Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat to the Cleveland Browns 27-11 to notch their fifth win of the season and below is my list of winners and losers from the game. Feel free to add your own in the comments below.
Winners:
Ben Roethlisberger – While he only threw for 217 yards, Roethlisberger completed 22 of 34 passes and did not turn the football over. A few of those misses were drops and another one was a spike to stop the clock. Not only was he not sacked for the first time this season, Roethlisberger did a great job of getting the ball out quickly. He called a great game in the no-huddle and his two touchdown passes were more than enough points to win the game. On top of everything else, the Steelers quarterback had a great pooch punt that pinned the Browns offense back at their own one yard-line.
Jason Worilds – Worilds had another great game filling in for the injured LaMarr Woodley. While he didn’t register a sack in the game, Worilds was constantly putting pressure on the Browns quarterbacks and he registered a game-high six quarterback hits to go along with five total tackles.
Troy Polamalu – Polamalu not only forced two fumbles in the game, but he was credited with a sack and four total tackles and a pass defensed. He had a nice backside tackle early in the game and always seemed to be around the football.
William Gay – Gay registered the first pick-6 of his career in the second half and that was after he forced a fumble on a corner blitz that resulted in a touchdown just one play later. While he did give up a few receptions in the game, he was generally solid in coverage once again.
Losers:
Ike Taylor – Taylor had a rough game and it included him giving up several easy catches to Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, of which one was a touchdown late in the game. Gordon set a Browns franchise record with 237 receiving yards on 14 catches and many of those came against Taylor. The Steelers veteran cornerback also missed a few tackles early in the game as well.
Lawrence Timmons – Timmons is mainly on this list because of his coverage, or lack thereof, in the first half. He looked as though it took him a while for his feet to thaw it. He led the team with seven total tackles, but three of those were five yards past the line of scrimmage.
Will Johnson – Johnson is mainly on this list for his poor blocking attempts on the two short run attempts by Jonathan Dwyer. Johnson was lined up as a tight end on both of those plays and failed to get the job done. They stuck out on tape and that is why he is listed.
