Steelers Loose 5th Straight to Browns | IXGAMES

The defending champions are now in the toughest situation for this season. The Pittsburgh Steelers only have three games left and they are going to need a stunning three-game win streak. Obviously, the Pittsburgh Steelers were not able to “unleash hell,” as quoted from their coach Mike Tomlin. What happened was just the opposite of that, and now every game is a win or go fishing come playoff day. Browns’ defense a big offense The Browns are ranked 32nd in the league, with one of the worst team-record this season with 2 wins and 11 losses. The way they played against the defending champs were the opposite of their stats. They played with tight defense and coordinated offense, and they did this in crunch time. Cleveland’s defense was already dominating in the first half as they sacked Ben Roethlisberger eight times, pressuring him on every angle. Starting the season on the practice squad of Cleveland, Chris Jennings made a 10-yard run, the first touchdown a Cleveland running back was able to make in more than a year. This touchdown put the Browns up by 13 late in the second period. All things were looking good for the Browns until the Pittsburgh Steelers “drove 58 yards in just 41 seconds” of play and got Jeff Reed to contribute a 27-yard field goal, ending the halftime with a 13-3 score in favor of the Browns. In the third period, Jeff Reed scored a field goal with 8 seconds left. The game never got tied as the Steelers never found a chance to put together a scoring drive in the fourth due to Cleveland’s sacking defense. Roethlisberger tried to bring his troops closer to the goal but his fourth-down pass to Santonio Holmes, the MVP in last season’s Superbowl, was intercepted by David Bowens, linebacker of the Cleveland Browns. As the final seconds ticked off, several of the Cleveland players sprinted into the Dawg Pound and jumped in joy and celebration. This win was only the 2nd win for the first year coach of the Browns, Eric Mangini, securing him his job this season. Out of the wildcat formation, Joshua Cribbs of the Cleveland Browns dashed for 87 yards, was able to catch a pass for 9 yards, and had 104 return yards. While Cleveland was trying to milk the clock, Cribbs also “picked up a big first down on a 14-yard run.” All efforts were exhausted by the Steelers as they got the ball back with 6:16 left at their own 21. The Browns’ defense never let Roethlisberger and the Steelers get away with victory as they sacked Roethlisberger in midfield, resulting in his pass being batted away in the last two minutes of regulation. Pittsburgh is now 6-7 in the season. This 5-game losing streak is going to haunt them this off-season if they don’t make it to the Superbowl.