Jan 3, 2016 5 min read

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There was a lot of talk last week after the Steelers lost to the Baltimore Ravens that they didn’t “deserve” to make the playoffs.

But now they’re in because, apparently, the Jets didn’t deserve to keep playing.

Funny how that works.

And we’ll all be better off for it. Who, after all, doesn’t want to see Steelers vs. Bengals part III?

One of two things is going to happen next weekend in Cincinnati. Either the Bengals are going to end their winless streak in the postseason under Marvin Lewis or the Steelers are going to get their first playoff win in five seasons.

@ I Tweeted at halftime that the Steelers would be OK because Austin Davis still hadn’t committed his big turnover and the way he was playing, it was bound to happen.

Three Davis turnovers later, the Steelers had their win.

It was a semi-lackluster performance by the Steelers, but one thing I’ll say about these Browns is that they didn’t quit on Mike Pettine.

That didn’t save him his job. But the Browns hung in there last week against the Chiefs and this week against the Steelers.

@ Ben Roethlisberger didn’t exactly look like he was “on” in this game, but on his first interception, it looked like Martavis Bryant ran the wrong route.

In fact, Bryant was yanked from the game later in the half when he and Roethlisberger again appeared to have a mix up.

Mike Tomlin said Bryant was dealing with a minor injury, but he missed practice most of last week and it showed.

@ If DeAngelo Williams can’t play next weekend in Cincinnati, it’s a serious blow for the Steelers.

Williams was in a walking boot after the game and looked reasonably spry. And he did attempt to come back, testing the ankle injury on the sidelines before shutting it down for the day, so there is some hope.

But the Bengals have gone with a gameplan that includes the safeties playing deep against the Steelers. Without Williams, the Steelers won’t be able to run the ball against that look as they should.

@ The Browns don’t have much in the way of a pass rush, but the offensive line did a nice job of picking up blitzes in this game.

@ The Steelers blitzed more on Cleveland’s opening possession than they did all last week in Baltimore.

Who said coaches don’t learn anything.

Pittsburgh sacked Austin Davis seven times in this one, sending a variety of blitzers at him.

Now, that might not be the way to go against the Bengals on every down. Cincinnati has better weapons than Cleveland.

But the pressure and sacks caused havoc. And that’s what this defense needs.

The Steelers will, however, have to generate a rush with four players at times in the playoffs.

@ Not unexpectedly, the Browns went after Antwon Blake early and often.

Blake made some plays, picking up a pair of pass defenses and making four tackles before leaving the game when his back issue flared up again. But he was also victimized a couple of times.

Such is the life of an NFL corner.

I don’t understand, however, why he continues to play over Ross Cockrell, which is again what happened Sunday.

@ Antonio Brown is good. But as we saw in this game, he’s also human.

Brown lost his first fumble of the season in the first quarter. But he more than made up for it the rest of the way, catching 13 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown.

Brown was constantly double teamed and it’s no coincidence that Roethlisberger has been picked off by a linebacker in each of the past two weeks forcing a ball to him.

@ Ryan Shazier got yanked for a while after missing a tackle in the third quarter. His replacement, Vince Williams, then promptly whiffed on a tackle attempt.

By in large, though, it’s tough to kill the defense for this game. Five stops inside the red zone.

The Steelers gave the Browns the ball three times inside Pittsburgh territory. Cleveland scored three points on those possessions.

@ Will Allen might have played the best game of his career. He was so good in the first half, I thought he had cloned himself and there were at least two of him out there running around.

You can see the fire in the eyes of players such as Allen and James Harrison. They know they don’t have many more chances to do this and they didn’t want this season to end.

Harrison basically played the entire second half because, like Bryant, Jarvis Jones was dealing with some kind of minor injury. But he also was playing like a man who didn’t want his season to end.

At the same time, up in Buffalo, Ryan Fitzpatrick finally realized he was Ryan Fitzpatrick and played accordingly.