Winners and losers from the Steelers Week 14 beatdown of the Browns

From the moment they drew the Browns offsides on the opening snap, you knew they would step on their toes for four quarters. Jameis Winston was right, the Browns left a lump of coal in the Dawg House and the Steelers plowed right through them by executing mistake-free football.  

There was no headliner in Sunday’s win. It was a total team effort. The Steelers' win, coupled with the Buffalo Bills loss against Los Angeles put them one game back of the second overall seed in the AFC standings, which would guarantee them homefield in the Wild Card and Divisional Round. With that said, here are the winners and losers from their runaway 27-14 win over the Browns.

Winners: Hard Knocks

After each passing week, the plotlines for the NFL’s script (shoutout to Arian Foster) become even more apparent. The Steelers are the breakout stars of a Hard Knocks season that was announced in the offseason. Pittsburgh came a Sunday Night Football “klang”! away from being one game back of the first overall seed in the AFC with a showdown against Kansas City looming on Christmas Day.  They’re playing the defending champs on Christmas Day. The Ravens and Texans get Beyonce, but the Steelers get Ciara and Taylor Swift. Masterful job.  After the Bills loss, their path to a top seed cleared up, but for Hard Knocks it makes their three-game swing even more dramaturgically relevant.

Winners: Russell Wilson

Wilson put in light work on Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t a lazy Sunday though. Wilson directed a slew of touchdown drives, and the apology tour continues. For everyone who counted Wilson out in Denver, he’s been on a redemptive arc saving not just his career, but possibly even his Hall of Fame candidacy. Drafted in the same class as Kirk Cousins, few would have thought that Wilson is the one who muted the clarion call for the younger backup in December while leading a playoff contender down the stretch. 

Wilson was cerebral on Sunday, and in the third quarter, he demonstrated the subtleties that made him one of the NFL’s best red zone quarterbacks last season by cooking up a touchdown pass in the Deep Freier(muth). On 2-and-10 from inside the 20, Wilson looked left to move the safety just long enough to fire a laser between Rodney McLeod Jr. and Grant Delpit at Pat Freiermuth in the middle of the field for the Steelers' final score of the evening. Wilson's 1,784 yards, 12 touchdowns to just three picks don't encapsulate the larger impact he's made on a conservative offense that is devoid of offensive firepower unless Wilson lights the fuse.

Winners: Cam Heyward

Cameron Heyward isn't racing Father Time so much as he's trampling him. A year ago, Heyward was closing out a two-sack season, his worst as a pro, and his effectiveness was being scrutinized. He beat that total on Sunday. At 35, Heyward's dominion over the interior of the offensive line has never looked better. Perhaps it's him seeing a Super Bowl within sight, but he's performed like an All-Pro throughout 2024.

Against Cleveland, Heyward logged three tackles, two of which were sacks. One of those sacks Heyward manifested was on a third-and-6 in the fourth quarter, which led to a Browns punt. His eight sacks this season trail only Watt's team-high 9.5 and are an additional reason to believe the Steelers are all in on 2024.

Winners: Ben Skowronek

Kadarius Toney made a career out of gaffes. Sunday was no different. Technically, Skowronek is a fellow wide receiver on the Steelers depth chart, but he’s only reeled in two passes for 27 yards in two seasons. He also doesn’t return kicks like Toney, nor is very shifty in open space. Instead, he’s a physical blocker and a tenacious upback/gunner on Danny Smith’s vaunted special teams.

On Toney's first two punt returns, Skowronek played a direct part in dragging him down after significant gains. On Toney’s third return, he threw a ball into Skowronek’s face and earned a 15-yard taunting penalty. When Toney muffed his final punt return of the evening, Skowronek was the man who recovered his loose ball.

Losers: TJ. Watt

Watt remains the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year and got the W, but Garrett is hot in pursuit, won the individual battle, and made progress in the quest for a second DPOY award which has consumed him. Watt was held without a sack for the second straight game against Cleveland and somewhat held in check. Watt’s game-changing edge rushing wasn’t needed Sunday, but the reckless Jameis Winston was a chance to add more mileage to his Defensive Player of the Year campaign. Watt generated six pressures in 39 pass rushes according to Next Gen Stats, so he wasn’t as invisible as he was two weeks ago on Thursday night.

After Watt blew up Nick Chubb in the backfield on the opening possession, he was a background singer for most of the afternoon. Watt probably couldn’t care less about bragging rights or awards, but Garrett’s four sacks, four tackles for loss, six QB hits, forced fumble and forced fumble recovery to Watt's three tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits in two matchups this season are enough for Garrett to feel like he has the upper hand in the rivalry he’s brewed up in his head.

Losers: George Pickens and the receiving corps

The Steelers passing game didn’t skip a beat without Pickens who is currently managing a grade 2 hamstring injury. One of the trickiest injuries in football is expected to keep Pickens out through next week as well. Losing Pickens for a showdown with the Eagles when the offense next week is a brutal hit for the Steelers. The downfield passing attack was modest without Pickens and he’ll be sorely missed for another week. For a team that’s been fortunate to avoid many debilitating injuries in the second half of the season, and who has lacked a legitimate No. 2 target, his absence will be a first significant hurdle. 

Losers: Minkah Fitzpatrick

When Jameis Winston drops down the chimney, he leaves interceptions by the Christmas tree. Defensive tackle Keeanu Benton even received a package from Winston while Fitzpatrick’s interception drought lives on. The former All-Pro safety has taken some heat for not recording an interception since Week 17 of the 2023 season. Finding losers takes some digging, but Fitzpatrick stands out for not standing out. According to Pro Football Focus, his coverage grade ranks 73rd in the NFL out of 156 safeties.

Fitzpatrick made his fair share of stops in the run game, including on third down in the fourth quarter. Before the season, Fitzpatrick talked about getting back to 'Minkah Ball' and creating splash plays, but the fireworks are still missing and even the aforementioned drive ended in a fourth down conversion and a touchdown for the Browns. He was once a godlike safety who has fallen from grace, but there’s still a belief that he can return to that level again. When it comes to Fitzpatrick,Steelers fans follow the same mantra as Scientologists. 

Every week, a different Steeler catches fire. It was Russ last week. Najee Harris between Weeks 6 and 8. George Pickens any time he’s rising over a corner. Cam Heyward is having an All-Pro season in the twilight of his career. Patrick Queen against the Commanders and Ravens was instrumental. Fitzpatrick is just another tree in the forest. Until he finally makes a play on a live ball hurtling through the air, the moaning over Fitzpatrick’s value as the NFL’s third-highest paid safety will only continue to grow from the peanut gallery.