Contrary to popular belief, defense doesn’t always win championships.
That isn’t good news for the Steelers, whose stingy defense let them down during an embarrassing 24-19 loss to the Browns on Thursday night. Cleveland had dropped seven of its previous eight games ahead of the meeting with Pittsburgh.
Opponents averaged only 16.2 points over the Steelers’ first 10 games of the season before the Browns stuck Pittsburgh (8-3) with its third loss.
Bad games happen, and one usually isn’t a cause for concern as long as it gets flushed out of the system relatively quickly. But what Thursday showed was just how reliant the Steelers have been on their defense, and once it cracks, the team as a whole does, too.
Pittsburgh has really only gone blow-for-blow with an opposing team twice this season, posting a 1-1 record in those contests. The Steelers fell 20-17 in a back-and-forth affair with the Dallas Cowboys back on Oct. 6, then proved that they do in fact have what it takes to prevail in a shootout by edging the Washington Commanders 28-27 on Nov. 10.
Outside of that, Pittsburgh has surrendered more than 20 points in just two games, with one of those instances being Thursday’s setback against Cleveland.
And listen, having such a talented defense is great for the Steelers. That unit should be continuously praised for where it has this team at this point in the season. However, putting up points in bunches is still sometimes required, and do we really trust that this offense can do that when it matters most?
Pittsburgh, the No. 3 seed in the AFC, would go up against the sixth-seeded Baltimore Ravens if the playoffs started today. I don’t know about you, but there is absolutely zero chance I’m taking a 35-year-old Russell Wilson, Najee Harris and George Pickens over Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers if that game was to turn into an offensive showdown.
Suppose the Steelers’ defense does hold down the fort, though. Then Pittsburgh is presumably off to Buffalo to face the Bills, who average the third-most points per game in the NFL (29.1).
Baltimore ranks second on that list, by the way (30.4 points per game). The Steelers are way down in 16th (22.9).
Pittsburgh did do a fantastic job of containing the Ravens on Sunday, eking out an 18-16 victory. No offensive fireworks, no problems for the Steelers.
If Pittsburgh does want to put together a deep run this postseason, its defense is going to have to be nearly perfect. We can’t expect Wilson to outplay some of the league’s best quarterbacks and offenses if he couldn’t even step on Cleveland’s throat after Browns signal-caller Jameis Winston threw an interception with 4:22 left in regulation on Thursday.
Up 19-18, the Steelers had a chance to put the game away right then and there, but they went three-and-out, setting the stage for a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Nick Chubb that provided Cleveland with the go-ahead points.
Pittsburgh might not be the powerhouse its 8-3 record tells us it is. We’re not ready to fully deem the Steelers pretenders just yet, but they certainly could be flirting with that title soon depending on how they fare in four divisional games over the next six weeks.
