The Steelers’ loss to the Browns is hard to swallow after they staged a comeback and let it slip away. Now at 8-3, the Steelers have a mini-bye week to prepare for a trip to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. But first, let’s take a look at the winners and losers of Week 12.

Varsity

QB Russell Wilson

Russian played well. He wasn’t perfect, taking several sacks that weighed more on him than the offensive line, but he flew through the air almost flawlessly. He went 21 of 28 for 270 and the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter for Calvin Austin. He had four completions of 20 or more yards downfield and consistently hit Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens for significant gains. The problem was that the Steelers didn’t lean into the passing game more than they leaned into the run game, which came back to bite them because the Browns (and everyone else in the building) knew the Steelers ran every first and second down. Regardless, Wilson played well.

QB Justin Fields

Well, there’s a first: two quarterbacks highlighted in the same game. Fields led the Steelers in the second half. After going down 18-6, Fields had a 30-yard run and helped the Steelers get within five before Jaylen Warren capped the drive with a score. I liked Fields being more involved in the offense and expected this to happen more in the future.

RB Jaylen Warren

Warren was the only back to find success on the ground, averaging more than four yards per carry and a touchdown. But for some reason, the Steelers refused to just buy into his success and continued to feed Najee Harris for carries that went nowhere. Warren has played incredibly well over the past month since overcoming his injuries and should continue to get more touches.

S DeShon Elliott

Elliott has been the Steelers’ best defender this season, and he had another big game on Thursday. He forced a fumble on the Browns’ first drive of the second half and finished with six tackles.

CB Donte Jackson

Jackson recovered Elliott’s forced fumble and had an interception late in the game that could have helped seal a comeback victory for the Steelers. Unfortunately, a drive that fizzled out, followed by a bad kick, allowed the Steelers to come in.

EDGE Nick Herbig

Herbig had a strip sack that gave Calvin Austin the go-ahead goal for the Steelers. He finished the evening with five tackles.

Junior Varsity

TE Connor Heyward

Multiple missed blocks and chips, plus a penalty in the first half. Why is he still getting offensive snaps when Ben Skowronek played that role well against the Ravens? If his last name wasn’t Heyward, he probably wouldn’t do that.

Offensive line

Zero run game and Myles Garrett did what he wanted and finished with three sacks. This was a rough outing.

Pass quickly

This was the most pathetic performance by the Steelers’ pass rush in a long time. Facing a depleted Browns offensive line, they collected just one sack on Jameis Winston, who had all day to do what he wanted. TJ Watt didn’t exist. Nick Herbig made the splash play, but he really should have been able to do more. Unforgivable performance.

CB Joey Porter Jr

Jerry Jeudy had his way with Porter, including converting multiple crucial third and fourth downs. After bouncing back from a down week against the Commanders in Week 11 against the Ravens, Porter suffered another dip in production.

OC Arthur Smith

Easily his worst game as a Steeler. No creativity on first and second down, just constantly running into the teeth of the Browns defense for minimal gains. The Steelers had 16 third downs as a result(!) and while they had a conversion rate of almost 50 percent on third down, the number of times they were on third down meant that figure was a lot less. They also went 0-for-5 on third/fourth and two or less prior to the game’s final drive. There is a lot to address from an early attack perspective.

HC Mike Tomlin

There were multiple instances against the Browns that had fans burying their heads in their palms. The Browns kept the clock ticking by taking the field on fourth down at the end of the first half, accepting a penalty that if denied would have awarded fourth down. The Steelers are 0-3 in their last three games against teams 2-8 or worse – that’s a coaching problem. And while this isn’t Tomlin’s job, it’s a clear pattern that’s incredibly frustrating to watch.