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Week 17 Game Recap: Cleveland Browns 0, Pittsburgh Steelers 31
What you need to know
| Cleveland Browns |
QB Bruce Gradkowski was unable to sustain anything all day. It was a tough spot for his first start of the season against league's best defense on the road. Gradkowski did get his team down the field for a field goal attempt early on, but the Browns never threatened after that. He connected on just five passes all day for an anemic 18 yards.
RB Jamal Lewis was quite effective running the ball in the first half with 51 yards on 11 carries. The Browns seemed to be trying to protect Gradkowski by keeping the ball on the ground. Lewis was a workhorse in the second half carrying the ball even on obvious passing downs. He ended up with 94 yards.
WR Braylon Edwards was held to one catch, but no Brown receiver had more. The limited offensive scheme and Gradkowski's inexperience kept any receiving yards down to a season low. One could say that the Browns gave up on HC Romeo Crennel, whose future in Cleveland is in major doubt.
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
QB Ben Roethlisberger was hit by two Cleveland defenders and suffered an apparent concussion late in the second quarter. The hit itself did not look like that violent of a collision, but the back of Roethlisberger's head hit the turf. He was down on the field for a very long time and was taken off the field on a stretcher. A good sign was that he was seen moving both of his arms and legs, so hopefully this was precautionary. Prior to the hit, he was having an above average game, but was hit on more than one occasion. Roethlisberger did have a touchdown called back on a holding penalty.
RB Willie Parker got the start and was very tentative early in the first half, but a nifty 34 yard run seemed to get him going and he had his best game since week one. Parker was the focus of the offense for most of the game, playing deep into the fourth quarter in a meaningless game that had no playoff implications. It seemed that the Steelers' coaching staff wanted to see what Parker had going into the playoffs, given his string of four substandard games coming into today. RB Mewelde Moore was effective in the few opportunities he got. It is looking like the committee approach for the Steelers down the stretch this season may be reverting to the early part of the season when Parker was the main back.
WR Hines Ward played well working the middle of the field with crossing patterns. Ben Roethlisberger was able to find Ward on a deep pass for 24 yards on a first down play where he showed good ability to run after the catch. He ended up with 82 yards. He had another look in the red zone and that would have given him great final numbers.
What you ought to know
| QB Bruce Gradkowski, Pass: 5 - 16 - 18 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Bruce Gradkowski played one of the worst games of the 2008 season by any NFL quarterback. It was hard to find any positives, given the low yardage numbers and completion percentage. A second half interception was returned for a touchdown and sealed the game for Pittsburgh. In fairness to the young quarterback, himself a Pittsburgh native, he was facing a brutal defense in a tough place to play.
| RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 23 - 94 - 0 |
Lewis ran the ball very well early on and ended up with solid numbers against a tough defense. The team's offensive line was able to control the line of scrimmage early and the Browns were able to keep things fairly close for a while. Lewis has a decent history against Pittsburgh over his career. Lewis was able to break more than a few tackles and showed some elusiveness that made others miss. He ended up with four yards a carry. Lewis did not get a target in the passing game.
| WR Josh Cribbs, Pass: 1 - 2 - 8 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0 |
Cribbs took several snaps in the Wildcat formation and even threw a few passes. Cribbs, a college quarterback, could not get any big plays however.
| WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (3 targets) |
Stallworth was not a major part of the offense, despite reeling in a catch early in the first half. He beat single coverage for a first down on an acrobatic catch. In the second half, he got shutout.
| WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (5 targets) |
Edwards was only able to connect once for five yards from QB Bruce Gradkowski. Noticeable was a high number of incomplete passes, one of which was picked off. Not much else to comment on here.
| TE Steve Heiden |
Heiden, a third string TE, got the start for an injured TE Kellen Winslow. No balls were thrown his way.
| PK Phil Dawson 0 - 1 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 0 points |
Dawson missed on a long 53 yard attempt in the first half. He had no other opportunities.
