Steelers vs. Browns winners and losers

Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 24-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.

WINNERS

RB Jaylen Warren

Warren ran hard and was the best back between him and Najee Harris. His form of play and his contact balance remain elite. He crossed the goal line for the team’s first touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, the Steelers’ first TD since the Carter Administration (at least it felt that way). His passport also looked solid, as usual.

WR Calvin Austin III

Austin provided repeated splashes for the Steelers’ offense, a 46-yard catch down the middle in the first half. It would have been a touchdown if the pressure hadn’t caused Wilson to throw the ball short. He followed that up with a third-down touchdown after beating Cover 2 to give Pittsburgh the lead with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter, though it would soon be blown. A great jumping catch that plays big for its size and makes a great fighting catch in adverse conditions.

Austin doesn’t see a lot of volume, but he’s a popcorn player who can hit big when defensive backs guess wrong. His first catch was a fine leg to fake outside off and get vertical down the seam.

And his fake fair catches on punts consistently fool the coverage and help create one touchback tonight.

WR George Pickens

Pickens came up with big plays, especially on third down in the first half. On a 31-yard downfield catch, he used every part of his body to haul it in and a hard slant on the ensuing drive. Pickens continues to produce in the Steelers’ more subdued passing game and was a consistent bright spot throughout.

LB Patrick Queen

Queen had another lovely day, although we’ll have to check the All-22 for a better evaluation. A third-down tackle covering WR Elijah Moore and a, for the moment, key recovery and break on TE David Njoku on a 3rd-and-goal play action. It probably wasn’t one fantastic performance, and he opted not to open on another third down, allowing another half-yard that gave Cleveland the confidence to go for it on fourth down, but a good day overall.

EDGE Nick Herbig

For three quarters, the only thing touching QB Jameis Winston’s jersey was snow. Then Nick Herbig made a play. Dusting third-string LT Germain Ifedi, Herbig dipped the edge to force a sack/fumble on Winston. It was recovered by the Steelers, setting up Austin’s go-ahead several plays later. The pass rush was disappointingly quiet throughout the game, and not until the snow slowed things down, but Herbig has a clutch gene that was on display again Thursday night. Even if it all ended in a bitter loss.

LOSER

Mike Tomlin/Arthur Smith

Starts but does not end with a short distance. The Steelers were miserable in those moments with repeated failures. A 3rd and 1 false start. Two failed 4th and card games. Pittsburgh can’t get a push, but worse, it can’t get out of the jam. For the second week in a row, the Steelers rushed to break the huddle and late to the line, which contributed to the failures. If Pittsburgh wants to run the “Justin Fields Package,” it needs to be more decisive and get calls much quicker. Even Chris Boswell’s miss from 58 yards was rushed.

The Steelers opted out of sneaks and tried more creative and lengthy calls, and it cost them. Situational, red zone and short yardage, this offense has a lot of work to do during the 10-day layoff.

The blame goes to Smith and Tomlin. Specifically for Tomlin, his management of the halftime clock was completely messed up. He chose not to call a timeout after a Browns third-down run and lost 40 seconds. His calculation was to hold his last timeout, but he ended up not using it on the ensuing drive, which ended in a Russell Wilson sack. Just a bad decision.

For Smith, his two-point fade to Cordarrelle Patterson was a poor call in a big situation.

Tomlin then decided to accept a third-down penalty to make things 3rd and 7 instead of 4th and 2, burning a timeout in the process and leaving the Steelers with just one. The Browns converted, used more clock and then found the end zone to force Pittsburgh to score a touchdown on the other end.

Truly one of the worst plays Tomlin has called in his Steelers tenure.

EDGE TJ Watt

Despite the Browns coming into the game as the most sacked team in the league, with Winston dropping nine times over its last two games, TJ Watt couldn’t take advantage.

Nowhere was that more evident than Winston’s 4th-and-goal rushing touchdown. Pittsburgh covered well, but the rush couldn’t get home. Watt was tackled by RT Jack Conklin, who was singled up on the play, and Watt was driven 10 yards up the field.

Watt played a very quiet game. Although he knows how often he has been chipped and highlighted, he can and has played more in other games. Myles Garrett shined while Watt wilted, and that could be a deciding factor in voters’ minds when it comes to DPOY.

OT Dan Moore/OG Isaac Seumalo

Two linemen on the roster. Moore’s fight against Myles Garrett continues. Even with the chip and help, Moore still struggled. He’s always had issues with Garrett, and there’s no shame in that, even if it didn’t always show up in the box like it did tonight. At the half, Garrett was up to three sacks (the third came from the other side on a stunt up the A gap, not on Moore).

Seumalo fell off a block on one of the failed fourth downs as Pittsburgh’s short yardage struggles continue.

P Corliss Waitman

Kicking and sliding in the elements is always difficult. And Waitman, to his credit, caught a Chris Boswell field goal. But a 16-yard scamper on his first — and only — punt of the game gave the Browns the ball in Steelers’ territory. It just sinks you. Even a halfway decent 40-yard punt would have been acceptable in the moment. Everything but a shaft.