4 takeaways from Steelers dominant defensive display in win vs Browns

Ben Roethlisberger continues to underwhelm

I know I’ve been one of the biggest Ben Roethlisberger critics this season, but it’s because I know that this team’s chances hinge entirely on the quarterback play down the stretch. Entering Week 8 of the NFL season, I was really hoping we would see more from the Steelers quarterback — some signs of life that show us that he can go toe-to-toe with the best passers in the AFC if need be.

Unfortunately, we didn’t see that again this week. While Pittsburgh did enough to win their third straight game and advance to 4-3 on the season, the defense deserves much more credit than the quarterback in this one.

Against the Browns, Big Ben managed 266 passing yards and a respectable 7.8 yards per attempt; however, this number was very inflated after a 50-yard catch-and-run from Diontae Johnson with under two minutes remaining. Though he did have a nice touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth, he also had a very poorly thrown ball in the second half that should have been intercepted.

Overall, I thought Ben’s performance was just okay, but putting up only 15 points despite your defense providing some spectacular situations is simply not good enough — especially considering that Najee Harris and the offensive line did their part with 115 yards on the ground. Ben needs to do a better job spreading the ball around and putting points on the board.