The Pittsburgh Steelers went into Cleveland with a banged up defense but they did more than enough to win yet still lost 13-10 on a field goal with :02 remaining. These are my rapid-fire thoughts on the game.
Offense
-I can no longer defend Kenny Pickett. You can tell me that Matt Canada and Mike Tomlin have stripped him of his aggressiveness and ability to make plays on the move and I wouldn’t disagree. But he just can’t make accurate throws right now. Good defenses give him problems. Average defenses he can get by but throwing for 106 yards (3.6 ypa) isn’t going to cut it.
-Jaylen Warren is the best running back on this team. Period.
-Glad to see Pat Freiermuth back today. Unfortunately he still doesn’t block well and had one reception.
-The OL had some decent moments in the run game today but overall was manhandled by the Browns. I’ve never seen so many guys coming free through the line before.
-Matt Canada had some bizarre play calls today but you can’t pin it all on him. There were some opportunities there and guys didn’t make plays.
-I loved the aggressiveness of Mike Tomlin going for it in his own territory on 4th and 1.
Defense
-Elandon Roberts might be the best tackler on this team. He made several excellent stops in key situations. He led the team with 11 solo tackles including two for loss.
-Trenton Robinson, for his first career start, played well. Tackled solidly and nearly had an interception too.
-Keeanu Benton just gets better every week. He plays with speed and power. Rarely gets beat.
-Myles Garrett didn’t quite have the stats that T.J. Watt had today but his impact was greater. He had two sacks and was constantly crushing the left side of the Steelers’ OL. Even when he wasn’t getting tackles he was freeing up guys to do so.
-Mykal Walker played a solid game for a guy who was in street clothes the first ten weeks of the season.
-As I’ve said with Joey Porter, Jr, he’s going to get away with some pulling and grabbing and sometimes he won’t. Today was another example of that.
-Yes, it was the right call on Alex Highsmith for his roughing the passer call in which he went ‘helmet to helmet.’ I still find it ridiculous that the NFL expects these guys to not knock heads on occasion.
-Cam Heyward is literally giving everything he’s got right now. I can’t imagine he’s anywhere near 100% either.
Special Teams
-The Pressley Harvin III tenure as punter needs to end. Too many erratic punts at key moments of games.
Up Next
The Steelers head to Cincinnati where the Bengals are coming off a mini-bye and will start Jake Browning at QB.
