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CLEVELAND — As a substitute of rocking division champions hats and T-shirts, Aaron Rodgers and the remainder of the Pittsburgh Steelers wore somber seems to be on their faces following Sunday’s 13-6 upset loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Earlier than he and his teammates started the journey again to Pittsburgh, although, Rodgers despatched a message to his teammates forward of subsequent week’s residence sport with the Baltimore Ravens that may decide who wins the AFC North and the playoff spot that comes with it.
“I’ve full confidence we’ll go residence and win subsequent week,” Rodgers mentioned.
Why provides Rodgers that confidence?
“As a result of we have executed all of it season,” he mentioned. “We have dealt with adversity nicely and once we’ve needed to play our greatest ball, we did. Apart from at present.”
Rodgers is true. The Steelers overcame an unpleasant residence loss to Seahawks in Week 2 with three straight wins that gave them a commanding lead within the AFC North by means of 5 weeks. And after 5 losses over a seven-game span left them at 6-6 by means of 12 weeks, the Steelers responded with 4 consecutive wins that put them on the precipice of clinching the division on Sunday with per week to spare.
The Steelers are actually able to responding to adversity once more, however that alone will not get the job executed. Merely put, they can not afford one other offensive efficiency just like the one which befell Sunday in Cleveland. In the event that they do, they will be watching the Ravens rejoice a division title subsequent Sunday at their home and at their expense.
Whereas DK Metcalf’s absence (through his two-game suspension) was anticipated sluggish the Steelers’ offense down, it wasn’t alleged to grind it to a halt prefer it did on Sunday. In that respect, was Sunday’s sport an opportunity for the Steelers’ offense to see how groups would play them with out Metcalf?
“You may say that,” Steelers operating again Jaylen Warren mentioned afterward.
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Rodgers particularly was inexplicably off after placing collectively a four-game stretch that conjured up reminiscences of his MVP seasons with the Packers. He threw low-percentage passes and made head scratching selections, corresponding to his bomb to Scott Miller on fourth-and-1 from the Browns’ 22-yard-line late within the first half that fell incomplete. The turnover on downs negated Jack Sawyer’s interception of Shedeur Sanders that had given Pittsburgh possession deep in Browns territory.
“One-on-one,” Rodgers mentioned when requested about his resolution to throw deep to Miller in that state of affairs.
As he did on the finish of the primary half, Rodgers shortly moved the Steelers into scoring vary on the finish of the sport. However he completed the sport with three consecutive passes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who was being tightly lined by perennial Professional Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward. Rodgers screamed on the officers for cross interference afterward, however to no avail.
“It was positively interference,” he mentioned afterward.
Including insult to damage on the Rodgers’ closing incompletion was the truth that Kenneth Gainwell had gotten open beneath previous to Rodgers releasing the ball.
The sport’s turning level was on Pittsburgh’s second drive of the second half. Down 10-6, Rodgers engineered a 13-play drive that took over eight minutes on the clock. Rodgers accomplished a number of massive performs on the drive that included a third-and-8 conversion to Miller. At that time, it appeared that Rodgers and the Steelers have been on the verge of one other one-possession win, which might have made them 7-2 this season in such video games.
As a substitute, the drive ended with Rodgers inexplicably taking a sack on third down, which turned Chris Boswell’s 49-yard discipline objective try right into a 54-yard try. Boswell’s kick missed the underside upright by lower than a yard.
Rodgers and the passing sport struggled, however the Steelers did have some good performances in Cleveland. Warren ran for 64 of the Steelers’ 131 yards on the bottom whereas averaging 5.3 yards per carry. The protection pressured two turnovers whereas holding the Browns to simply 78 yards on 25 carries. Alex Highsmith had two sacks and a number of other different pressures of Sanders.
Pittsburgh’s secondary, taking part in with out cornerback Brandin Echols, held Jerry Jeudy to zero catches within the second half after he caught 5 passes for 54 yards within the first half.
These issues, nevertheless, have been negated by an offense that went 3 of 15 on third down and 0 of three on fourth down.
“I do not assume we performed poorly,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin surprisingly mentioned afterward. “We simply did not make sufficient performs. I assumed they performed nicely. I assumed the sport was sort of unfolding in the way in which that you’d anticipate, however we by no means made that signature play that sort of acquired us over the hump. That usually is the deciding think about video games like this and we usually make them. We did not make them at present.”
Rodgers was particularly unable to make the large throw, or many different throws for that matter. As a substitute of getting simple completions, Rodgers both did not have any, or when he did, he usually tried the more difficult throw. Placing Rodgers in additional advantageous conditions will undoubtedly take up a big portion of offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s focus over the subsequent week. It is as much as Rodgers, nevertheless, to capitalize on these probabilities.
“Not a lot,” Rodgers mentioned when requested what must likelihood heading into subsequent week’s sport. “We simply should execute higher.”
It is becoming that the Steelers’ season will come all the way down to Sunday’s sport in opposition to the Ravens. In a season the place nothing has come simple, the Steelers must defeat their arch rival in the event that they need to proceed taking part in past subsequent week. It will not be simple, however Rodgers feels that the Steelers have what it takes to get it executed.
He is not the one one.
“One sport does not take us off the monitor,” mentioned defensive sort out Cameron Heyward, the longest-tenured Steeler. “We have been taking part in good ball as of late. There’s nonetheless issues we are able to cling our hat on. Stopping the run, turnovers, controlling the ball, we have been good on offense. Giving your self a shot late. That is all you may ask for.”
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