Instant Reactions as Cleveland Browns topple Steelers in heated rivalry game
Things got heated as the Cleveland Browns won against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football in Week 11
The Cleveland Browns defense is Back. The Steelers are not at their best, with Big Ben Roethlisberger out for the year, and then losing James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the course of the game tonight.
Nevertheless, the Browns defensive line acquitted itself just fine against the Steelers’ strong offensive line. They only had 104 yards of offense in the first half, unofficially.
Overshadowing the game was a terrible brawl at the conclusion, with an over-aggressive Myles Garrett and a frustrated Mason Rudolph overheating and trying to rip each other’s helmet off.
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Garrett succeeded in taking Rudolph’s helmet off and swung it a weapon as Rudolph continued his attack. It’s beyond the capability of this analyst to determine who crossed the line first and who is at fault, but it was horrifically violent and beyond the normal boundaries of sports.
New York will sort this out next week and we can argue about the results as the case is judged. No doubt, there will be suspensions and fines, but it is impossible to predict how it will unfold.
The entire game was marred by penalties and especially some ugly helmet-to-helmet penalties. Perhaps the most significant precursor to the brawl occurred during the Steelers touchdown drive in the third quarter, with Morgan Burnett out of the game after apparently injuring an Achilles tendon, Damarious Randall made a foolish penalty against Diontae Johnson. The savage, and unnecessary hit by Randall took Johnson out of the game and resulted in New York asking Randall to grab a seat for the rest of the game.
If Randall was trying to earn a lucrative multi-year contract, taking himself out of the game was not a good way to go about it. In fact, likely some money will change hands next week but will come out of his paycheck rather than add to it.
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Chad Thomas has a strong game for the Browns, but muffed an easy interception as Furdolph threw an errant pass with Joe Schobert hanging on his arm. Many fans feared that the former Miami Hurricane might be tempted to devote full time to his career as a recording artist and producer, but he is producing on the field. He has allowed the team to survive the loss of Olivier Vernon due to injury.
Schobert picked off Rudolph twice. In the fourth quarter, his interception set the table for the decisive score, as Rudolph apparently did not see him lurking in the area.
Well, Schobert saw the ball. Earlier he jumped the receiver’s route and got inside for an interception that halted the Steelers, but did not lead to Cleveland Points.
Following Schobert’s second interception, Baker Mayfield looked like Baker Mayfield, scrambling and adjusting and then throwing a touchdown strike to virtually unknown rookie tight end Stephen Carlson.
That made the score 21-7 in the fourth quarter. That looked like Mayfield of a year ago when he was able to spread the ball around and get everyone on the field to perform for him.
Rudolph followed that little game by overthrowing James Washington so that Juston Burris could pick him off. That was Rudolph’s fourth interception.
In addition to these heroics, Mack Wilson had a great play on a critical third-down play in the fourth quarter, batting away a Rudolph pass.
The Browns also had good containment of the Steelers on punts. Mike Priefer has quietly built up a top-notch unit after they suffered many breakdowns last year. Having a punter with great hang time contributes to the excellent coverage. Fans can thank the Scottish Hammer, Jamie Gillan, for that.
The Browns had more yards on the ground and more yards through the air than the arch enemy Steelers. They also won the turnover battle thanks to Rudolph’s troubles with interceptions.
We cannot be sure who won the fight, probably no one. That battle will be fought in the press and ultimately by the NFL in New York. Stay tuned to Dawg Pound Daily for updates as they unfold.
Next. 3 FAs that need to be re-signed. dark
For the moment, the Browns beat the Steelers.