Ben Roethlisberger arrived at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland with an 18-1 record against his AFC North division rival. This used to be one of the best rivalries in the NFL, but it’s receded as the Browns have tripped over themselves every year since returning in 1999. But the Browns made this year’s home-and-home an actual, legit, competitive rivalry series.
Steelers vs. Browns final score: 3 things we learned from Cleveland’s shocking blowout win
The Browns and their fans let out “15 years of frustration” against their rival neighbors in one of their most impressive wins since the franchise returned in 1999.
In Week 1, Pittsburgh owned Cleveland in the first half and it all looked like the same old Browns, and same old one-sided rivalry. But the Browns’ run game rolled through Pittsburgh for a 24-3 second half, forcing the Steelers to come back and drill a game-winning field goal as time expired. It was an impressive second-half rebound for Cleveland, but in the end, it was the Steelers, as always, still on top. Nothing had changed and Big Ben added to his dominating record.
Sunday’s game was more a replay of the Week 1 second half than the first. Cleveland controlled things from early in the second quarter until the clock hit zeroes. The defense had their best game of the season, the run game maintained its form, and Brian Hoyer hit big plays and big third-down conversions when they were needed.
At one point, a Browns beat writer quipped that the wild scene was "the Browns and their fans taking out 15 years of frustration." Pittsburgh would add a late garbage-time touchdown to make the final score 31-10, but that would only make things look more respectable for those who were just checking the box score. It was a shocking blowout for a Browns team that is now over .500 with the last-place Jaguars, Raiders and Bucs next on the schedule
1. Jordan Cameron back
The Browns opened this game up in the second quarter, piling up 21 points to take a comfortable lead into the locker room. The running game, which gashed the Steelers’ defense in Week 1, did plenty of the damage but Brian Hoyer also had one of his best quarters of the season.
Much of that success came thanks to tight end Jordan Cameron, who has struggled to match his 2013 Pro Bowl season thanks to an early-season injury. In limited work through just three games this year, Cameron had been held out of the end zone. That changed quickly in the second quarter, when Hoyer hit him in stride over the middle for a 51-yard score.
With Josh Gordon still suspended, Cameron is Hoyer’s best pass-catching option. The Browns and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan have overcome his injury with that run game, but he’ll need to be a threat for Cleveland going forward as defenses key on the rush. His impact in that critical second quarter that swung the game was obvious:
Brian Hoyer threw for 146 yards in the second quarter. Jordan Cameron had 93 of those yards. #Browns
— PatMcManamon (@PatMcManamon) October 12, 2014 Cameron finished the game with a team-high 102 yards receiving.
2. Todd Haley is in trouble ... right now
The Steelers are not a franchise to make rash decisions, but there has been plenty of scrutiny on offensive coordinator Todd Haley since he arrived in Pittsburgh. Sunday’s abominable offensive performance may be enough to make a midseason change.
"Hey hoss, if I get fired, I got your word to look the other way when I take a couple freebies from the office?" pic.twitter.com/iuoR1CTUXn
— Ape-O'-Lantern (@xmasape) October 12, 2014 The Browns' defense started Week 6 27th in the league against the pass and 30th against the rush. Those were surprising numbers given the talent on that side of the ball for Cleveland. But they've struggled to stop everything this year. Pittsburgh opened the scoring on Sunday with a 20-yard field goal from Shaun Suisham, but went silent until that late touchdown.
As the lead expanded for Cleveland, the Steelers could do nothing through the air as they were forced to throw to try and close the deficit quickly. It wasn't a good look against a banged-up Joe Haden and then it got worse when even Buster Skrine, the corner that every opponent constantly targets, picked off a Roethlisberger wide receiver screen pass. That turnover led to one more Ben Tate rushing touchdown that locked up the blowout.
3. The Browns will be without one of their most important offensive players
It wasn't all good for the Browns and their offense on Sunday. Center Alex Mack had his lower leg rolled up on in the first half, and his left leg was put in an air cast before he was even carted off the field. John Greco shifted from guard to center, and Paul McQuistan, a capable backup, came in off the bench to take Greco's spot at guard.
The Browns' offense was steady after Mack went out, but it will be a huge loss going forward. He was arguably the unit's most important player -- his recent teammate Jason Pinkston tweeted as much as soon as the injury occurred.
Damn he's the biggest part of the O
— Jason Pinkston (@JasonPinkstonOL) October 12, 2014 Mack was working on the best season of his career, one in which he hadn't missed a snap until Sunday's game against Pittsburgh. He's been a luxury, a given that, much like tackle Joe Thomas, the Browns could always rely on even in the ugliest of offensive stretches in recent years.
Following a 2nd quarter injury, center Alex Mack missed his 1st offensive snaps since he was drafted in 2009 - a stretch of 5,279 plays
— Dan Murphy (@DMurph_BrownsPR) October 12, 2014 Hoyer has been great for the Browns under center, but Shanahan's offense has been at its best on the ground. And it didn't matter who was running behind the offensive line, which had won the battle up front in every single game so far this season. When Ben Tate went out in the first half of the Week 1 game against the Steelers, rookies Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell stepped right in and kept the chains moving. The line has been dominant, keeping Hoyer upright and opening huge holes for every running back -- good enough for 144 yards per game before Sunday's throttling, fourth in the NFL.
Mack was an enormous part of that work in the middle, so his loss is major and everyone on the team recognized it as soon as he was on the cart.
Think Alex Mack has a few friends in the Browns' locker room? https://t.co/8VqO6wxq82
— Scott @ WFNY (@WFNYScott) October 12, 2014 X-rays were taken back in the locker room, and an MRI was coming later, but based on how things looked after the play and as he was put on the cart, the injury looked serious and potentially season-ending. After the game, Mike Pettine said the initial diagnosis was a broken leg but the team had yet to officially confirm that (Ian Rapoport was told a broken ankle). It was the only blemish in one of the banner days for the Browns since the franchise returned in 1999.
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