The Steelers’ Defense Couldn’t Save the Offense This Time

By Brien Hanley on November 20, 2023

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Everything was playing out just the way the Pittsburgh Steelers had planned it. Keep the game close at the half. Make a few plays on offense in the third quarter to put some pressure on the Cleveland Browns’ offense. Slop up the game enough to give yourself a chance at the end.

With 1:42 left, Pittsburgh had that opportunity. All they needed was a field goal from Chris Boswell, who has been just about automatic from 55 yards and in this season. Instead, Kenny Pickett threw three incompletions in 14 seconds that allowed Cleveland enough time to drive for the winning field goal. 

On a day when the Steelers were again outgained, the offense couldn’t come up with the plays at the end to help a defense that dominated the second half.

Kenny Pickett Was Again Awful

This is starting to become a recurring theme. Pickett’s play resembled that of a 5th round rookie making his 3rd career start. Make no mistake, Dorian Thompson-Robinson outplayed Pickett. 

Once again, Pickett refused to throw the ball down the middle of the field.

Kenny Pickett Week 11 passing chart versus Browns via @NextGenStats #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/0IyRvl8SvP

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) November 19, 2023

Even with tight end Pat Freiermuth coming back from injury, Pickett didn’t challenge the middle of the Browns defense. No dig routes. No seam routes. No deep post routes. It’s almost like that part of the field didn’t exist.

That’s to say nothing of his conservative approach. He never allowed routes to develop, he just got off his first read and immediately went to the check down. That is not sustainable in the NFL. He has to be willing to stand in the pocket and deliver the football, even in the face of a fierce Cleveland pass rush. 

The Defense Traveled To Cleveland

The cliche “good defenses travel” was on display in Cleveland. Pittsburgh bent a little in the first half. In the second half, they barely budged. They made the conscious decision to play tight man coverage and bring the safeties down to stop the run. It worked against the Browns’ conservative approach trying to protect Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who wasn’t able to move the ball much in the final two and a half quarters.

The team by the lake ran the ball for only 96 yards. Elandon Roberts seemed to be everywhere with 15 tackles, including 11 solo. It wasn’t until the final drive of the game that the Browns found any running room in the second half.

Cleveland used a short passing game to take T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith out of the game. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin adjusted and played man coverage, which required Thompson-Robinson to be accurate with his throws. Until the final drive of the game, that worked wonders. The Steelers continually kept the Browns short of the sticks, which allowed the offense to get back in the game.

However, when the Browns adjusted for the final drive, they were able to beat the man coverage and get into field goal range. They simply started giving their quarterback an opportunity to throw the ball further down the field, which he was able to do.

Jaylen Warren Was Underutilized 

Mike Tomlin will tell you that he doesn’t regret not getting Jaylen Warren the ball enough.

Do you think you should have gotten the ball to Jaylen Warren more often? #Steelers Mike Tomlin pic.twitter.com/k2iXDdaBFy

— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) November 19, 2023

But if you watched the game, it was clear Warren should have gotten more touches. It’s safe to say he should have supplanted Najee Harris as the primary ball carrier. While both are clearly necessary for the Steelers to be successful, Warren has the ability to turn bad plays into good plays, a trait Harris lacks.

Jaylen Warren putting the offense on his back 😤

📺: #PITvsCLE on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jckqnJwdb2 pic.twitter.com/6bfQsTbA4f

— NFL (@NFL) November 19, 2023

The offense got moving when Warren had the ball in his hands — he just didn’t get it enough. A paltry 12 touches was a colossal mistake. I have been on the Matt Canada bandwagon the last two weeks because of the more innovative play-calling that has led to success in the ground game, but when you forget to utilize one of your most dangerous weapons, it’s a problem.

Although it was a hard-fought defensive battle, this is one that got away. When you have the ball with 1:42 left in a tie game, you have to win. Hopefully this doesn’t come back to bite Pittsburgh at the end of the year.

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