Steelers winners and losers vs. Cleveland Browns on TNF

The Steelers traveled to Cleveland to face the Browns on Thursday Night Football. Here are Pittsburgh’s winners and losers from the game.

Fights erupted in the final seconds of what was a disastrous game on Thursday night for the Steelers offense. Mason Rudolph failed to move the ball down the field and Pittsburgh eventually fell to the Browns with a final score of 21-7.

Now that we have all had some time to relax after Thursday night’s showdown, we can take a closer look at individual performances. Here are the Steelers winners and losers from their loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Winners:

T.J. Watt

One of my only players on the winners list in every game he’s played in 2019. Watt is a relentless player who likely would not have played as many snaps if Ola Adeniyi and Anthony Chickillo were available. Still, he gives his all and uses a rare combination of strength and athleticism to create constant pressure on the quarterback.

James Washington

Perhaps the only offensive player worth mentioning in a positive light on Thursday night. Washington was more consistent than JuJu and Diontae Johnson prior to their departures from the game. He finished with 3 catches on 4 targets for 49 yards.

Bud Dupree

To the surprise of many, Bud Dupree has been one of the most consistent players on the Steelers this season. Though not as disruptive as Watt, Dupree was rock-solid against the run and made several big plays in the backfield. He finished the game with 4 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.

Losers:

Mason Rudolph

Every time I think Rudolph may be poised to take a leap forward, he proves me wrong. Though he had a promising outing against the Rams last week despite his receivers constantly dropping balls, Rudolph was anything but spectacular this week against the Browns. The second-year quarterback telegraphed his throws and did little to avoid pressure in the pocket. He passed for just 221 yards on 44 attempts with 1 touchdown and 4 picks.

Offensive line

The Steelers offensive line has struggled to pave the way in the running game all season, but now they are struggling to protect the quarterback. Mason Rudolph was under constant duress and was sacked 4 times for 43 yards. This unit had a really bad game against the Browns.

JuJu Smith-Schuster

It’s obviously never good to lose your top receiver, but before JuJu Smith-Schuster was injured, he was playing very poorly. JuJu caught just 2 of 4 targets for 21 yards and had another bad drop for what seems like the fourth consecutive game. The third-year receiver didn’t get a chance to redeem himself, but he has got to start being the receiver the Steelers expected him to be.

Johnny Holton

Though he drew a big pass interference call, this man can’t seem to come down with a ball in his hands this season. Pittsburgh is really missing a ‘Martavis-like’ deep threat right now, and Holton is not the answer to their problems. He caught just 1 of 7 targets thrown his direction.

The Steelers couldn’t have ended the game any uglier than with their quarterback getting bashed in the head with his own helmet. Pittsburgh has got to clean up their game. I would love to be able to add more offensive players to this winners list moving forward.