The Steelers opened the season on the road against the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday. While both the media and a majority of the general public assumed this game would be a blowout, it was anything but. The Steelers struggled mightily in some areas and will have to shake the rust off if they want to come away with a win against the Vikings next Sunday.

However, a win is a win and in despite all the negatives, we saw some good signs as well. Here are my winners and losers from week one against the Browns:

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Winners

Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown was nothing less than Antonio Brown against the Cleveland. He caught every pass thrown his direction (literally, he caught 11 passes on 11 in targets), and he always shows up big in crucial moments of the game. Brown came down with two very difficult catches to help keep the chains moving and the clock running towards the end of the game – including a deep on 2nd and 12 that he pulled down between two defenders to seal the game for the Steelers. Brown had a dominant showing and proved again why he is one of the best in the game.

T.J. Watt

It’s impossible to watch the Steelers this past week without coming away impressed with rookie outside linebacker, T.J. Watt. In his first NFL action, the kid from Wisconsin collected 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and two quarterback hits. Watt could be seen flying all around the field making plays. Even more impressive was that he was able to accomplish all of this in his first NFL game against 10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall-of-Famer, Joe Thomas. It’s a little early to declare Watt a star, but he couldn’t ask for a better way to start his career.

Stephon Tuitt

Tuitt could have just as easily fallen into the losers column because of the devastating bicep injury he suffered early in the game, but Stephon deserves to have his name mentioned in this category. Tuitt was going to work early in this game and showing fans why the Steelers gave him a $60 million extension. He was the most noticeable player in the game before his injury in the first quarter, as he was constantly in the backfield blowing up plays. When Tuitt was in the lineup the first two drives, the Browns managed a whopping total of 8 offensive yards. To say losing Tuitt for the year would be detrimental is an understatement.

Tyler Matakevich

Dirty Red shines again. This time it was with a blocked punt in the first quarter of the game. The star special teams player yet again proved his worth and outplayed his 7th round status. In one of his only snaps on defense, Matakevich made his presence felt by delivering a blow on rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer at the goal line (though he still managed to cross the plane for a score). The Steelers were outscored on offense by the Browns, so Matakevich’s special teams play may have saved the game. The Steelers found a late-round gem with Matakevich. He will continue to open eyes and make his presence felt in some way, shape, or form.

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Losers

Todd Haley 

It’s always easy to lay blame on the coaching staff when things don’t go your way. While the defense came out firing on all cylinders, watching the Steelers offense was like watching paint dry. Whether it was from trying to shake off the rust from not playing much during the preseason or getting used to the new additions, there is no excuse for putting up just 14 points against the Browns. The offensive play calling was conservative, but odd at the same time. You could count the number of times the Steelers ran the ball in the first half on one hand. When they did choose to feed the running backs, they did so against eight and nine man boxes. Todd Haley had an interesting plan of attack, but needless to say, it didn’t work very well against the Browns this week.

Ben Roethlisberger

Roethlisberger came on strong at the end of this game and ultimately posted a respectable stat line with 24 of 36 passing for 263 yards, two touchdowns, one pick, and a 95.0 quarterback rating. However, stats don’t tell the tales of his struggle. Roethlisberger failed to get into a rhythm early – missing several easy passes across the middle of the field. He too often stared down his receiver and guided the ball. On the pass down the field to Martavis Bryant, Ben horribly under threw the ball. His decision making was questionable, to say the least (other than when he was throwing to Brown, of course). It wasn’t the worst game by Roethlisberger, but it won’t get the job done against better opponents.

Le’Veon Bell

I expected Le’Veon Bell to be rusty after not playing with the team since January. However, he struggled worse than I thought he would. Bell couldn’t get anything going on the ground in the first half. The explosiveness we saw from him last year wasn’t evident in this game, and he was pretty much a non-factor until late in the 4th quarter. Bell was held to just 32 yards on 10 carries. If not for a 15-yard run he busted out late, Bell would have finished with 9 rushes for 17 yards (1.9 yards per carry). In addition, Bell saw 6 targets in the passing game but managed just 15 receiving yards. It was a day to forget for Le’Veon Bell.

Offensive line

Despite having three of their starting offensive lineman receive grades of 82.1 or higher from Pro Football Focus for this game, I thought the O-line did a relatively poor job run blocking. While credit is due to Cleveland’s front seven for plugging holes and shutting down the run game, the Steelers offensive line created little space for their running backs to maneuver. When the offense struggles and the Steelers can’t get anything going on the ground, the offensive line needs to take some blame.

Joe Haden

I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to put Joe Haden on this list, but here he is. Haden made a couple nice plays and was serviceable in his first action wearing black and gold. However, Joe Haden was clearly beat twice down the sidelines. Luckily, one throw was well off target, while the other was caught out of bounds. A lot of Haden’s struggles could have been due to communication errors or not knowing his assignment, but those are mistakes that could cost the Steelers the game if not corrected. Again, we don’t know exactly who is to blame every time in a zone defense. Perhaps part of it was the safeties fault. However, they need to get on the same page quickly. Here’s to hoping Haden can stay off this list for the rest of the season.