It’s not that the Steelers lost to the Browns, it’s how they lost – shortcomings on the defensive side of the ball, awful execution in short-yardage situations, and several questionable coaching decisions.

Now, if you read the staff picks, you know I picked the Browns to win. The Steelers had never won a road divisional game on Thursday night games, and they were coming off their toughest test of the season against the Ravens in a hard-fought game. Additionally, they had won five straight and were due for a loss. They weren’t going to run the table, and the circumstances added up to create a recipe for a loss.

However, this is a game in which they beat themselves more than anything. Offensively, the Steelers limped in the first quarter. Russell Wilson took a sack on third down to close out the first drive of the game, which set up a 58-yard field goal that was missed by Chris Boswell. In the windy elements in the early stages of the game, that was a tough ask even for the best kicker in football.

Short-yardage situations haunted the Steelers for the remainder of the game. Prior to the final drive, the Steelers were 0-for-5 on third/fourth down and two or shorter. They turned the ball over on downs on their second drive of the game and on their first drive of the second half. Pittsburgh struggled to run the ball all night. Najee Harris ran for just 45 yards on 11 carries. The few explosives that did come on the ground came mostly from Jaylen Warren, but even so, he finished with just 41 yards on 16 carries. The inclusion of Justin Fields was a welcome one, as he broke a 30-yard run down the sideline that helped set up a Jaylen Warren touchdown to bring the game do 18-13 before a Nick Herbig forced fumble led to a Calvin Austin touchdown gave the Steelers the lead.

Unfortunately when the offense did get going, the defense collapsed in the biggest situations. That’s not to discount the fumble by Herbig and later interception by Donte Jackson, but after the Steelers took the lead, the defense folded on multiple big plays. On a fourth-and-three on Cleveland’s final drive, Jameis Winston hit Jerry Jeudy for a five-yard gain for one of his six catches on the night in which he totaled 85 yards. The Steelers allowed the Browns to go 4-for-4 on fourth downs, and failed to get any sort of pressure on Winston all night. Despite the Browns having a depleted offensive line, the Steelers registered just one sack. Winston had all day to operate, and even on the rare occasion the Steelers did get pressure, Winston broke out of it like he did on his touchdown run to make the game 16-6 prior to the two-point conversion. The Steelers’ defense came up short in the biggest moments, and it ended up being a massive factor in the end result.

Play-calling by Arthur Smith and decisions by Mike Tomlin played just as much, if not more of a factor, though. Smith’s short-yardage play-calling was abysmal and led to the aforementioned struggles on third and fourth-down. Everyone in the building knew the Steelers were going to run on just about first and second down, yet Smith continued to dial up constant inside runs that went nowhere and put the offense behind the sticks, even though the passing game was working. Russell Wilson went 21-of-28 for 270 yards and a touchdown, but the Steelers never fully committed to just throwing the ball. Plus, after the Steelers took the lead, Smith looked at his play sheet and decided that a fade to Cordarrelle Patterson was the best call rather than looking to George Pickens or Pat Freiermuth who had been winning battles in coverage all evening. This was Smith’s worst-called game of the season, and it cost the Steelers’ multiple drives and potential points.

In terms of Tomlin, there were multiple instances that could be pointed to as a lapse. At the end of the first half, he didn’t call a timeout when the Browns trotted their offense onto the field on fourth down only to try a hard count and let time tick off the clock. And at the end of the game, Tomlin accepted a penalty on the Browns that made it third-and-seven rather than fourth-and-two. Even with the defense’s struggles on fourth down, accepting that penalty made no sense. The Browns converted on third down and eventually ended the drive with a Nick Chubb touchdown to win the game.

With all of that said, this isn’t time for doom and gloom. Pittsburgh is still 8-3, in first place in the AFC North, and one of the better teams in the NFL. They were playing a divisional game on a short week and lost. For everyone claiming the sky is falling on the season, just remember the Bengals lost to the Jets who were playing Mike White at quarterback in 2021 – they made it to the Super Bowl. The Chiefs lost to the Matt Ryan-led Colts in 2022- they won the Super Bowl. They are still in a great position to win the division, host a playoff game, and potentially make noise in the postseason – one loss doesn’t change that.