The Pittsburgh Steelers came into Week 2 needing to find a new avenue for momentum. The Cleveland Browns came into the Monday night contest with a ton of confidence. The mixture created a wild game in an early AFC divisional matchup.
Of course, the Steelers offense is still finding its footing. Monday showed glimpses, especially when Kenny Pickett showed aggressiveness. However, not everything is clicking to a preferred degree just yet. The rushing attack, the route combination, and the quarterback's overall accuracy are signifiers of that sentiment.
Defensively, Pittsburgh was disruptive if not vulnerable. The ball bounced the Steelers way early and often. Cleveland's offense didn't do itself any favors though, all things being equal. In the end, the Steelers' defense was the difference, scoring two non-offensive touchdowns courtesy of the efforts of Alex Highsmith and TJ Watt.
In a game with plenty of back-and-forth action, there are more takeaways than this article can discuss being confined to one positive and two negatives. That said, the good, bad, and ugly for the Pittsburgh Steelers are rather straightforward for this one.
Thankfully for the Steelers, the one in the left hand column doesn't have to win beauty pageants.