What we learned from Steelers sloppy Week 2 win vs. the Browns

All I can say is this: The Steelers earned a much-needed win against our division rivals in prime time. The Cleveland Browns certainly came to play and, in a lot of respects, outplayed us for most of the game, but, when it was all said and done, we emerged victorious.

We are certainly not a perfect team, but, at least for this particular game, we were able to outlast the Browns for our first win of the season. Not only was it our first win of the season but it was our first conference win as well as our first AFC North division win.

Let's see what we learned on the offensive side of the ball.

The Steelers offense is still very much a work in progress

To say that the Steelers offense is still very much a work in progress would imply that the offense is making progress. Yes, the offense managed to score more points against the Browns than we did against the 49ers, but had it not been for the two TDs scored by the defense, we would be talking about another loss rather than talking about our first win.

According to ESPN, the offense managed to gain two-hundred and fifty-five yards on fifty-three plays, averaging a little under five yards per play. What is really alarming is that we managed only fifty-five yards on the ground.

What is even more alarming than that is the fact that the offense managed to convert only nine third-down attempts. That is horrible. What is also horrible is that we lost the time of possession battle by a wide margin. The Browns possessed the ball for eleven minutes longer than we did.

While we did enough on offense to secure victory, no one played particularly well. Another aspect of the game that was disheartening to me was the playcalling. To put this into perspective, the Steelers offense is ranked thirty-first in total yards through two games of the season. We will come back to that.

Let's see what we learned on the defensive side of the ball.