Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Monday.
The Kickoff
First, give credit to the Cleveland Browns. They turned Sunday into their personal Super Bowl and played their masses off. They could have easily packed it in for the season but didn’t. The Steelers meanwhile looked awful – especially offensively. Aaron Rodgers was way below average until the final drive but that ended miserably and I blame him for that. The bottom line is that this was another Mike Tomlin clunker. The Browns are very good defensively but Tomlin’s team should have won this game and didn’t. Now it all comes down to a winner take all against the Ravens.
As Expected
The Steelers will host the Ravens on Sunday Night Football. So yeah, not only do we have to wait all weekend for the game but we also get Cris Collinsworth. Ugh.
Smith and Rodgers
In the previous three weeks, I thought Rodgers and Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith worked well together and seemed to be on the right page. Sunday however was probably Smith’s worst game of the year. Three play calls in particular were stunningly bad. Two runs on third and five situations went nowhere and then, coming off a timeout in Browns’ territory, they go deep to Scotty Miller of all people. As for Rodgers, his best moments of the game came on the final drive when he was willing to actually sling it. Those good feelings vanished immediately after trying to hit his buddy Marques Valdes-Scantling three straight times and those ended brutally. Rodgers’ unwillingness to look for other receivers was selfish and costly because he had guys open.
Kudos to…
I thought Alex Highsmith played his ass off and very nearly made enough plays himself to win the game for the Steelers… Patrick Queen continued his solid play of late as did Payton Wilson and Jalen Ramsey… Kyle Dugger actually played well with one unfortunate exception. I honestly have no idea what he was doing on the Browns’ TD to Harold Fannin, Jr. That will be a black mark on an otherwise solid game… And in a rare move, kudos to Carson Schwesinger of the Browns. He literally played on one leg and still recorded nine tackles.
OFFICIALLY Speaking
John Hussey’s crew entered this game with home teams in divisional matchups winning over two-thirds of the time. The Browns were flagged more than the Steelers today but there were three or four very questionable decisions. A false start on Dylan Cook was about as nit-picky as I’ve seen, especially considering that Cam Robinson was “kickstarting” early all day. The flag on Cam Heyward – while correct according to the rule – was 100% bullshit. I will never understand how a 320lbs man, going full speed and being engaged by a blocker is supposed to “not fall with all of his weight on the QB.” It’s an awful rule. The other questionable moments were an offensive pass interference call on MVS and then the decision to not throw a flag in the end zone. Granted, most players aren’t getting a call in that situation but Denzel Ward didn’t play the ball and had MVS’ arm locked down. To be clear, officiating did not decide the game but there were some questionable moments.
DWash
I’m not going to say whether Darnell Washington will be available or not just yet but with a broken forearm I’m going to assume he’s out on Sunday. While he’s become a real threat as a pass catcher, the loss of his blocking cannot be discussed enough. When he went out yesterday, the Steelers turned to Spencer Anderson who is normally ‘Mr. Eligible.’ I won’t be surprised to see the Steelers elevate Matt Sokol from the Practice Squad because Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth just don’t block well at all.
Scripted?
Do I completely understand why people think the NFL is ‘scripted?’ I do but I think these tweets say it all.
Random Reads
Aaron Rodgers was at his best all day during that final drive. He was more confident and assertive with his throws until of course those final shots to MVS… Kenneth Gainwell had just ten touches in the game which just boggles my mind especially given last week’s performance and the lack of receivers available… Once Washington went out, the limited use of Pat Freiermuth in the passing game was criminal… Cleveland has been a house of horrors recently for Chris Boswell and it continued yesterday. That miss completely changed the strategy for the offense… Did you guys know Myles Garrett was going for the sack record yesterday?… Watching the Chicago-San Francisco offenses last night after seeing the Steelers and Browns was like moving from the 1940’s into the 21st century… As of right now, the Houston Texans would be coming to Pittsburgh in the wild-card round should we win Sunday night.
Hot Reads is presented by