| CLE Rush Defense |
The Steelers posted an impressive five yards rushing per play. Although Cleveland was able to contain RB Willie Parker early, the Steelers kept running the ball and basically wore the defense down.
| CLE Pass Defense |
The Browns' pass rush was semi-effective, putting some pressure on Steelers' quarterbacks to get a few knockdowns, but could not get a sack. They did get an interception on a poorly thrown ball by QB Ben Roethlisberger in first half.
| QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pass: 9 - 14 - 110 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
It was as quiet as Heinz Field has ever been during an injury timeout to QB Ben Roethlisberger. LB Willie McGinest and another player hit him and his head did connect with the turf. By the time this article was written, reports diagnosed him with a concussion. While the severity and outlook is unknown, nobody should be surprised if he missed the next game or more. A first round bye for the Steelers may gain him some time to recover. Prior to the injury, Roethlisberger was able to move his team into scoring range twice. His most significant drive was in the first half on a play where he showed veteran pocket presence to find WR Nate Washington for an apparent touchdown, but the play was called back on a holding call. QB Byron Leftwich came in to play more than half the game and showed good mobility on an eight yard scramble for a touchdown. His passing numbers were good (7/12/80) and he could be productive if called upon, based on his results from limited work this year.
| RB Willie Parker, Rush: 23 - 116 - 1 (1 targets) |
Parker had not been the same player since returning from a slate of injuries, but in this game the Steelers' running back returned to his early season form. He ended up with 116 rushing yards but did not catch a pass. Apparently HC Mike Tomlin wanted to see what Parker had for a playoff run and kept him in the game into the fourth quarter. Parker's speed was gone for the past few games but today he was able to get the edge and took a 34 yard play to the house. It will be interesting to see how the decision about Parker's future role plays out and if he will return as a featured back for the playoffs.
| RB Mewelde Moore, Rush: 4 - 23 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (1 targets) |
Moore did not get the start and came off the bench. He ended up with 33 total yards on five touches. Moore was not as involved in the passing game as usual. Moore had been the more effective back for the Steelers this season, but Parker may be returning to past form just in time for the postseason.
| WR Hines Ward, Rec: 6 - 70 - 0 (7 targets) |
Hines Ward had another good game and a missed opportunity in the end zone could have made it a great one. Ward is typically the most consistent option in the passing game for Pittsburgh and today was no different. He is healthy and depending on his quarterback, could be a weapon in the playoffs.
| WR Santonio Holmes, Rec: 3 - 31 - 0 (8 targets) |
Holmes was the most targeted player today but could not connect on his opportunities for any big plays. One of his targets did draw a pass interference penalty. Holmes draws most of the defense's attention throughout of the game and has had uneven success beating it this season. Today was another quiet game for his fantasy owners.
| WR Nate Washington, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (2 targets) |
WR Nate Washington appeared to reel in a clutch catch for a TD in the first half, but a holding call brought it back. He was not really a factor after that play.
| TE Heath Miller, Rec: 5 - 55 - 0 (7 targets) |
TE Heath Miller made his mark for the second week in a row in the passing game. The Browns has no answers as Miller was able to beat linebackers over the middle. He would have had a possible touchdown after he beat the Cleveland defender but Roethlisberger threw the ball behind him and it was intercepted.
| PK Jeff Reed 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
Reed hit a short 22 yard field goal and all four XP's. He had no other opportunities.
| PIT Rush Defense |
The Steelers gave up 106 total yards rushing, with 94 of it to RB Jamal Lewis. This was not a dominating day for the Steelers' run defense, but they played well enough to get a shutout.
| PIT Pass Defense |
The Pittsburgh pass rush was a major factor late in the game, recording three sacks, and several other QB pressures. ILB Larry Foote also forced a fumble. Backup DB Tyrone Carter picked off two passes, returning one for touchdown. Given how limited Cleveland was, much of this can be attributed to the opponent, but this Pittsburgh defense remains a force to be reckoned with for opposing quarterbacks.