Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are four numbers from last week’s game to think about.
We’ve poured over last week’s Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Cleveland Browns and wanted to share four numbers that really stood out. Pittsburgh pulled off the win 26-14 and kept its playoff hopes alive thanks in large part to the play of the defense and run game.
Chris Morgan coached up the offensive line’s best game of the season.
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Last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers let offensive line coach Adrian Klemm leave for a new job on the staff at the University of Oregon. Chris Morgan was promoted to the new offensive line coach and handed the keys to a struggling offensive line.
It may have been only one game but we have to echo the sentiments of head coach Mike Tomlin when he said Morgan has a “tremendous impact” on the game.
The changes were immediately noticeable and long overdue. Pittsburgh decided to commit to the run game and Morgan knew just what to do. He kept things simple. Most of the damage Najee Harris did on the ground was guard to guard, and Morgan utilized simple doubles and fundamental schemes to give Najee Harris those creases.
The changes netted the rookie running back his best game of the season with 188 rushing yards and a downright respectable 5.5 yards per carry. The Steelers also made a personnel move when they started J.C. Hassenauer at center in place of regular starter Kendrick Green. Tomlin insists it was only injury-related but the results of Hassenauer in there with John Leglue at left guard made a difference.
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What a huge win by the Steelers on Monday night.
Monday night was a huge emotional win for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers completely dominated the Cleveland Browns offense and stepped up in front of a raucous home crowd to give quarterback Ben Roethlisberger a win in his final home game. Here are the big takeaways from the win.
It was a huge night for all of Steeler Nation.
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Monday night was a huge, emotional win for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and especially quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The story isn’t how the Steelers defense dropped the hammer on the Cleveland Browns or how running back Najee Harris ran all over the Cleveland defense en route to the win.
This game is historic because it marks the final game Roethlisberger will play at Heinz Field. Coming out with a win was huge and his teammates and the fans gave their all. After the game, Roethlisberger gave back to Steeler Nation and the scores of fans who stuck around well after the game ended.
Roethlisberger, after an emotional postgame interview and a sweet moment with his family, walked the entire perimeter of Heinz Field, interacting with the fans as one final way saying thanks for everything over the last 18 seasons.
You can check out the full video of Roethlisberger’s victory lap below.
Big Ben takes a final lap around Heinz Field.
What a moment for Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/AzU1AtwkFI
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2022
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Mike Tomlin said poor play had no role in Kendrick Green not playing on Monday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers run game was huge on Monday in the win over the Cleveland Browns. Rookie running back Najee Harris cracked 1,000 rushing yards, broke the Steelers rookie rushing record and had his best rushing game of the season. This is due in no small part because the offensive line really showed serious signs of life.
Was it a coincidence that on the night when the rushing game came to life rookie center Kendrick Green was benched in favor of veteran J.C. Hassenauer? Did head coach Mike Tomlin sit Green down in hopes of sparking the run game?
According to Tomlin, the answer is no. After the game he indicated leaving Green on the sidelines and opting for Hassenauer had everything to do with Green’s injury and lack of preparation he had gotten this week.
There’s no denying there was a spark in the run game by the guys up front. This is no shot at Green but it would be tough to go back to him next week against the Baltimore Ravens. Harris had a career-high 188 rushing yards and he had some nice creases to work through.
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Ben Roethlisberger is grateful for what the city and team have meant to him.
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On Monday night we saw something special. We saw Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger play his final game in front of the home fans at Heinz Field. Roethlisberger’s stat line wasn’t impressive but that was never what he was known for. But he and his teammates found a way to win what was easily one of the most important games of Big Ben’s 18-year career.
After the game, an emotional Roethlisberger spoke to sideline reporter Lisa Salters and really put it all out there about what playing for this team in this city for these fans has meant to him.
“Everything,” Roethlisberger said. “Like I said, I’m so thankful and blessed to be able to call this place home for almost half my life in front of all these fans and see all these signs, all the jerseys. To come out here, I don’t know. I’ve been so blessed and I’ve been so thankful.”
You would be hard-pressed to find a better pairing between a player and a city than this one. Roethlisberger was exactly the quarterback the Steelers need and the Steelers were exactly the team Roethlisberger had to play for.
In that same interview, Roethlisberger, forever looking forward, made it clear the season still isn’t over and as important as tonight is, this team still has at least one more game. Which is the most Ben Roethlisberger thing he could do on a night like that.
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The Steelers stepped up and sent Ben Roethlisberger out of Heinz Field a winner.
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On a night that was supposed to belong to Ben Roethlisberger, the rest of his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates stepped up and carried Big Ben to a 26-14 win over the Cleveland Browns in his final game at Heinz Field.
The story of this game, aside from the historical meaning was the play of the Steelers defense, in particular linebacker T.J. Watt. Watt cemented his spot as Defensive Player of the Year with a mind-boggling four sacks. As a team, the Steelers sacked Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield nine times and completely shut down the vaunted Browns run game.
On offense, it wasn’t pretty but as its been for much of Roethlisberger’s career, they find a way to get it done. On this night it was on the back of rookie running back Najee Harris and his career-high 188 rushing yards. The Steelers made some changes on the offensive line and it really paid off.
But this night was about Roethlisberger. Taking that final knee and sealing the win then to see him with tears in his eyes, recounting what playing for this team for nearly half his life has meant, and then to walk a lap around the entire stadium to high-five the fans. This is why we love football and this is why there will never be another Ben Roethlisberger.
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The Steelers will be without punter Pressley Harvin III again this week.
Here are the inactives for the Pittsburgh Steelers this week as they prepare to take on the Cleveland Browns.
Pittsburgh is getting Isaiah Buggs back just in time.
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On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced multiple roster moves ahead of Monday’s game against the Cleveland Browns. Headlining the moves is the return of defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs who is coming off of the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Pittsburgh also signed former Steelers linebacker Tegray Scales from the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad.
The return of Buggs is timely with defensive tackle Chris Wormley being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday. Scales was added to bolster depth with Buddy Johnson injured and Joe Schobert on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
The Steelers also restored safety Karl Joseph to the practice squad.
We have:
• Activated DE Isaiah Buggs from the Reserve/COVID-19 list
• Restored S Karl Joseph to the practice squad
• Signed LB Tegray Scales from the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad@BordasLaw https://t.co/nllLmKhpdY— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 1, 2022
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Here is the Friday injury update for the Steelers.
Here is the updated practice report for Friday. The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to square off with the Cleveland Browns on Monday night and will be missing multiple key players due to COVID-19 as well as injuries. The Steelers have an extra day this week to announce game status but it looks like punter Pressley Harvin III will miss his second-straight game and the team will be without starting center Kendrick Green.
