Steelers lose to (gasp!) Browns
The final score was 20-14. That’s not surprising. AFC North games are usually hard-fought contests. But what was surprising was the fact that the Cleveland Browns ended up with 20 points, while the Pittsburgh Steelers only had 14. I’ll bet nobody saw that coming.
The game started off on a positive note. In the first minute, Lawrence Timmons intercepted a Cleveland pass and ran it back for a touchdown. The Steelers quickly led 7-0. But things quickly went south from there.
The Steelers went on to turn the ball over not once. Not twice. Not three times. Not 4 times. Not 5 times. Not 6 times. Not 7 times. No, the Steelers turned the ball over an amazing 8 times.
Charlie Batch threw 3 interceptions. And if that weren’t enough to put the nail in the Steelers coffin, fumbles sealed the deal. Rashard Mendenhall fumbled the ball. So did Isaac Redman. So did Jonathan Dwyer. And Chris Rainey. And Emmanuel Sanders. Everyone seemed to want to get in on the fun.
Regardless of how bad your opponent may be, it’s hard for any NFL team to overcome 8 turnovers. It almost looked like the Steelers were trying to shoot themselves in the leg (excuse the pun, but welcome back Plax).
The Steelers started off the game with a very conservative game plan. They handed the ball to the running backs early and often. And the running backs fumbled the ball early and often in return. When the Steelers finally let Charlie Batch start passing the ball, it seemed as though they did it out of frustration over the recurrent fumbles, and not because they really trusted Charlie.
And Batch didn’t give them any reason to trust him. When he wasn’t throwing interceptions, he was missing targets, sometimes badly. For example, he proved that he just doesn’t have the arm strength to run the fly pattern with Mike Wallace.
Batch ended the game with a QB rating of only 38.7. That’s a JaMarcus Russell level QB rating, and that’s not a good thing. Batch completed 20 of 34 passes with 3 interceptions and no touchdowns.
Some Steelers fans were calling for Charlie Batch to get the start last week instead of Byron Leftwich. But I doubt that those same people are nearly as enthusiastic now that Batch has actually started a game.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Charlie Batch. But Batch will be 38 years old in a week and a half. He’s easily the oldest player on the team. And with a 32 year old Byron Leftwich as the backup, I wish they had a 20-something third string quarterback on the roster instead of one who is almost 40 years old.
Despite the team’s offensive woes, the defense actually played a pretty good game. They sacked Browns’ quarterback Brandon Weeden 4 times, intercepted him once, and rushed him many more times. They also held him to only 158 total passing yards. They also held the Browns to only 108 total rushing yards. Ordinarily that would have been a fine defensive performance. But it wasn’t enough to overcome 8 turnovers.
The Steelers now find themselves with a 6-5 record. That’s the same record as the Cincinnati Bengals. However, if the playoffs were to start today, the Steelers would earn the final AFC playoff spot (the 6th seed) due to a better record against conference foes.
The Steelers must travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens next week. It goes without saying that a win in that game is crucial. So Baltimore, here we come.
Go Steelers!
Obviously, the game was an offensive disaster–worse than a shutout because the defense scored 7 points which was potentially enough if the Browns were not gifted short fields all day long. Despite many good years as a backup, we now know that Batch is past his due date. Why he is even on the roster at this point is a mystery. We cannot win games if defenses know with a certainty that he cannot get the ball down the field with any pace on the ball or accuracy. Also we confirmed that Wally is not worth whatever the market will likely pay him next year. More PT is required but McClendon and Worilds appear more capably than Snack and Woodley.
1Dan,
I was trying to think of a game where the Steelers so blatantly gave the game away. The only thing that came to mind was when “He Whose Name Is Not To Be Spoken” threw those interceptions in the Super Bowl with no Steelers within 20 yards of the Dallas DB, and then watched him waltz into the end zone. But even that doesn’t seem quite as grievous as this implosion.
It got so bad, that Coach Tomlin ran out of running backs to bench. Where is Baron Batch when you need him? Oh yeah, he got cut to make room for Plax.
Like I said in the article, I like Charlie. He’s a nice guy. But it’s time to bring in a 3rd string QB who isn’t quite so close to being eligible for Medicare.
I’m still not sure what to make of Mike Wallace. In Arians’ offense, he was a potent weapon. But when he’s asked to do much beyond fly patterns, he hasn’t proven to be above average. So do you pay a guy a fortune for being a one-trick pony? I still don’t know the answer to that. After all, he may only have one trick, but it’s a very good trick.
And I agree with you on McLendon and Worilds. Both need more PT. I was pleasantly surprised by how well Worilds played in LaMarr’s absence.
2At least it’s over with.
Back to square one and dig in.
Still plenty of ball left..
3Deshawn Jackson is also very good at one trick. And you see how well it has worked for Philly. Wallace is closer to a liability than an asset.
I thought when Rainey bounced into the endzone, things were going to go the Steelers way. But no.
And without that semi-fluke TD (I groaned when I saw the formation; which hadn’t been working up to that point), and the Timmons pic6, it wouldn’t have even been close.
The Standard May Remain the Same, but the Steelers were creaking under the weight of injuries. LG, RG, RT, and later RT, QB, QB, WR, WR. Not to mention OLB (although Worilds did play well), and SS.
Send for more bactine!
4