lost to the Ravens Saturday night. Given a chance to handle their own business, the Steelers were unable to do so.
The defense settled in after spotting Sanders 10 points on their first two drives. But on a wet, gloomy day in Cleveland, the Steelers’ offense played one of its worst games of the season. Along with just 168 passing yards, Rodgers took two sacks, one of them pushing Chris Boswell back 5 yards for a fourth-quarter attempt when Pittsburgh trailed by four — Boswell’s 54-yarder came up short.
This is the second year in a row the Steelers have failed to capitalize on an opportunity to clinch the division with an AFC North road win. Last year, they lost in Week 16 in Baltimore in a so-called “shirt and hat game.” Tomlin, unprompted, brought up that loss during his Tuesday news conference. Still, the Steelers weren’t able to learn from their past mistake. Now, it all comes down to Week 18. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer
No record for Garrett, but his presence was felt
This was just not a good football game. Cleveland was better early, and Pittsburgh’s offense was pathetic throughout. The Steelers couldn’t create anything in the pass game or sustain anything in the run game, and a handful of penalties and short-yardage failures doomed them.
Myles Garrett didn’t record a sack and set the NFL’s single-season record, but it was clear that his presence and range affected the Steelers in multiple situations. So, credit the Cleveland defense for kind of a masterpiece here. With Metcalf suspended and Washington injured early, the Pittsburgh pass game was mostly lost before a final drive that still came up short.
That’s why the Steelers lost this game, and the hapless Browns will no longer be locked into a top-two draft pick in April. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer
Metcalf’s absence looms large — and will continue to
After the Steelers blew the Browns out in Week 6, Rodgers was asked how he tried to take advantage of Cleveland’s single-high coverages.
“Throw it to DK,” Rodgers deadpanned.
Simple enough. Unless you don’t have DK. On Sunday, the star receiver’s absence was felt in a significant way. The Browns entered the game playing by far the most Cover 1 in the NFL (more than 40 percent). Add in another 30 percent in Cover 3, and you have a team that plays single-high more than just about any other team.
Typically, that type of defense opens up opportunities to test cornerbacks in single coverage. But with Metcalf and Austin sidelined, the Steelers struggled to take advantage of opportunities. The play that summed up the struggles best came at the end of the first half. Facing fourth-and-1, Rodgers aired the ball out along the left sideline to Scotty Miller. The Browns were all over it, just as they were most of the downfield passes on Sunday.
Metcalf’s absence may continue to haunt the Steelers, who will be forced to play without their WR1 in Week 18. Washington will likely be out, and Austin’s status also remains uncertain after he missed the entire week of practice. — DeFabo
Sanders shaky in the win
The Browns got points on their first two drives. They got no more points until the final two minutes. The Cleveland defense deserves a victory lap and a big collective hug from the offense. Fannin, the star rookie tight end, aggravated a groin injury while scoring the game’s only touchdown. Without him, Sanders struggled to generate anything downfield.
Sanders wasn’t great overall against pressure, but he did extend plays and was able — with a big assist from the defense — to overcome two interceptions. Over Sanders’ last three games, he’s done almost nothing to show he should be viewed as the team’s starter going forward. But for now, the Browns will celebrate forcing Pittsburgh to play a winner-takes-all game for the AFC North next week. — Jackson