5 Steelers surprises in Sunday’s win against the Browns
Our SCU staff and contributors pick the “surprises” from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ latest matchup each week. Check out more below to see which plays and situations surprised us the most!
The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up their tenth win of the 2024 season with a 27-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The victory gives the Steelers a two-game lead in the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens.
Here are some surprises from that game.
Slow Start: And Finish
The Steelers’ offense came out with a thud, going three-and-out in the first possession and continuing the trend by not gaining a first down on four of their first five drives.
The lone drive that exceeded three plays of the first five was a five-play, 29-yard series that ended in a 30-yard Chris Boswell field goal.
The game would also end similarly, with the Steelers having drives of 3, 5, 3, and 5 plays to close out the game. (The final drive ended the game with two kneel downs.)
George Pickens Inactive
The Steelers star receiver showed up on the injury report late in the week. A hamstring injury was the diagnosis on Friday, with a game-time decision to be made Sunday.
Pickens was reportedly going to play according to CBS’ Tracy Wolfson, who spoke with Mike Tomlin hours before the game. Then, the inactive list was released with Pickens’ name on it.
While some are speculating Tomlin benched Pickens due to conduct, Gerry Dulac is already stating that Pickens’ injury is more serious than initially believed and that he may not be available to play this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Where was Myles Garrett?
The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year was largely shutdown on Sunday, with only three combined tackles and a lone sack: one in which Russell Wilson made it easy by moving right into the Browns defensive end.
Despite being down double digits, Garrett celebrated the sack: then proceeded to whine in a postgame interview about the Pittsburgh crowd getting on him with a “Cleveland Sucks” chant near the culmination of the fourth quarter.
Is any of that surprising from a player who spent the last month egging various Steelers on? Not at all. It’s more surprising that he didn’t expect to get any backlash from his actions.
Captain Cam
Cameron Heyward is an ageless wonder. During the summer, many fans speculated whether the 35-year-old defensive tackle’s best days were behind him.
Like fine wine, Heyward continues to dominate opposing offenses. This time he got to Browns QB Jameis Winston twice.
Heyward is now second on the team with eight sacks. His 19 QB hits are already the fourth-most of his career with four more games remaining in the season. Heyward also has an opportunity for a career-high in passes defensed. His eight PD’s are one shy of his best mark of nine back in 2021.
Browns Turnovers
We know it’s a running joke that Winston will turn the ball over, but it happened in shocking fashion on Sunday.
Winston’s first interception occurred right after his team forced the Steelers to a three-and-out. Winston looked for a screen pass to RB Nick Chubb, but Pittsburgh DL Keeanu Benton stepped in and snagged it out of the air. The big man then rumbled for eleven yards on the return. (The play setup the first Steelers touchdown and the team never looked back from this point.)
Winston’s second pick happened as his team attempted a fourth-quarter comeback. Down 27-14, Winston took the second play of his offense’s drive with 4:07 left, looking for WR Elijah Moore but instead getting picked off by backup CB James Pierre. Pierre would also bring the ball out with an 18-yard return.
The Steelers offense stalled to finish out the game with about four minutes left, leaving Corliss Waitman back to punt. The punter blasted a ball 58 yards to newly signed Browns receiver and returner Kadarius Toney, who muffed the catch and failed to drive on the loose football before Steelers gunner Ben Skowronek got to it.
The turnover would give the Steelers the ball back with 2:53 on the clock and they would succeed in running out the remaining time to secure the victory.
