The Steelers strengthened their AFC North lead and hit double digit wins on the season following their 27-14 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. As always, there are plenty of takeaways to be had:
1. “Browns is the Browns” …but the Steelers are good, too.
After losing to the Browns in a painful Week 12 game, the Steelers took care of business at home in Week 14, finally defeating Cleveland. Pittsburgh didn’t play its best game yet again, but this time the result was a two-score victory.
The Steelers were in control for the entire second half, even if a Cordarrelle Patterson fumble made things interesting late in the fourth quarter. The Steelers had an inconsistent performance but still managed a comfortable margin of victory; if not for the kneel-downs at the end of the game, they would’ve scored 30 points.
The Browns made life easier for the Steelers. Dustin Hopkins missed two field goals. Jameis Winston’s accuracy was all over the place. Cleveland lost the game as much as the Steelers won it.
But the Steelers still made plays when needed. And they clearly looked like the better team.
Earlier this week, a BTSC poll asked fans if Pittsburgh was a true Super Bowl contender. A quarter of the responses still said “no.” On paper, a win over the Browns doesn’t change anything. But Pittsburgh managing to dominate an opponent while still playing middling football is the mark of a team that’s built to go places when it’s firing on all cylinders.
2. No Pickens, (sort of) a problem
From what there is to gather from reports, it looks like the Steelers were blindsided by star receiver George Pickens not playing against Cleveland due to a hamstring injury. Scotty Miller, who ended up taking Pickens’ roster spot in the active lineup, was in street clothes ahead of the inactives announcement. Mike Tomlin more or less told CBS’ Tracy Wolfson before the game that Pickens would play.
As a result, it’s important not to be too critical of the Steelers’ offensive performance in the first half. The passing game looked unprepared without Pickens, and that seems to be because it legitimately was. However, Arthur Smith and co. definitely should’ve had a more thought-out backup plan, as the initial results were brutal regardless of how irreplaceable Pickens is to the offense. A 27-14 win is great, but I’m still far from confident that Pittsburgh can get anything done against good teams without Pickens in the lineup.
That said, his absence did provide the opportunity for the Steelers’ receiver depth, and Russell Wilson for that matter, to step up. They performed reasonably well.
The oft-criticized Van Jefferson caught a touchdown, as did tight end Pat Freiermuth, who’s been a fairly consistent playmaker over the last three weeks. Scotty Miller had three catches for 38 yards — just his second game with a catch this season — including a beautiful toe-tapping grab on a third down deep ball.
Miller’s catch was impressive, but the lack of Pickens was still felt on a number of failed downfield attempts from Wilson throughout the game. There aren’t many in the NFL who can do what No. 14 does in contested catch situations.
But if anyone can come close on Pittsburgh’s roster, it’s wide receiver Mike Williams, who Pittsburgh traded a fifth-round pick to acquire ahead of Week 10. Williams caught one pass that week — a 32-yard game-winning score — and then disappeared from the Steelers offense with no catches in the next three games.
Busted trades happen all the time, and generally we’d chalk up Williams’ lack of production to him just not playing well or not being a good fit with his new team. But Williams has proven to be a good player in Pittsburgh. Again, his first catch as a Steeler was a dynamic touchdown, and when he was finally incorporated into the gameplan against the Browns, he added three catches for 36 yards. One was a 22-yard, one-handed back-shoulder snag.
Not seen on the stat sheet was another back-shoulder catch nullified by an avoidable offensive pass interference, as well as an earlier occurrence in the game where Williams was wide-open downfield but missed by Wilson. He’s no longer in his prime, but Williams is still a downfield threat and a plus target on jump balls — as good of a Pickens replacement as you can get midseason.
I haven’t seen the snap counts yet, but the eye test will tell you that Williams wasn't on the field nearly enough. There’s a very solid argument that he’s the second-best receiver on the team behind Pickens, and he needs to be played like one.
But even with Pickens surprisingly out, Williams underutilized, and explosive WR3 Calvin Austin III having a quiet game, the Steelers found a way to win. Russell Wilson has done an excellent job distributing the ball over the last few weeks and connected with eight different targets against Cleveland. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined for 100 yards on the ground.
Pickens was a noticeably huge loss for the Steelers, but in true Mike Tomlin fashion, the black and gold keeps finding ways to win. And a very respectable 27 points is just icing on the cake.
3. Bring Elandon Roberts back, and other inside linebacker thoughts
The Steelers’ defensive performance on Sunday wasn’t all that surprising. The pass-rush caused pressure all game but the Browns’ offensive line held their own. The secondary had some hiccups, but still held Jameis Winston to 212 passing yards after he had 497 last week. And don’t forget the obligatory multi-turnover game and unnecessary Joey Porter Jr. penalty.
Another team was held to under 20 points in Acrisure Stadium — we’ve seen this movie plenty of times in 2024.
But there are some talking points regarding Pittsburgh’s inside linebacker room, namely Elandon Roberts. He’s a veteran run stuffer who’s more or less fallen to third on the depth chart behind do-it-all star Patrick Queen and athletic rookie Payton Wilson. Expect Queen and Wilson to be the Steelers’ starting duo again in 2025, but I also expect (or hope, at least) that the Steelers bring Roberts, a free agent this offseason, back as well.
Roberts is currently on the last season of a two-year, $7 million deal. At 30 years old and only playing around half of the defensive snaps this season, he shouldn’t cost starter money to re-sign. But he proved on Sunday why an extension would be worth it: a huge fourth down stop in the third quarter (he nearly blew up another later), and a tone-setting steamroll of Browns center Ethan Pocic in the first quarter.
He’s been making plays like that all year:
If you looked up the definition of what laying it all on the line means, this near game-saving forced fumble by Elandon Roberts would pop up.
