CLEVELAND (93.7 The Fan) – The name for them now are weighty downs and the Browns owned them in a 29-17 win over the Steelers Thursday night.
Cleveland converted 6 of 16 of third downs and 3 of 4 on fourth downs to extend drives and one of the fourth down conversions was for a nail-in-the-coffin touchdown run. Those conversions set up by the success in running the football as Nick Chubb went for 113 yards and as a group the Browns rushed for 171 yards.
As Mike Tomlin said after the game, ‘if you can’t slow down Chubb, you can’t beat this group.’
“We all have to step up and make tackles,” said Steelers Defensive Captain Cam Heyward. “When you are arm reaching on a guy like Nick Chubb, he is going to make you pay. That’s a skill he’s developed, but it takes multiple guys to the ball to stop him.”
“We weren’t physical at the point of attack towards the end of the game,” said Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith. “I know there were a lot of plays, but we have to do what we do in the fourth quarter and we didn’t do that tonight.”
“Losing first and second, not winning the fourth down and shorts,” Heyward said. “If you give an offense like that, more often than not, they are going to win their fourth down and shorts. We got to be better in that regard-first and second down and put them in situations where they either have to pass or it’s a longer down-and-distance.”
“We played a sloppy game,” said Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. “An incomplete game. The Browns did what they wanted to and we couldn’t do much to stop it.”
It was the second straight week the Steelers couldn’t make stops at the end of the game. Time of possession is also a function of a struggling offense, but the defense not being able to get off the field is also an issue. Through the first three weeks of the season, the Steelers are a minus 36 minutes and 56 seconds in time of possession. In the fourth quarter, Cleveland held the ball for 11:18.
Drive time
Along with the time of possession, the Steelers allowed four drives of nine plays or more.
· 12 play, 79-yard drive with six first downs ending in a touchdown in the second quarter
· 9 play, 57-yard drive ending in the lone Steelers fourth down stop
· 14 play, 80-yard drive leading to a field goal in the third quarter
· 11 play, 80-yard drive in the fourth and one touchdown run
Notes
· Myles Jack with another double-digit tackle day with 12
· Devin Bush with his first 10 tackle game since Opening Day last year in Buffalo
· Steelers got no turnovers for the first time this season
· Alex Highsmith had 1.5 sacks and currently leads the NFL with 4.5 sacks
Up Next
The team that put together a miracle finish in Cleveland, the Steelers host the 1-1 Jets next Sunday afternoon at 1p.