The Pittsburgh Steelers handled their business with a 28-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 18. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills came through against the New England Patriots, as well. But the help never came from Joe Flacco and the New York Jets, making this Pittsburgh’s final game of the season despite a 7-2 close to the campaign.
Offensive spotlight: Deshaun Watson’s performance down the stretch for Cleveland was underwhelming, particularly when you factor in what the Browns gave up to get him this offseason. Watson took eight sacks and was charged with three turnover-worthy plays and zero big-time throws against the Steelers. Pending review, that will leave him with just three big-time throws and eight turnover-worthy plays this season after returning from suspension.
Defensive spotlight: Pittsburgh’s starters on the outside at cornerback gave up very little against Watson and the Browns. As a unit, they were targeted five times and allowed just two receptions. Levi Wallace had as many interceptions (one) as targets, and James Pierre and Cameron Sutton combined for more forced incompletions (two) than receptions allowed (one) when lined up outside.
Rookie spotlight: The only three Steelers players on offense with at least three receptions were all rookies — George Pickens, Connor Heyward and Jaylen Warren. Heyward’s 25 offensive snaps were his second most of the season, and he brought in both of his contested targets against the Browns. It appears as if his name belongs in the young offensive corps that Pittsburgh has put together over the past several seasons.
Offensive line spotlight: Myles Garrett may have finished with only one sack and three total pressures, but that undersells his performance against Dan Moore Jr. The second-year left tackle was charged with three pressures allowed and three additional losses that didn’t result in pressure, per PFF’s first-run analysis of the game. His left tackle spot is one that Pittsburgh could look to upgrade this offseason.
Box Score
Passing
Cleveland Browns |
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| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Deshaun Watson | 19.6 | 19 / 29 | 230 | 7.9 | 2 | 2 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Kenny Pickett | 13.9 | 13 / 29 | 195 | 6.7 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
Cleveland Browns |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Nick Chubb | 23.2 | 12 | 77 | 6.4 | 0 | 15 |
| Deshaun Watson | 19.6 | 6 | 44 | 7.3 | 0 | 21 |
| Kareem Hunt | 5.8 | 4 | 13 | 3.2 | 0 | 5 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Najee Harris | 15.4 | 23 | 84 | 3.7 | 1 | 11 |
| Kenny Pickett | 13.9 | 3 | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 1 |
| Connor Heyward | 8.1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Jaylen Warren | 7.3 | 6 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 22 |
| Derek Watt | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Steven Sims | 1.6 | 1 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Gunner Olszewski | 0.4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Receiving
Cleveland Browns |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Nick Chubb | 23.2 | 6 | 5 | 45 | 7.5 | 1 |
| David Njoku | 14.2 | 5 | 4 | 42 | 8.4 | 1 |
| Amari Cooper | 7.1 | 3 | 2 | 51 | 17 | 0 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 42 | 10.5 | 0 |
| Kareem Hunt | 5.8 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 3.8 | 0 |
| Harrison Bryant | 4 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 0 |
| Michael Woods II | 2.5 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| David Bell | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| George Pickens | 16.2 | 6 | 3 | 72 | 12 | 1 |
| Najee Harris | 15.4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Connor Heyward | 8.1 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 11.2 | 0 |
| Diontae Johnson | 7.8 | 10 | 2 | 38 | 3.8 | 0 |
| Jaylen Warren | 7.3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1.8 | 0 |
| Zach Gentry | 3.3 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 23 | 0 |
| Pat Freiermuth | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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