TE Pat Freiermuth left with a left leg injury in the fourth quarter. Steelers: WR Gunnar Olszewski injured his left leg on a jet sweep in the third quarter. T Jedrick Wills went to the sideline in the final minute with a leg injury. CB Denzel Ward did not play in the second half due to a shoulder injury. “So, a little bit of mixed feelings.”īrowns: LB Reggie Ragland left in the first half with a shoulder injury. “We wanted a shot at the playoffs, but didn't work out that way,” Pickett said. Yet Pittsburgh's postgame celebration lasted as long as it took for the Steelers to glance at the scoreboard. The Steelers responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard plunge by fullback Derek Watt with 4:39 to play.Ĭleveland's last two plays of the season ended with Watson on his back. The Browns drew within 20-14 on a 2-yard flip from Watson to Chubb with 10:20 to go. Pittsburgh ran off 20 straight points - 10 of them directly after interceptions of Watson - after spotting Cleveland an early touchdown. The Steelers ran for 148 yards - including 84 yards and a touchdown by Najee Harris - and Pickett overcame a bumpy start to complete 13 of 29 for 195 yards and a touchdown. Maybe, but it didn't look like it at times. “We got guys that wanted to put everything into this one.” “That locker room fought like crazy,” Stefanski said. Nick Chubb ran for 77 yards and caught a touchdown pass to join Jim Brown as the only players in Browns history to exceed 1,500 yards rushing in a season. Watson connected on 19 of 29 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns and the two interceptions. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods' job could be in jeopardy as the unit was inconsistent overall and awful against the run, even with Myles Garrett - whose 16 sacks tied his own club record - having another spectacular season. While Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is expected to return, he might have to shake up his staff. “We've got to reflect on the season, watch the tape. “It's tough to win seven games and finish the season like that,” said Watson, who went 3-3 as a starter after serving an 11-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Instead, the Browns (7-10) couldn't protect Watson and wound up at the bottom of the AFC North while losing at least 10 games for the 17th time since the franchise re-entered the league in 1999. “When you leave it to other teams, anything can happen," said cornerback Levi Wallace, who picked off Watson late in the first half to set up a field goal by Chris Boswell that gave the Steelers a lead they would not relinquish.Ĭleveland was hoping to sweep the Steelers for the first time since 1988 and finish ahead of them in the standings for the first time since 1989. The help Pittsburgh needed to sneak into the postseason, however, didn't materialize. His teams have been mathematically alive for the playoffs in 257 of them, including a rousing finale against the Browns in which they sacked Deshaun Watson seven times and picked him off twice. Tomlin has coached 258 regular season games with the Steelers. Pittsburgh put together a solid second half as Pickett learned on the job, going 7-2 after its bye week to assure coach Mike Tomlin of a record 16th straight non-losing season. Not after a 2-6 start that included Watt tearing his left pectoral in Week 1 and missing seven games and rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett enduring a rocky indoctrination into the NFL. “I think it will take a little bit of time to kind of understand and come to terms with it because I feel like we were starting to play some really (darn) good football,” Pittsburgh outside linebacker T.J. Instead, they'll spend Monday cleaning out their lockers and pointing toward 2023. The Steelers wanted a chance at carrying the momentum they've built over the last two months into next week's wild-card round. Just as the clock hit zero to finish off a 28-14 victory over Cleveland on Sunday, Pittsburgh's slim but for weeks seemingly zombielike playoff chances vanished when the Miami Dolphins kicked a late field goal and tacked on a safety to beat the New York Jets and earn the AFC's seventh and final postseason spot. The out-of-town scoreboard at Acrisure Stadium. PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers spent the second half of the season digging their way out of a deep hole, but they finally encountered one obstacle they couldn't overcome. NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns Steelers beat Browns 28-14 but miss out on playoffs
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