The Steelers fell to 8-3 after an ugly road loss Thursday night football to the rival Cleveland Browns. As always, there are plenty of takeaways to be found.

1. The season isn’t over yet

Pittsburgh’s performance against the Browns was so laughably incompetent at times that I’m less annoyed than usual by the expected “Fire Tomlin/Smith/anything and everything” crowd after the loss. Thursday’s match was an absolutely brutal watch.

However, it’s entertaining to see how the same fanbase that wisely predicted this exact outcome prior to the match is the same one that reacts to the loss in disbelief. Yes, it was worse than most expected, but most thought a short week, bad weather and rivalry would result in a sloppy game. It’s the Thursday night football MO

Pittsburgh is still 8-3 after the loss, and in the exact same spot in the AFC North and AFC as a whole where they entered the week – and that won’t change after the rest of Week 12’s games. Good teams that finish Losing a stupid game every now and then is hardly a rarity in the NFL, and it’s hard to find a stupider game than what happened Thursday night.

Pittsburgh had a lot of self-inflicted wounds on Sunday, but there are some things you just have to write down when it’s the great equalizer again. On the play that set up the Browns’ winning touchdown, Minkah Fitzpatrick had a chance to make a play on the ball, but it appeared he was learning to skate. You can’t draw too many nasty conclusions from a game that has served as an unofficial one Ice Age 6.

The Steelers were riding a five-game winning streak in Week 12. They were bound to lose in the end, and this was one of the better times to do so. Their play-off position hasn’t changed and then there’s a mini-bye to recover.

Objectively, though, it’s kind of hilarious that Pittsburgh has gone 2-1 after the bye week, with wins over the 7-2 Commanders and 8-3 Ravens, but a loss to the 2-8 Browns. The NFL is a weird place, man.

But remember, this is still exactly that Steelers team that beat the Commanders and Ravens, and if we throw in all the current playoff teams, that includes the Chargers, Broncos and Falcons. The problems the Steelers had against the Browns didn’t define the season, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many wins over postseason-caliber teams. There are plenty of issues to dive into, and we will, but let’s not hit the panic button just yet.

2. The loss will be borne by the coaching

My seven-paragraph caveat above doesn’t mean the Steelers’ performance on Thursday was excusable. Pittsburgh’s loss would have been bad enough if the game had ended the same way it did during the first three quarters. But instead, the Steelers managed to take the lead and control of the game late in the fourth, only to lose it all in even more heartbreaking fashion.

That clumsy stuff falls squarely on the coaching staff. Mostly head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The list of mishaps is long: multiple must-have short-yardage plays that led absolutely nowhere (my favorite was a two-point conversion attempt that was a…fade to running back Cordarrelle Patterson?), Tomlin opting for a Browns’ third -and-seven on a potential fourth-and-2 that would end the game, and of course the time management failed at the end of both halves, leaving the Steelers with either not enough time or not enough timeouts. Just undeniably bad management.

Then, of course, there’s the decision to quarterback Justin Fields on a vital third down late in the game, just to have him throw a 50/50 ball deep in a snowstorm. I have been and still am an advocate of using Fields, and I even see the logic in it – the element of surprise since Fields is generally active, Pickens is a controversial catch wizard, etc. – but that’s a reckless play calling in such a crucial situation. moment.

If you have to throw deep, keep the guy on the field who has excelled at that all year. But Fields wasn’t the main problem there – it calls for such a low percentage play when only a handful of yards are needed when the game is on the line.

The Steelers were under penalties on Thursday, unprepared and mind-bogglingly illogical. Pittsburgh came up short on almost every play that mattered. Tomlin has been a good coach this year, but he and Smith had a terrible day against Cleveland.

3. The pass rush disappeared

Okay, Nick Herbig had an impactful strip sack that gave the Steelers temporary momentum in the fourth quarter. That was cool.

But almost every other defensive play on Thursday was a disappointment for the Steelers’ pass rush. Jameis Winston had all day to throw much of the game, but was only sacked once that night.

Remember, the Browns were down their top two left tackles – even without Alex Highsmith, this was a great game for the Steelers. Instead, there was hardly any pressure, hardly any blitz calls, and TJ Watt was largely shut down as a rusher. For a team built around its pass rush, that’s a death blow to the defense.

I predicted that Pittsburgh would struggle a bit in this game, but if you had told me that Cleveland would score the second-most points against this Steelers defense in terrible weather this season, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

The Steelers had to put pressure on Winston to win the game. Instead, the Browns, averaging 16.2 points per game, put 24 points on the scoreboard.

4. O-line problems crop up

To make matters worse, the Steelers offense responded to a quiet day from TJ Watt by single-handedly putting Myles Garrett back into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. Garrett had three sacks and a forced fumble against Pittsburgh. Russell Wilson was sacked a total of four times and was under constant pressure; the run game was inconsistent and wildly ineffective at short range.

Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. was schooled by Garrett, but more concerning was how much the Steelers’ interior offensive line, generally viewed as a force, struggled. The Browns’ defensive line destroyed the game all night, and combined with a few instances of Wilson holding the ball too long and a few botched run calls, it was a disaster.

If Pittsburgh continues to lose the line of scrimmage like this, it will be difficult to win football games.

5. Odds and Ends

• One play that doesn’t get talked about enough is Calvin Austin III’s fourth-quarter touchdown catch. He is a small, fast man who is not known for his catch radius, but he made a difficult catch in adverse conditions at a crucial moment. Great stuff from the young wide receiver.

• Amazon Prime’s virtual line markers in the snow made the Steelers’ white jerseys look like plaid PNGs for the last half of the game.
• Russell Wilson didn’t have a perfect game, but it was a rebound from last week against the Ravens and an almost impressive comeback. Much has been made of his deep ball, but his veteran leadership and late-game heroics are just as important to the Steelers’ success.
• Punter Corliss Waitman is having a great year, but his late-game 15-yard shank really changed the game’s momentum in Cleveland’s favor. An average kick there, and Pittsburgh’s chances of winning skyrocket.
• Another game with takeaways from Donte Jackson and DeShon Elliott. The offseason additions were the Steelers top splash play guys in the secondary.
• Jaylen Warren ran well on Thursday. It was good to see him finally reach the end zone.
• The litmus test for how bad the conditions are is whether Najee Harris has a hard time holding onto the football. He never messes around, but did once, almost twice, against the Browns. That football was smooth.
• Joey Porter Jr. gave up many completions to the Browns’ receivers. No need to panic, but it was a rough performance with Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase around the corner.
• Patrick Queen is becoming a consistent playmaker on the Steelers defense. Over time, the decision to sign him seems like a good one.
• Another game with no catches from Mike Williams and a low number of snaps. He may not be his old self, but Pittsburgh did trade a fifth-round pick for him and he caught a game-winning touchdown in his first game as a Steeler — his lack of usage is a bit concerning.
• The Steelers have a chance for revenge in just two weeks when the Browns visit Pittsburgh in Week 14.

It’s a tough loss, but the sky hasn’t fallen yet. On to Cincinnati.

What are your thoughts on Steelers vs. Browns? Agree/disagree with the above? Join our Behind The Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!