A series of Mike Tomlin mishaps leads to Steelers' gut-wrenching loss vs Browns

Steelers fans need to have their blood pressure checked after Pittsburgh's most infuriating loss of the season. Mike Tomlin might not believe in trap games, but this team that was 0-3 in Cleveland under Tomlin on Thursday Night Football is now 0-4.

The Steelers dug themselves a hole early that they remarkably fought back from. After converting a field goal in the fourth quarter, the offense eventually scored back-to-back touchdowns to take the lead with 6:15 remaining in the game.

Unfortunately, it was a series of unfortunate events and questionable decisions by Tomlin that ultimately led Pittsburgh to their doom on Thursday Night Football.

When Donte Jackson intercepted Jameis Winston with 4:28 remaining in the game, the Steelers had all the momentum on their side. Tomlin's team held a 19-18 lead and now got the chance to march down the field for a score (or at least chew some clock and pin Cleveland's offense deep). However, the Corliss Waitman punt that ensued just three plays later was disastrous -- netting just 15 yards as it skidded off the side of his foot and out of bounds.

This gave the Browns outstanding field position. That's when it all went downhill.

On the first play after the two-minute warning, Jameis Winston avoided a Steelers sack by chucking and ducking -- riding himself of the football in an obvious effort to avoid taking a costly sack. This would have been intentional grounding if not for the illegal touching by Browns offensive lineman Ethan Pocic.

Then came the head-scratching timeout from Tomlin on fourth down with 1:55 remaining. We knew that, if the Browns moved the chains, the use of the timeout in this situation would prove costly... and it did.

Even then, not all hope was lost. But with the Browns earning a fresh set of downs at Pittsburgh's nine-yard line with the ability to run the clock all the way down and kick the game-winning field goal, the Steelers needed to let them score immediately to save as much time as possible. They did not. Instead, a team of defenders tackled Nick Chubb at the one-yard line.

The Browns would score on the next play, but not before milking the clock all the way down to 57 seconds remaining in the game. This proved too little time to mount a game-winning touchdown drive.

Steelers sabotaged their chances on their final defensive series

There are a lot of 'should haves' and 'could haves' in this game. If Tomlin hadn't burned a timeout when he did, the Steelers would have been able to take more chances on their final drive. If Pittsburgh would have let Chubb score right away when the Browns earned a fresh set of downs, the Steelers would have had 1:43 remaining to mount a comeback instead of 57 seconds.

The weather didn't help Pittsburgh's cause in this game either, as it created yet another variable and obstacle to overcome against an inferior opponent. By the end of the game, the snow build-up and whiteout conditions were so bad the offense didn't stand much of a chance of moving the ball.

All these things were frustrating, and they don't excuse the loss. Pittsburgh didn't play like a team that deserved to win this football game, and the blame needs to start with Coach Tomlin. The Steelers haven't won a game in Cleveland since 2017 and now they are going to have to wait until next year to attempt to snap this despicable streak.

This gut-wrenching performance against the Browns is a wakeup call for a Steelers team that will now have to earn back the trust of the fanbase. This slop-fest showing in Cleveland was hard to watch, but it's even harder to come away encouraged by what we just witnessed—the disastrous series of Tomlin's mishaps that sealed Pittsburgh's fate in Week 12.