Good, Bad, & Ugly: 2015 – 16 – Cleveland Browns

It wasn’t always good, at times it was bad and at times it was ugly… but a win is a win is a win.

And the Steelers are in!

By virtue of the Jets collapse in Buffalo, and a Steeler victory in Cleveland, Pittsburgh returns to the postseason with a date in Cincinnati this weekend. However, that outcome wasn’t always certain.

A first half of spotty play saw the Steelers drive down the field effortlessly, then struggle with self-defeating penalties and turnovers. Add in an injury to DeAngelo Williams, and things were looking grim. Even typically consistent Chris Boswell missed a field goal. It felt like the usual collapse as we’ve seen so much this season.

It’s one of those games that again had you biting nails, because the outcome wasn’t always certain, and the turnover margin kept Cleveland in the game by virtue of great starting field position. (The Browns owned time of possession 33:57 to 26:03.)

Since turnovers and injuries are part of the game, I only had one major complaint: Antwon Blake. I usually do not ride players, but #41 and Tomlin’s loyalty to him, baffle me. Blake has given up an NFL record high of yards, and it was blatantly obvious the Browns targeted him on every play. Ross Cockrell would eventually replace Blake in the second half, when the Steelers picked up the pace.

The defense continued their dominance of holding teams to field goals or leaving them otherwise empty-handed, forcing another redzone turnover when James Harrison intercepted Austin Davis on the goal line. Overall, the defense forced 4 turnovers, holding the Browns to 4-16 on 3rd down and 1-4 4th down conversions, including 7 sacks.

The offense, on the other hand, struggled to run without Williams in the game. Ben Roethlisberger, despite some bad picks, still shredded the Browns defense for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Antonio Brown was once again superhuman, recording 13 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown.

Even punter Jordan Berry had some great boots to aide the team’s field position which was the biggest delimiter of the first half (via turnovers on the missed field goal, fumble and interceptions.)

Hopefully this is the momentum the Steelers need to get their first playoff victory since 2010, when they face the Bengals this upcoming Saturday night.


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