T.J. Watt, Najee Harris highlight 'Feats of Strength' as Steelers dropkick Browns

For as nice as it was to see Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger get a warm send off from the Heinz Field fans, I do have one significant regret after the team’s 26-14 win over the Cleveland Browns on “Monday Night Football.”

With Cincinnati clinching the AFC North on Sunday, that means we can’t spend the entire week ripping on the Browns for how much they stink out of one side of our mouths, while simultaneously convincing ourselves of ways that they could pull off an upset of the Bengals this week to help the Steelers win the division.

Yes, all of Pittsburgh would’ve twisted itself into a giant, collective pretzel to make that happen. After all, that Browns team had an awful game plan, failed on 14 possession downs, averaged just 3.5 yards per play and committed 10 penalties. One of which was Jadeveon Clowney throwing a shoe on the field.

The Bengals are going to shred them.

So, instead, Steelers fans have to hope that Roethlisberger and the Steelers can gin up one more solid effort next week in Baltimore while also praying that the 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars can pull off a stunning upset against the 9-7 Indianapolis Colts.

That’s the only path to a postseason appearance for these Steelers. So with as much of a long shot as that appears to be, let’s focus on some of the good from Monday night with this week’s “Feats of Strength.”

And let’s vent a little bit, too, with our “Airing of Grievances.”

Feats of Strength

Give ’em what they want: An announced crowd of 63,624 showed up to watch Roethlisberger throw it around Heinz Field one last time.

Well, they got what they wanted in that regard. Roethlisberger attempted 46 passes during the game.

Of course, many of them weren’t of the variety that made Roethlisberger into a Steelers legend. Big Ben’s average yards per attempt was a paltry 2.7, and he ended up with only 123 yards through the air on the night.

But the biggest goal of the evening was to give Roethlisberger an ovation as he walked off the field in what will go down as his final home game. So, mission accomplished in that regard.

“I’m just so thankful for these fans and this place. There’s no place like it,” Roethlisberger said to ESPN after the game. “I’m blessed to be able to call this place home for almost half my life.”

Roethlisberger’s final touchdown at Heinz Field will go down as a five-yarder to Diontae Johnson.

.@_BigBen7 ➡️ @Juiceup__3

: ESPN pic.twitter.com/4iO5EUm88n

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 4, 2022

That made the game 7-0.

Defense does the job: At one point late in the second quarter, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield threw 10 straight incompletions. No other quarterback in the NFL had a drought that long in a game this season. With 1:40 remaining in the first half, Mayfield had a passer rating of 7.5.

Cleveland was held to 232 yards in total offense. The Browns’ highly touted running game was bottled up by the Steelers defense for a second time this season. It had just 96 yards back in Week 8. On Monday night, the Browns had only 93 on the ground.

Star running back Nick Chubb was limited to 58 yards, even though he averaged 4.8 yards per carry on 12 attempts.

“Chubb is special. But we did the job tonight,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “I thought that was the catalyst for the defensive effort.”

The pass rush was particularly good, sacking Mayfield nine times. Five of his passes were batted down as well.

Per ESPN Stats and Info, the Steelers are the first defense since the 2017 Saints to have at least five sacks and five batted passes in the same game.

Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon had an interception and three passes defensed.

On the cusp: Four of Pittsburgh’s nine sacks were gathered by Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

It’s true. @_TJWatt is really good.

: ESPN pic.twitter.com/zBgWeeBC5N

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 4, 2022

Watt is now up to 21.5 on the year. The NFL record is 22.5, set by Michael Strahan in 2001. Only 11 other players have gotten to that many in a season.

“They didn’t try to establish the run too much. But when they did run, we did a good job for the most part. And when you are able to get one-dimensional and score points — the special teams were doing well getting field position flipped — we were able to pin our ears back in the second half and have a whole lot of fun,” Watt said.

Watt has 70 sacks in 76 career games. The only two players to get to 70 faster are his older brother J.J. (75 games) and Reggie White (57 games).

Take that!: Najee Harris had a great night, with 28 carries for 188 yards.

His most impressive effort was a 37-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

NAJEE CALLED GAME@ohthatsNajee22 | : ESPN pic.twitter.com/0vaG5Vj4j4

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 4, 2022

Harris also ripped off a 30-yard jaunt early in the third quarter. It featured a nasty stiff arm on M.J. Stewart Jr.

GET OUT OF @ohthatsNajee22's WAY!!!

: ESPN pic.twitter.com/cBTDQ3jgDy

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 4, 2022

Harris set the franchise’s record for rushing yards in a rookie season. He’s up to 1,172. Hall of Famer Franco Harris had 1,055 in the 14-game season of 1972.

Airing of Grievances

Third-down disasters: The Steelers’ inexplicable love affair with throwing the ball short of the sticks on third down continues. On the team’s first five third-down pass attempts, Roethlisberger actually completed the passes. But each time, yardage was short of the line to gain.

Forget “throw short to run long.” For the Steelers, it’s “throw short to come up short.”

In the first half, the Steelers were 3 for 12 on third- and fourth-down attempts. The two teams combined to go 5 for 20.

The Steelers didn’t complete a third-down throw beyond the first-down marker until Roethlisberger completed a red zone pass over the middle to Ray-Ray McCloud on his sixth try. It was a third-and-7 toss that went for nine yards on what ended up being a field goal drive that made the score 10-0 Steelers.

Nothing for Najee?: That field goal drive ended in particularly maddening fashion.

After McCloud’s conversion, the Steelers had a first-and-goal from the 4-yard line. They elected to throw all three times and failed on every attempt.

At the time, Harris had 12 carries for 69 yards, an average of 5.8 yards per carry. The Steelers didn’t hand it to him once.

I know it was “Ben Roethlisberger Night” and all … but give the guy a carry.

Awful exchange: The third-quarter sequence of events that led to Cleveland’s first touchdown was hideous.

McCloud fumbled a punt and recovered it at his own 5-yard line. Harris gained seven yards on two carries. But Roethlisberger was sacked by Clowney for a loss of eight yards. So backup punter Corliss Waitman had to punt from his own end zone. It went 53 yards. But the return allowed the Browns to start at the Steelers’ 48-yard line.

Four plays later, the Browns were in the end zone, with the lead cut to 13-7.

The Steelers offense had a similarly bad three-and-out on its next series. But the Browns couldn’t capitalize, going three-and-out themselves once they got the ball back.