3 Steelers to blame for blowing golden TNF opportunity against Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers were in position to take a two-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football. Their opponent was the 2-8 Cleveland Browns, a rival trudging through the doldrums of a depressing season without their starting quarterback. Journeyman Jameis Winston was under center for Cleveland — his first start ever in cold weather.

And folks, the weather was COLD. What started as a clear but frigid evening ended with an all-out blizzard, each play obscured on the broadcast by a sheet of fluttering white. Both teams braved the elements in impressive fashion, but in the end, Cleveland emerged with the 24-19 victory.

Nick Chubb was the hero for the Browns, scoring two touchdowns — including the game-winner with 57 seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter. Jameis Winston was not flawless, but he managed to complete 18-of-27 passes for 219 yards in the worst conditions of his career. On the first drive of the fourth quarter, Winston bulldozed through the Steelers' D-line for a two-yard touchdown run and completed the two-point conversion pass with his vision obscured by a faulty helmet mic.

It was a gutsy performance, and a gutsy win overall for the Browns. The Steelers fought admirably given the circumstances, but this is a brutal loss to an inferior opponent. This lets Baltimore back into the NFC North race and puts a damper on Pittsburgh's Russell Wilson-era momentum. The Steelers are 4-1 now with Russ under center.

Here's who deserves the blame tonight.

3. Najee Harris wasn't up to par for the Steelers in tough conditions

When there's snow on the field, the value of running backs skyrockets. It's much more difficult to move the football through the air in the snow, especially when you're dealing with the raging winds Pittsburgh's offense dealt with in the second half. That meant there was significant onus on Najee Harris to produce, but he couldn't deliver much of anything.

Harris led the Steelers in touches, but he averaged a meager 2.6 yards per tote — 41 total yards on 16 carries. Jaylen Warren stole the show by comparison, grinding out 45 yards on 11 carries and scoring a touchdown late. Warren has been the more spry and explosive RB for a while, but the Steelers can generally trust Harris to operate with physicality and efficiency. Not tonight. He even fumbled in the first quarter, before the snow seriously kicked in, but was bailed out by a Russell Wilson recovery.

This was a prime opportunity for Harris to showcase his value to the Steelers, but instead, he wound up underperforming for an offense that couldn't quite muster the necessary oomph on a stormy night. The Steelers, ironically, scored 13 of their 19 points in the fourth quarter, when the conditions were at their worst. Harris was plenty active early, before the storm picked up, but he couldn't help Pittsburgh get the ball moving. That meant the Steelers were playing from behind for most of the evening.

2. T.J. Watt couldn't match Myles Garrett's energy in a rivalry game

T.J. Watt is consistently among the best pass-rushers in the NFL week to week, so his relatively quiet night on Thursday — four tackles, one TFL, zero QB hits, zero sacks — came as a mild surprise, especially with how inconsistent the Browns' offensive line has been this season. It is made worse by how dominant Myles Garrett was for the Browns, coming up with five tackles, three TFLs, three sacks, and three QB hits, putting constant pressure on Russell Wilson in icy conditions.

Garrett made life extremely difficult on a Steelers offense that just wasn't executing as sharply as it needed to. It's easy enough to blame the snow, but the Browns were far crisper on the offensive end, with the exception of a few mid-fourth quarter blunders, which Jameis Winston promptly offset with an impressive game-winning drive in the final minutes.

Watt was held at bay all night, running up against a brick wall on critical third down and goal-line possessions. Winston was able to operate far more comfortably in the pocket than Wilson tonight. That blame belongs to more than just Watt individually, but he's the leader of this Steelers defense and the All-Pro talent folks expect results from. For him to fall flat in an important rivalry game, with a chance to cushion Pittsburgh's lead in a competitive NFC North, is a bit disappointing.

1. Mike Tomlin was a complete disaster down the stretch for the Steelers

So many of the Steelers' issues tonight were a matter of execution, which ultimately reflects back on the coach. We can also blame Tomlin straight-up for poor situational awareness. He left Justin Fields on the field too long for a stretch in the fourth quarter, and consistently bungled the play calls (along with OC Arthur Smith) on third and fourth downs. Clock management was another issue, with Pittsburgh misplaying multiple timeouts.

Perhaps the most egregious example came on a third-and-two with a couple minutes left in the game. Jameis Winston was hammered as he threw, which resulted in illegal touching by a Browns offensive lineman on a pass that floated to nobody in particular. After much deliberation, Pittsburgh accepted the five-yard penalty to make it third-and-seven, rather than taking their chances on fourth-and-two with a one-point lead. Tomlin also burned a timeout unnecessarily, which bit them on the final 57-drive to end the game.

A stop on fourth-and-two effectively wins the game in that scenario. Instead, Tomlin gave Cleveland two bites at the apple. On the very next play, Winston roped a 15-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy to set up the Browns' game-winning touchdown.

We all accept Tomlin's brilliance as a head coach. He's among the sharpest and most consistent leaders in the NFL. Tonight, however, he messed up. A lot. These were tough conditions in front of a raucous Cleveland crowd, so he deserves some grace. At the end of the day, though, this loss is easily pinned on Tomlin more than any of his individual players.