Haven't seen a play like this while watching the Steelers since Troy Polamalu. I'm still in awe. pic.twitter.com/qFKQgflWbS
— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) October 7, 2024
Roberts’ run defense has been consistently excellent over his Steelers career, and his hard-nosed brand of football is exactly what you want on an AFC North team late in the season. Plus, we’ve seen how important it is to have capable inside linebacker depth over the last few Steelers’ seasons. Roberts needs to be back in the black and gold in 2025.
Elsewhere, it’s been great to see Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin getting a bit more creative with his blitz packages over the last few weeks, especially when it comes to sending speedy linebackers Queen and Wilson to shoot gaps.
The linebackers haven’t gotten home for sacks, but they’ve certainly wrecked plays. Offensive lines are busy enough stopping Cam Heyward and Pittsburgh’s loaded edge rusher group — adding a blitzing linebacker with 4.5-speed to that equation generally ends how you think it would:
Patrick Queen gets to Winston so fast on his blitz that there is no chance to throw to anyone. I do wish Tomlin had declined the illegal touching penalty, because I don't think there is any chance the #browns actually would have actually gone for it in that situation. #tnf pic.twitter.com/0R1DuQbEHt
— Steeler Thoughts, Chief Feelings (@stcf715) November 22, 2024
4. Russell Wilson’s new old trick
Russell Wilson didn’t play his best game on Sunday — although it’s not lost on me that Pittsburgh has reached a level of quarterback play good enough to leave us underwhelmed by a two-touchdown, no interception game. But 15/26 for 158 yards doesn’t exactly stand out.
However, some of Wilson’s positive plays are a bit harder to find on the stat sheet. His six rushes for 17 yards are hardly Lamar Jackson numbers, but three of those runs went for first downs. His mobility also resulted in him being sacked only once and extending plays for positive gains.
Maybe we’re just not comparing him to Justin Fields’ freakish athleticism anymore, but Wilson is looking more mobile and comfortable than he has all season. The O-line is improving and it appears that Wilson’s lingering calf injury is completely in the rearview mirror at this point — he had his most rushing attempts and yards of the season on Sunday, including some planned quarterback keepers.
If you look at Wilson’s touchdown pass to Van Jefferson, it’s threat of the quarterback running that draws the defense away from the receiver:
Wilson isn’t the same player who lit the league on fire in his younger years as an elite dual-threat quarterback; I wouldn’t categorize him as “fast” these days. But he still managed over 300 rushing yards last year in Denver and is showing he can still use his legs in Pittsburgh. It’s a part of his game that’s flying under the radar as he gets older.
I’ve been a fan of moderate use of the Justin Fields package in Pittsburgh this season, but Wilson getting better as a runner opens the door for the Steelers to still utilize the quarterback run game from time to time without having to swap passers and risk ruining the flow of the game. It’s a positive development — just don’t get hurt, Russ.
5. Odds and ends
T.J. Watt didn't record a sack but don’t believe the rumors that he had a bad game. He was causing pressure for most of the afternoon.
Keeanu Benton’s interception was one of the best defensive highlights of the season, and the moment was made better by the young defensive tackle’s inclusion in Hard Knocks earlier in the week. He had a bad week prior to the Bengals game and has generally needed to step up just a bit more in his sophomore season. Sunday was a step in the right direction for the talented defender. The cut to Benton getting high fives on the sideline after the Steelers scored following his turnover was the most wholesome part of the broadcast.
Cam Heyward is up to eight sacks on the regular season with a real shot at hitting double digits as a 35-year-old interior defensive lineman. He’s been elite against the run as well. Heyward’s season needs to be getting more buzz nationally. He’s been that good.
Donte Jackson had yet another game where he missed several plays due to an injury temporarily flaring up. The Steelers are getting Cory Trice Jr. back at a good time as boundary corner depth is fairly thin if Jackson or Joey Porter Jr. miss time — but James Pierre does deserve credit for his big fourth quarter interception.
J.J. Watt was getting the Taylor Swift treatment from CBS on Sunday. I lost track of how many times the broadcast cut to him watching the game.
There were a few too many instances of pass game miscommunication against the Browns. Not what you want to see this late in the season.
Yes, Cordarrelle Patterson’s late-game fumble was terrible and he probably shouldn’t have been in the game over Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren. But I’m tired of seeing so many complaints about Patterson this season. He’s been a great signing, averaging well over four yards per carry with the size and receiving ability to fill both the Harris and Warren roles in the Steelers offense when needed. Don’t let one bad play ruin what’s been a solid season for the veteran playmaker. He’s important depth to have.
Speaking of Jaylen Warren, he was electric against the Browns and has been a lot of fun to watch late in the season. He’s the perfect compliment to Najee Harris’ methodical, bruising style.
Let’s talk specialists: Chris Boswell was a perfect two-for-two on Sunday while Browns’ kicker Dustin Hopkins missed both of his field goal attempts. Every AFC North kicker not named Boswell has had some struggles this year. No. 9 on the Steelers is having a special year.
Punter Corliss Waitman deserves some praise for averaging 52.3 yards per punt (net 45) on Sunday. Ben Skowronek also continues to be regularly good for a few plus plays per game, this time pouncing on a muffed punt to give the Steelers a field-flipping turnover. Both Skowronek and Waitman have been impactful signings this season; the big additions have drawn most of the spotlight, but it’s the under-the-radar touch-ups to the Steelers’ roster that have made general manager Omar Khan’s team take the next step in 2024.
Following back-to-back rivalry victories, the Steelers will be on the road next week to take on the 11-2 Philadelphia Eagles in a battle between playoff-caliber Pennsylvania teams.
What are your takeaways from Steelers vs. Browns? Agree/disagree with the ones above?Join our Behind The Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!
