No snow. No Myles Garrett WWE-style trash-talking interviews. No George Pickens dust-ups at the end of the game.
No Pickens at all, actually. He was out with a hamstring injury.
In other words, Game 2 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns couldn’t have been more different from Game 1 in Cleveland on Nov. 21.
That goes all the way to the final score. The Browns won the first edition 24-19. The Steelers took the rematch 27-14 Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
That means Cleveland still hasn’t swept the Steelers in a season series since 1988, and the Browns haven’t won in Pittsburgh during the regular seasons since 2003.
Part of their undoing Sunday were ill-timed turnovers, poor coaching decisions on possession downs, and nine penalties, many of which were post-whistle or pre-snap brain cramps.
So I guess while some things change, others never do.
With their loss today, the #Browns have been eliminated from playoff contention pic.twitter.com/AUoI6p3R29
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 8, 2024
Here’s this week’s “Feats of Strengths” and “Airing of Grievances” after the Steelers improved to 10-3 and the Browns sank to 3-10.
Making the most of it: After a putrid first half on offense without Pickens, the Steelers adjusted and got in gear in the second half.
As has often been the case this year, the Steelers were much better after halftime. They scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter, banging out scoring drives of eight plays for 67 yards and five plays for 46 yards.
“We simplified what we were doing — the runs that we wanted to stick to, getting ready for some zero blitz in gotta-have-it moments,” guard Isaac Seumalo said of the second-half approach. “Kudos to the coaches. They had good second-half adjustments for us.”
Quarterback Russell Wilson racked up 49 yards passing during that initial possession of the second half. He had only 46 yards in all of the first half.
Pat Freiermuth was a key component on both drives. He had a 31-yard catch on a third-and-10 to keep the first drive alive. He caught a touchdown of 20 yards on the second drive.
Better the second time around: The Steelers were eaten up along their offensive line of scrimmage in Cleveland, especially in the first half. They did a much better job Sunday in the rematch.
“Watching the film, they were more aggressive than us in the first game. We wanted to come blazing and impose our will,” tackle Dan Moore said. “I think it was just a matter of executing up front, just the mindset that we went into this game with. I thought the coaches did a really good job with our game plan switching things up (without Pickens) right before game time.”
Seumalo specifically credited Moore for his work against Garrett. He was silent for most of the day until the fourth quarter when he registered a fumble recovery and a sack on consecutive drives. He was credited with just three tackles on the day, and he was held without a sack.
In fact, that was the only sack Wilson absorbed all day despite throwing 26 times.
Making it tough: The Steelers defense made the Browns work hard for just about every yard they got. For the most part, they kept a lid on what the Browns did offensively.
Through the first three quarters, Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston was averaging less than 5 yards per pass attempt.
“I thought we did a good job of bottling up, not letting the extended plays beat us,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “It was a coordinated rush. The outside (rushers) not getting too far upfield. The inside pressure understanding that you might have two gaps instead of one.”
Running back Nick Chubb did pop a 19-yard run. Aside from that, though, he was limited to 29 yards on his other 10 attempts. Jerome Ford had only 28 yards on 10 carries.
Notes of recognition: There were some individual standouts on defense, particularly Keeanu Benton. He had a key interception of Winston.
With the Browns leading 7-3, the defensive lineman managed to pick off a pass after Beanie Bishop got in Winston’s face.
BIG MAN SNAG 🙌 @keeanu_benton
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/OU0Kt7f6zl
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 8, 2024
The Steelers converted that turnover into a touchdown. Heyward also stood out with two sacks and five total tackles.
In the secondary, DeShon Elliott had 13 total tackles and a pass breakup, and James Pierre had a fourth-quarter interception.
BALL HAWK JAMES PIERRE!
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/Ij0yKUPZCk
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 8, 2024
As for cornerback Joey Porter Jr., he didn’t get flagged for any defensive holding or pass-interference penalties after drawing six last week. Porter did get one for shoving a Browns player after a first-half play, though.
At the linebacker level, Patrick Queen had 10 tackles, Alex Highsmith had a sack in his return game after a three-game absence and T.J. Watt was strong in the run game with four tackles, even though he was held without a sack for the second time this year against the Browns.
Back on track: The loss in Cleveland was one of the few times this year when the Steelers came out on the negative side of the special teams game. That wasn’t the case Sunday.
Chris Boswell made both of his field-goal attempts, including one from 54 yards. Meanwhile, Dustin Hopkins missed both of his attempts.
Corliss Waitman punted six times for an average of 52 yards, including a 60-yard effort. He also bombed a 58-yarder that drove returner Kadarius Toney back to his own 20. As he was backpedaling in an attempt to catch it, he fumbled and Ben Skowronek pounced on it.
WHAT A SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY‼️
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/GpQ6OLNOkp
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 8, 2024
The Steelers gained a first down on that ensuing exchange of possession and were able to wind out the clock and win the game.
Offensive offense: The passing attack in the first half was completely feckless without Pickens. Wilson was just 8 of 16 for 46 yards. The Browns were utterly unintimidated by any of his receiving options. Yet, the Steelers threw almost as many times (16) as they ran (17) in the first.
That’s despite the fact that Najee Harris was averaging 5 yards per carry at halftime, and Jaylen Warren was at 4.8 yards per attempt.
What we witnessed Sunday was exactly what critics of the Steelers have been saying for months about the wide receivers. There is no “Plan A” if Pickens ever gets hurt. Well, now he is hurt and the Steelers have no go-to guy on the route tree.
The Steelers were wise to get rid of Diontae Johnson for Donte Jackson. However, they were silly to do so without any plan whatsoever to replace Johnson as a No. 2 option. Apparently, the best they could do is Mike Williams, and they only throw him the ball when they absolutely have to do so.
The offensive coaches also made life even more difficult on themselves than they needed with some curious personnel usage.
There was one drive in the first half when the Steelers faced a third down and had Calvin Austin, Freiermuth and Harris on the bench.
Out of the locker room: The Steelers had a really bumpy start to begin the second half. Ford had a 56-yard kick return to open the third quarter. That was followed by Porter’s penalty on the next snap.
Fortunately for the Steelers, they managed to avoid damage because Hopkins missed his second field goal of the day.
Between Hopkins and Justin Tucker of Baltimore this year, those two are trying to regenerate Acrisure Stadium’s old reputation of being a horror show for kickers — except of course for the guy who kicks here every home game.
Zebra zeros: The officials (and replay assist) had their negative moments as well.
In the first quarter, referee Land Clark dropped the latest flag in the history of football after a third-down incompletion. The Steelers were lined up and ready to punt on fourth down before Clark got buzzed to drop an intentional grounding flag that had no impact on the result of the drive.
On the next drive, Highsmith was hit for a typically bogus, typically soft roughing the passer call.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns | Top Stories
