Steelers cure lots of ills in beating Cleveland
Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell (26) celebrates his touchdown with teammates during the first half of Sunday’s game against Cleveland. Bell ran for 146 yards and a touchdown against the Browns.
Cleveland quarterback Cody Kessler is tackled by Pittsburgh defensive end Stephon Tuitt as he scrambles out of the pocket during the second half of Sunday’s game in Cleveland. The Steelers recorded eight sacks against the Browns.
Photo Courtesy Brook Ward Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons flies past Cleveland quarterback Cody Kessler during Sunday’s game.
CLEVELAND – The Steelers found their pass rush in Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium.
They found their running game as well.
And, most important, they found a way to win again, breaking a four-game losing streak.
Pittsburgh recorded a season-high eight sacks, and running back Le’Veon Bell had 28 carries for a season-high 146 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers whipped the winless Browns, 24-9, on a cold, windy day on the shores of Lake Erie.
“I feel like we had our backs to the wall,” said Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who had a team-high eight tackles and one of the eight sacks.
The Steelers (5-5) might want to play that way for the remainder of the season.
The victory moved the Steelers into a tie with Baltimore, which lost at Dallas yesterday, for first place in the AFC North. But the Steelers have a short week to prepare before heading to Indianapolis Thursday for a game against the Colts.
“We just won a game,” said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 23 of 36 passes for 167 yards in an efficient, if unspectacular, day because of the weather conditions.
“Honestly, that’s the approach we are going to have to have. We have a short week and it honestly doesn’t mean anything. It means we won a football game.”
The Browns, who dropped to a team-record worst 0-11 and are on a 14-game losing streak dating to last season, would gladly have taken it.
But Bell and Pittsburgh’s defense weren’t having any of that.
The Steelers entered Sunday’s game tied with Oakland for the fewest sacks in the NFL with 13. But they assaulted Cleveland quarterbacks Cody Kessler, who was knocked out of this game in the third quarter with a concussion, and backup Josh McCown from the onset. Six different players recorded sacks, including 2.5 from defensive end Stephon Tuitt.
With fellow defensive end Cameron Heyward out for the remainder of season, Tuitt was moved around like a chess piece by defensive coordinator Keith Butler.
“I just wanted to be better than what I was,” said Tuitt, who entered this game with just one sack. “I was playing a position that I normally don’t play, or moving around more than I usually do, doing whatever it takes to see my team get a win.”
Pittsburgh’s sack total also included one by outside linebacker James Harrison – inserted into the starting lineup earlier in the week – in the third quarter that lifted his career total with Pittsburgh to 77.5, a half-sack ahead of Jason Gildon for the team’s all-time record.
“It feels good but it feels a lot better to get a win,” said Harrison.
Bell played a big part in that.
The All-Pro running back had just one 100-yard rushing game in his first six games this season, but had 85 yards in the first half on 16 carries. He also scored Pittsburgh’s lone offensive touchdown on a 1-yard plunge from an untimed down at the end of the first half after the Browns drew two penalties in the closing seconds.
“To go for a touchdown when we are in the red zone, under 10 seconds and no timeouts left, it is a credit to (head coach Mike Tomlin) to make the call, and for having the confidence in us to keep us on the field,” said Bell, who had 201 of the Steelers’ 313 total yards.
The Steelers scored on all three of their first-half possessions, putting together a pair of 16-play drives that ended in field goals as Pittsburgh ran 41 offensive plays to 14 for the Browns.
The two teams traded field goals in the third quarter before Kessler was knocked out of the game with a concussion after being dragged to the field from behind by linebacker Ryan Shazier.
Timmons was called for unnecessary roughness on the play, despite replays showing him barely grazing Kessler’s shoulder as he flew over him, giving the Browns a first down at midfield.
“I completely missed him. I completely whiffed,” Timmons said. “The referees usually do a good job, but they missed that one. I’m pretty sure when they review it, they’ll make the correction.”
Tomlin was a little less diplomatic about that call and some others he felt were not made or went against his team.
“We were on the field more than we needed to be,” Tomlin said. “I thought the officiating was questionable at times. Maybe that had something to do with it. I thought there were some bad calls, or no calls.”
McCown made the Steelers pay, finding tight end Gary Barnidge for a 14-yard TD pass with 9:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Browns missed the PAT and the Steelers clung to a 17-9 lead.
The Steelers finished things with 3:44 remaining, when Shazier chased McCown down from behind at the goal line and stripped him of the ball. Rookie nose tackle Javon Hargrave fell on the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown and a 24-9 lead.
“(It was) a good team victory for us, contributions from all areas,” said Tomlin. “The guys really fought.”
Antonio Brown had eight receptions for 78 yards for the Steelers, becoming the fastest player in NFL history to 600 receptions. Brown did it in 96 games, surpassing Anquan Boldin’s mark of 98. … Bell’s 200-yard game was the fourth of his career, surpassing Willie Parker for the most in Steelers history. … Bell also went over 5,000 career yards in this, his 42nd career game, surpassing Jerome Bettis (52 games) for the fastest player to that mark in team history. … Hargrave had a sack, the first of his career. … Rookie Artie Burns had his second interception of the season on Cleveland’s opening drive. … Roethlisberger’s win in Cleveland was the 10th of his career. … Cleveland receiver Terrelle Pryor had five catches for 97 yards.