Steelers Game Balls: several to go around in a classic AFC North win at Cleveland
There are plenty of game balls to hand out from Sunday’s game as the Pittsburgh Steelers won their third in a row for the 2021 season.
This time, the Steelers found a way to hang on against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, with two second half scores leading to a 15-10 victory.
The Steelers now sit at 4-3 on the season, sending the Browns to the basement of the AFC North. There were several players responsible for the win, so let’s get to them!
Najee Harris
Najee Harris had a good game yesterday. Harris finished the day with 91 rushing yards (on 26 attempts) and one rushing touchdown. Najee also had three receptions for 29 yards, adding to his over 100 yards from scrimmage total.
Pat Freiermuth
Pat Freiermuth came through in the clutch yesterday with an amazing touchdown catch.
On a 4th-and-Goal play in the 4th quarter, Ben Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass to Freiermuth that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers the lead they would hold for the rest of the game: but it wasn’t just any normal catch as Freiermuth bobbled the ball and secured it, all with a Browns defender draped over him.
The tight end finished the day with four receptions for 44 yards.
Diontae Johnson
Diontae Johnson is another player who was key to the Steelers win.
With 1:48 left in the game, Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass to Diontae Johnson that the receiver turned into a 53-yard gain. This helped the Steelers take another step in securing their victory, as they would close out the game without giving the ball back to Cleveland.
Johnson finished the game with six receptions for 98 yards and no touchdowns.
Ben Roethlisberger
I couldn’t pass out game balls to offensive players without giving one to Ben Roethlisberger.
Ben was 22/34, with 266 passing yards and one touchdown, and a 98.4 rating.
Joe Schobert
The former Cleveland Brown got his revenge on his former team today by racking up nine tackles and forcing a key fumble later in the game.
T.J. Watt
T.J. Watt did T.J. Watt things today. Watt finished the game with six tackles and 1.5 sacks: leading all Steelers and besting his “competition” Myles Garrett (who finished with a single sack).
Cameron Heyward
Cam Heyward was all over the place today and finished the game with four tackles and half a sack.
But it was his penetration of the Browns stout offensive line several times in the game, including a key play where he didn’t make the tackle, but pushed the pocket so fiercely on a Cleveland fourth down attempt, that Devin Bush was able to make a tackle for loss, with the Browns turning the ball over on downs.
