The Steelers lost to a team they should have beaten, a story as old as time. Despite bettering the Browns in almost every category, they came up short and dropped their third game of the season. With a long stretch ahead of them, this team needs to make an effort to right their wrongs.
As is usual with losses, especially to losses against bad teams, the fanbase is overreacting to many different things right now. Fans are calling for the coaches' heads and for Russell Wilson to be benched.
There are certainly some areas to be concerned about, but please don’t spend this extended break overreacting to these three things.
The Steelers are wasting Mike Williams
Another game, and another goose egg for Mike Williams with the Steelers. Despite catching a huge touchdown in his debut, he has struggled to see the field and make an impact since. With Van Jefferson still seeing reps, fans are getting angry and feel like Williams is being wasted on the roster.
Let me clear this up: Williams, while ideally an upgrade from Jefferson, isn’t going to suddenly turn back into his elite self of old. He is also seeing a growing role in this offense and even out-snapped Jefferson against the Browns. With an extended break in front of them, I expect his role to continue to grow. That said, these midseason trades usually don’t pan out, so things might now get all that much better for him.
Myles Garrett is out of line
A lot of this week's headlines were focused on Myles Garrett vs T.J. Watt and the fallout of their defensive player of the year battle last season. Steelers fans naturally feel like their guy was robbed, and Garrett's comments after a bitter loss only fueled the hatred fans have for him.
Like it or not, Garrett had every right to say what he said last night. When you dominate the game and play better than the other player in question on top of winning, then yes, you can talk as much smack as you want. Watt needs to use that as fuel for the rest of the season. Garrett won the battle last night, and Watt needs to win the war.
Steelers showed their true colors
It almost felt predictable that the Steelers were going to drop this game. A short week against a bad team on paper is the classic Mike Tomlin letdown game. Despite that thought, I really don’t think this lived up to that classic trap game fallacy. The team outplayed Cleveland in most categories, but they just couldn’t score.
Yes, it is still a frustrating loss, but the sky isn’t falling. On top of this, all AFC North games are going to be tough, and Pittsburgh was bound to drop a game at some point again this season. They have an extended break and get another divisional crack at the Bengals next week. This team can heal up and show that they are still worthy of the lofty expectations that have been put in front of them.