Terrible Towels Tainted

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff chances took a gigantic hit in chilly Cleveland Ohio. The arch-rival Browns earned their second win of the season and handed the defending Superbowl champions their fifth straight loss. The maligned Browns defense executed effectively in the 13-6 sacking of the Steelers. Cleveland’s superior line sacked Pittsburgh quarterback and Ohio native, Ben Roethlisberger eight times. The Browns swallowed up the Steelers’ ground attack, holding the black and gold to just 75 yards. Thursday was the first time the Browns defeated the Steelers at home in nine years, and the Roethlisberger’s first loss to Cleveland in his career. The wounds just keep getting deeper for Pittsburgh. The Steelers have dropped three unexpected games to losing teams this season (Cleveland, Kansas City and Oakland). The Browns snapped a seven game losing streak despite playing without five defensive stars and their starting running back.
Chris Jennings, rookie runner out of Arizona, notched the first Browns rushing touchdown of the season on a ten yard run to close out the first half scoring for the home team. The number one rushing defense in the NFL allowed Jennings to score the game’s first touchdown. Jennings ran around LaMarr Woodley, James Farior and William Gay to hit the pylon. His play survived an instant replay review and the touchdown stood. Phil Dawson drilled a pair of field goals in each of the first two quarters to account for the 13-0 Browns advantage with .40 remaining in the second quarter. Roethlisberger tried to drive the Steelers down the field for a last minute score before the half. The signal caller hit Hines Ward for an eight yard gain before completing a pass to the former Buckeye receiver, Santonio Holmes good for 24 more. After a Cleveland penalty for roughing the passer, Roethlisberger connected with Holmes again. Cleveland played flawless football until allowing the Steelers to drive 58 yards on the final possession of the half. The Steelers failed to find the end zone, however. Instead, the defending champs settled for a 27 yard Jeff Reed field goal. Thursday night marked the first time Roethlisberger went without a touchdown pass in 11 tries against the rival Browns. He threw for 201 yards while completing 18 of 32 throws. Running back, Rashard Mendenhall scurried for 53 yards. The Browns made the plays when they had to and kept the Steelers backed up in their own zone throughout the first half.
The second half didn’t go much better for Pittsburgh. Brady Quinn wasn’t exceptional as Cleveland’s passer, but he was mistake-free and turned in a winning performance. Quinn completed 6 of 19 passes for 90 yards. The Browns’ quarterback threw just one pass during the eight play first half touchdown drive. Josh Cribbs was sensational in the Cleveland backfield. He gained 87 yards out of the Wildcat formation. His 37 yard run spurred the resulting touchdown score for the Browns. Cleveland’s no-huddle offense stunned the Steelers. Pittsburgh was playing without Pro Bowl safety, Troy Polamalu and they looked drained defensively. The Pittsburgh offense couldn’t move the ball in blustering conditions against the 29th ranked defense in the league. Even special teams was a problem for Mike Tomlin’s club. Cribbs stymied the coverage unit with 104 return yards. Reed booted his second field goal near the end of the third quarter to trim the Browns lead to seven. The Steelers had a chance to come back after Quinn overthrew a pass to tight end, Evan Moore, with 6:24 left in the game. The fourth quarter would remain scoreless, however, as Roethlisberger and the Steelers suffered their seventh loss. Big Ben was sacked for a nine yard loss on first down and then threw incomplete to Heath Miller on second. Following the two minute warning, Miller’s 13 yard grab fell shot of the first down mark. Roethlisberger’s 4th and six pass to Holmes registered incomplete to end any late Pittsburgh rally. The Steelers did get the ball back with eight seconds. Holmes returned the ball three yards to the Steelers’ 14 yard line to send Pittsburgh home with a disappointing 6-7 record. Next week, those terrible towels will be waving wondering if the visiting Green Bay Packers will exit the Steel City with a win. This week, those towels are tainted after the Lake Erie meltdown Thursday night.

Parting Points: Brian Kelly is an outstanding hire for Notre Dame. He should have them playing at their expected level….he’ll have five years to do it.
Two weeks until Christmas. Time for some “Little Saint Nick” from the Beach Boys.
I can't wait to see mixed doubles at the 2012 Olympics...how cool!