CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Ben Roethlisberger still scares the life out of the Browns in Cleveland.
In what many expected to be his swan song visit as a Steeler to Cleveland, Roethlisberger left with his 24th regular season victory over the team that passed on him in the 2004 NFL Draft.
He leaves Cleveland 12-2-1.
His 50-yard completion to receiver Diontae Johnson with less than 2 minutes remaining sealed a 15-10 victory, dropping the Browns to 4-4 and into the AFC North basement.
Here are our Top Takeaways from another haunting afternoon against Pittsburgh.
1. In as close to a must win situation as you can get this early in a season, the Browns dropped the ball – literally. Sure, Baker Mayfield could have made a few better throws, and he admitted as much after the game, but the guys who are paid to make the plays flat out did not Sunday. Our unofficial drop counter reached seven Sunday afternoon - Austin Hooper 1, Jarvis Landry 2 plus a fourth quarter fumble, D’Ernest Johnson 2, Rashard Higgins 1 on third down, and Odell Beckham Jr. gator armed a throw over the middle late. It’s easy to blame Mayfield, but credit Landry for taking ownership after the game for not making enough plays.
2. Injuries continue to detonate the season. Right tackle Jack Conklin, fresh off a knee injury that kept him out for two weeks, suffered a dislocated elbow and won’t be back anytime soon, if at all this season. Safety John Johnson III also suffered a neck sprain. The good news is that Mayfield said after the game he did not suffer any setbacks with his left shoulder, but the season might be derailed anyway.
3. To the Browns credit they didn’t want to look at the big picture after the loss, instead focusing on not doing enough to not be 4-4 and back in last place of the division. Considering the injuries and strength of schedule in front of them, forget the Super Bowl, just getting back to the playoffs might take a miracle or divine intervention at this point.
4. The Browns offense was inept all afternoon. Mayfield completed 20 of 31 passes for 225 yards but when he needed to deliver a pinpoint strike, he failed to do so. Cleveland went 3-10 on third down and 0-2 on fourth down. 10 points is not enough to win in the NFL and this is the fourth time they failed to score 20 in a game. Surprisingly, they are 2-2 in those games.
5. Leave it to Joe Schobert to help torpedo a Browns season. Schobert, now with the Steelers, stripped the reliable Landry following an 8-yard completion inside the 25 and T.J. Watt recovered the loose football with just over 6 minutes remaining. On the very next drive Landry caught a 9-yard pass but was unable to haul in two others, including on fourth-and-12.
6. The Odell Beckham Jr. situation is puzzling. Yes, Beckham commands attention but once again there were times where it appeared Beckham was open but Mayfield doesn’t even look his way. One catch for 6 yards is inexplicable. Is Beckham just not a fit here? Does Mayfield trust him? Unfortunately, there are a ton of questions and no real answers here.
7. In the first quarter, Hooper dropped what should’ve been a walk-in touchdown with a better throw on first-and-goal from the 8. It killed the opening drive that ended in Mayfield, who completed 4 of 6 passes on the 13-play drive, being sacked on third down by T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward. Chase McLaughlin kicked a 30-yard field goal for a 3-0 Browns lead.
8. The Browns fourth down woes returned. Nick Chubb got stopped in his tracks trying to bounce a run outside to the left, for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the Steelers 40. With just under 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Landry was unable to haul in a fourth-and-12 throw from Mayfield. Cleveland is now just 7-18 on fourth down this season.
9. Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell blew up the Steelers first drive deep into Browns territory in the second quarter with a sack of Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh settled for a 3-3 tie with Chris Boswell’s 31-yard field goal.
10. Myles Garrett walked into FirstEnergy Stadium dressed as the grim reaper, then bagged Roethlisberger to up his sack total to 10 ½ on the season with less than two minutes to play in the second quarter. It was one of very few highlights for the hometown team as Roethlisberger left the stadium laughing, again.
11. The Browns' ineptitude saved Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who dipped into the bag of tricks late in the first half with a fake field goal, but Cleveland's special teams sniffed it out. Boswell was essentially forced to throw the ball away out of the back of the end zone before getting blown up on the play. Boswell was evaluated for a concussion and ruled out. Punter Pressley Harvin III took over kicking duties. His first kickoff went out of bounds giving the Browns the ball at the 40 but his coverage unit stopped the Browns at the 20 on his second kickoff.
12. Chubb’s 21-yard carry in the third quarter was the first play of 20 or more yards in the game for either team. Chubb finished with 61 yards on 16 carries in his return from a calf injury. The Browns had a season-low three plays of 20 or more yards.
13. D’Ernest Johnson’s 10-yard touchdown run put the Browns back on top 10-3 in the third quarter. Johnson made a beautiful cut to shake Steelers linebacker Devin Bush out of his shoes. Johnson made up for a pair of dropped passes earlier in the game with the score.
14. Pittsburgh moved within one but not having Boswell kept them from tying the game. Rookie Najee Harris rolled in for an 8-yard touchdown. With Boswell unavailable, they went for 2. Roethlisberger ran it in, but a holding penalty took it off the board and moved the try to the 12. Garrett pressured Roethlisberger, forcing an incompletion to keep the Browns in front by 1, 10-9.
15. The Steelers cashed in on fourth-and-goal from the 2 when Roethlisberger found rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth, who made a juggling catch in the back of the end zone with safety Ronnie Harrison all over him for a 15-10 lead. Roethlisberger’s pass on the 2-point try to Johnson fell incomplete.
16. It's hard not to begin writing the eulogy for the season, but make no mistake about it, things aren't likely to get better anytime soon. Of their nine remaining games, only the 0-8 Lions are below .500. The now 4-3 Steelers await January 3 but everyone else left on the schedule has at least five wins and their combined record is 40-20. If you think the Browns are magically going to get healthy and will start ripping off wins against that type of opposition, you are simply not living in reality.
