Cleveland, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Typically when a starting quarterback is lost for the season that team’s season circles the drain.
Not in Pittsburgh.
Despite starting 0-3 and losing Ben Roethlisberger for the year, the Steelers come to Cleveland in the thick of the AFC North race having won 5 of 6, including 4 straight with Mason Rudolph keeping the boat afloat.
“Guys just have not blinked,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said this week on a conference call.
The Steelers enter Thursday night’s game 2 games behind the 7-2 Ravens while the Browns are 4 back.
It’s incredible to fathom considering the loss of Roethlisberger in addition to transitioning away from the killer bees in Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.
Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens, who has come under fire for his team’s disappointing 3-6 start to a season filled with hope and expectations, credits the Steelers culture under Tomlin for their ability to survive such devastating losses.
“They have done it. Not just this year, they have done it before,” Kitchens said. “What you want to do is be consistent over time and how you approach the season, and they have done an excellent job of that. Mike has done a tremendous job of just staying on task and staying the course. Anytime things like that happen, you always have outside influences and outside noise and they just kind of relied on each other.”
Tomlin is in his 13th season and has won a pair of Super Bowls while Kitchens is in year 1 in Cleveland.
Under Kitchens, the Browns haven’t gotten on track, and if they don’t start winning, it’ll be tough for the franchise to stay the course come 2020.
“Everything’s at stake, man,” Browns cornerback T.J. Carrie said. “We have no more time to waste.”
Both teams are in a must-win situation Thursday night if they’re to have hope of catching Baltimore before time runs out, but in Cleveland, another season is in peril as a nationwide audience is about to tune in.
“I really do not have a feel for it as of yet,” Tomlin said of the divisional race. “We have just played two division games. I know you guys have just played one. I think it is really going to shape up over the second half of the season in a big way for the guys in the North.”
Rudolph isn’t carrying the Steelers but he’s doing his part. He is completing 66.1 percent of his passes for 1,088 yards with 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions this season since taking over for Roethlisberger.
“I like what I have seen thus far, but I think it is reasonable to expect him to continue to grow and getting the comfort that is associated with the experience of playing,” Tomlin said. “From inside a helmet, he is a big-time prep guy, but prep is one thing and playing is another. I think as he continues to play, he is going to get more comfortable and reap the benefits of his preparation approach. Hopefully, that helps him and us.”
Pittsburgh’s run game has been patchwork at best this season led by James Conner.
“James Conner is one of the best running backs in the National Football League,” Kitchens said. “He is physical, he is tough, he is hard to bring down and tackle, he is good in space and he catches the ball well out of the backfield. I think he is a good all-around player. He is tough to defend. He makes their offense kind of go because they want to start everything with the run game, and they want to run the football because they know that is how you ultimately win in this division and in the NFL.”
Conner leads the Steelers with 6 touchdowns in 2019 – 4 on the ground and 2 receiving – despite missing 2 games due to a shoulder injury. Connor, who racked up 145 yards and a touchdown against Miami on Oct. 28 before spraining his shoulder, was listed this week as a full participant at practice and is expected to play Thursday night.
“He is a Pro Bowl caliber runner and the other guys are not,” Tomlin said. “The other guys are gaining experience and finding their niche as professional ball carriers. We know what James is capable of.”
The primary credit for the Steelers’ success in 2019 goes to their outstanding defense.
Led by Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh has forced 26 turnovers in their first 9 games and have a plus-minus turnover ratio of plus-13, which ranks second in the league.
“I think anytime you can add a playmaker on the back end, the ball just kind of finds him,” Kitchens said. “He is always in the right spot. He is great with his eyes. It is almost like he knows where the ball is going before it is going to be there. He does a good job of being where he is supposed to be and then being where he is not supposed to be when there is a play to be made.”
The trade of a 2020 first-round pick to Miami for Fitzpatrick was a head turner considering where the Steelers were at the time, but it has been a boon for Tomlin’s team.
“This guy made plays probably at every level of football he has ever played,” Tomlin said. “I know I was really impressed with his Alabama tape. He was taken extremely high in the draft. We traded a first rounder for him. I do not think it is an unknown thing about his nose for the ball or his general awareness of football abilities.”
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, who hasn’t thrown an interception in 2 weeks but has 12 on the season, is wary of Fitzpatrick, and understandably so.
“He does a great job reading quarterbacks’ eyes,” Mayfield said. “There are some coverages and things they do that allow him to have some freedom to be the playmaker that he really is. He has made a lot of plays. He has put himself in good positions to win and create those turnovers, and then their pass rush has been a unit that has created some chaos up front, so it allows them in the backend to play freely even more.”
Their front 7 is pretty intimidating too.
The Steelers have 26 sacks through 9 games led by their star linebackers T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree.
Watt has 9.5 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 22 QB hits, 4 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries this season.
“He is one of those guys you have to know where he is,” Mayfield said. “They are doing some things to move him around, give him different looks and have him stand up in the box or on the edge. He just makes a lot of plays. He is a smart player, he has played ball for a while, he recognizes plays quickly and he is able to react.”
Dupree has 6.0 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles. Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward ranks third in sacks – 5.5 – on the team and he has 11 QB hits and 6 tackles for loss.
“I know a lot of people probably tried to write them off at the beginning of the year when they lost all those guys and had the injury to Ben,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “But they fight.
“They rallied around their defense and their culture and said, ‘Hey, we’re not giving up on this season.’ It’s really been impressive to see.”
The Browns need to rally Thursday night, or their season is as good as over.
