The Pittsburgh Steelers breathed a sigh of relief after having barely escaped a home game with the mighty Cleveland Browns. At least, that’s what you might think if you’d never seen an NFL game before walking into the second half of this season opener at Heinz Field. After the Steelers coasted to an early 27-3 lead, the team needed a last-second field goal to win 30-27 over a team many considered a contender for the top overall pick next spring.
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Rob Rossi of Trib Live Sports in Pittsburgh writes:
"“Coach Mike Tomlin said there was “a lot of negativity” in the second half.That was sweet of Tomlin to sugarcoat 30 minutes of football when the only thing the Browns didn’t do better than the Steelers was execute a fake punt.”"
Despite a near-historic collapse against their division rival, the Steelers are 1-0 to start the division. However, that wasn’t enough for many fans and media, who entered the season hoping this year’s incarnation would more closely mimic the team that finished 2013 with an 8-4 record than they would the one that started the season 0-4.
The Steelers defense looked gassed in the second half when the Browns rolled out their no-huddle and the Pittsburgh offense was quickly consumed by a hungry Browns defense. Whatever adjustments were made in the locker room greatly favored Cleveland and nearly gave the Browns a shocking win to open the season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can breathe easy for now, but if they bring that second half play to Baltimore on Thursday, things may not end so well.