It was a snowy affair in Week 12 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns on Thursday night football, and the Browns left Huntington Bank Stadium with a victory over the Steelers in a shocking primetime contest. Cleveland was far from the favorites to win it over a Pittsburgh team that's felt set to win the division for a few weeks. Now, the Brown can officially say they helped play spoiler on that front.
There's a very slim chance they make the postseason at this point - the hole is too deep, and the chances sit at about 1 percent. But that doesn't mean there aren't important games left to play, especially when it comes to evaluating what talent you have on the roster now and who you want to keep on it next season.
Read more: Coach's corner: Best call from Browns v. Steelers in Week 12
Between the quarterback position, the offensive line, and the secondary, there are certainly holes to plug through the draft or free agency. However, the Browns' TNF win showed there are some players on the roster the team cannot afford to lose.
1. Jameis Winston
Winston was steady in the inclement weather during the primetime game, and that's literally all Cleveland needed from him to pull out a victory. It feels like since Deshaun Watson went down, it's become more and more obvious each week that this Browns offense isn't bad - they just couldn't gel with the $230 million dollar man.
Winston did a bit of everything yesterday - turned the ball over, but bounced back multiple times, ran the football well, and make the right call with the ball about 90 percent of the time on pressures. While he still has to clean up his turnovers, he converted on a two point conversion when it mattered and ran it in for a score himself when it mattered. He finished up with a QBR of 80.1, his best since the Browns' last win against the Baltimore Ravens back in Week 8.
2. Jerry Jeudy
Jeudy has been a direct beneficiary of Winston's solid play since coming in to start for an injured Watson starting in Week 8. Jeudy went from three straight games of just one reception with Watson on the field from Weeks 5 through 7, to consistently getting targetted down field by Winston and averaging closer to six receptions per game and 94.8 yards per game receiving.
Jeudy managed to snag several drive reviving catches from Winston in the snow on Thursday night, directly impacting their ability to run the ball with Nick Chubb and Winston instead of having to rely on the passing game in the snow. He was an impact player without scoring.
3. Myles Garrett
Of course, we have to talk about Garrett. He's a force, plain and simple. But, he had a quiet game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 11, and he was in and out of the medical tent in Week 12 after putting up three sacks against Russell Wilson and the Steelers' offensive line in just the first half of the game. Regardless, Garrett was able to come back in and help put major pressure on the Steelers in their waning moments and prevent a moon ball from Wilson to come easily - his bread and butter.
After the game, Garrett told sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung that he was "number one." He added that that tag extends "from edge one to defensive player of the year. I'm the guy. That runs through me, there's no other person being defended as I am or schemed against like I am. Just goes to show, you can throw that out the window, I'm gonna find a way."
Garrett helped contribute to Wilson getting pressured on over sixty percent of his dropbacks in Week 12. He never got a chance to get comfortable, and Garrett is a huge part of why - and why would you after you were strip sacked by him in the snow?