Two Goods and a Bad: Browns Couldn't Resist Giving Steelers Some Extra Juice
The Pittsburgh Steelers finished their regular season 12-4 and AFC North champions, but someone should've told the Cleveland Browns that. After beating a Mason Rudolph-led team by two points, Cleveland made sure the whole world knew they were headed to the playoffs - for the first time since 2002.
But we'll get to that.
The Steelers walked into FirstEnergy Stadium as 9.5-point underdogs, without four of their five team captains and losing three players to COVID-19 Saturday morning.
They walked out with confidence in their backup quarterback, a third date with the Browns - this time in Pittsburgh - and plenty of momentum to build from, even if the postgame reactions weren't pleasant ones.
"I am appreciative of the effort of our guys, but we came up short," Mike Tomlin summed it up.
The Steelers left plenty of good and bad on the table to evaluate prior to their first-round playoff battle with Cleveland. And so, we finish our regular season with a Week 17 'Two Goods and a Bad,' highlighting the near comeback Rudolph and company instructed Sunday afternoon.
The Steelers Are Probably Right About Mason Rudolph - Good
Want to know why the Steelers haven't drafted another quarterback since Mason Rudolph? Because they're pretty convinced he's the successor of Ben Roethlisberger.
Maybe that isn't true just yet, but what we saw against Cleveland left a lot more confidence in No. 2 than anyone had a year ago.
Rudolph threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns to an interception and wasn't afraid to be himself. He averaged 8.1 yards per completion and had an instant connection with the two young receivers he's likely going to play with in the next year or two.
Chase Claypool finished with 101 yards and a touchdown, and Diontae Johnson snagged three receptions for 96 yards. JuJu Smith-Schuster added 65 yards and a score to the total, leaving no room for complaints in Rudolph's usage of his wide receivers.
Rudolph came out after throwing an interception and led his team back from a 15-point deficit. If it wasn't for a blown call on the 2-point conversion, the Steelers might have sent this game into overtime.
Rudolph looked sharp and confident. Two things the Steelers didn't see in him last season.
Maybe it was the lack of pressure from a meaningless Week 17 game or that he had all his weapons around him for the first time as a starter, but the third-year quarterback looked sharp and probably secured himself as the immediate starter whenever Roethlisberger decides to hang up the cleats.
Myles Garrett and Mason Rudolph Talk is Over - Good
It's been over a year, but the Rudolph vs. Myles Garrett talk has officially come to an end. The two met for a few seconds following the game and decided to finally put the controversy away following their 2019 helmet fight.
Not much was, or had to be, said during the exchange. Garrett told Rudolph "good game," and Rudolph told Garrett "good luck" with their matchup next week. And just like that, we might never have to read a No. 1 overall pick vs. backup quarterback headline ever again.
In a game that didn't hold much ground for the NFL, this was a must. It was too long in the waiting for Garrett to reach out to Rudolph and sort this out. And honestly, it was getting a little annoying having to ask/hear questions about it during Zoom calls.
Now, it's over, and the Steelers-Browns playoff game can revolve around Cleveland talking smack and Pittsburgh getting their starters back.
The Browns Will Always be the Browns - Bad
If barely beating your AFC North rival with a backup quarterback wasn't enough, the Browns made their victory personal after the game.
Linebacker Mack Wilson finished with one tackle in Week 17 but decided he'd be the ring leader of Cleveland's postgame smack talk. As the Browns filled the locker room, rocking their "playoff bound" t-shirts, Wilson made a TikTok. One all Steelers fans are familiar with.
Say whatever you will about Smith-Schuster's midfield dances, none of them had any intent to disrespect his opponents. Once they became a distraction for his team, he ended them - even if he had to let out a little endzone shimmy after his touchdown.
Wilson and the Browns just decided they were going to finish the regular season with a hot note. And maybe they forgot, or maybe they just don't care, but they're scheduled to travel to Pittsburgh to play the team they just mocked in the first round.
If you're placing bets, don't forget Roethlisberger, Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt, Maurkice Pouncey and possibly Eric Ebron will all be back next Sunday.
Cleveland might have forgotten.
Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
