The Steelers’ loss to the Browns is hard to swallow after they mounted a comeback and let it slip away. Now at 8-3, the Steelers have a mini-bye week to prepare for a trip to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. Before then, though, let’s dive into the winners and losers from Week 12.

Varsity

QB Russell Wilson

Russ played well. He wasn’t perfect, taking multiple sacks that were more on him than the offensive line, but he was nearly flawless through the air. He went 21-of-28 for 270 and the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter to Calvin Austin. He had four completions of 20 or more yards downfield and consistently hit Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens for sizable gains. The problem was the Steelers didn’t lean into the passing game more than the run game, which came back to bite them as the Browns (and everyone else in the building) knew the Steelers were running on every first and second down. Regardless, Wilson played well.

QB Justin Fields

Well, there’s a first – two quarterbacks highlighted in the same game. Fields provided the Steelers a spark in the second half. After going down 18-6, Fields had a 30-yard run and helped the Steelers get inside the five before Jaylen Warren capped the drive off with a score. I liked how Fields was more involved in the offense and I’d expect to see more of this going forward.

RB Jaylen Warren

Warren was the only back finding success on the ground, averaging over four yards per carry and a touchdown. For some reason, though, the Steelers refused to just lean into his success and kept feeding Najee Harris for carries that went nowhere. Warren has played incredibly well over the last month since getting over his injuries and should continue getting more touches.

S DeShon Elliott

Elliott has been the Steelers’ best defender this season and he had another big game on Thursday. He forced a fumble on the Browns’ first drive of the second half and finished with six tackles.

CB Donte Jackson

Jackson recovered the Elliott forced fumble and had an interception late in the game that could have helped seal a comeback win for the Steelers. Unfortunately, a drive that stalled out followed by a bad punt did the Steelers in.

EDGE Nick Herbig

Herbig had a strip sack that set up the Steelers’ go-ahead score from Calvin Austin. He finished the night with five tackles.

Junior-Varsity

TE Connor Heyward

Multiple missed blocks and chips, plus a penalty in the first half. Why is he still getting offensive snaps when Ben Skowronek was playing that role well against the Ravens? If his last name wasn’t Heyward, he likely wouldn’t.

Offensive line

Zero run game and Myles Garrett did whatever he wanted, finishing with three sacks. This was a rough outing.

Pass rush

This was the most pathetic performance from the Steelers’ pass rush in a long while. Facing a depleted Browns offensive line, they mustered a mere one sack on Jameis Winston, who had all day to do whatever he pleased. T.J. Watt was nonexistent. Nick Herbig made the splash play, but he really should have been able to do more. Inexcusable performance.

CB Joey Porter Jr

Jerry Jeudy had his way with Porter, including converting multiple crucial third and fourth downs. After bouncing back from a bad week against the Commanders in Week 11 vs. the Ravens, Porter had another dip in production.

OC Arthur Smith

Easily his worst-called game as a Steeler. No creativity on first and second down, just constant running into the teeth of the Browns’ defense for minimal gains. The Steelers had 16 third downs(!) because of it. And even though they converted at a near 50 percent clip on third down, the amount of times they faced third down made that number mean a whole lot less. They also went 0-for-5 on third/fourth and two or shorter prior to the final drive of the game. A lot needs addressed from an early-down attack perspective.

HC Mike Tomlin

There were multiple instances against the Browns that made fans put their heads in their palms. Letting the Browns tick down the clock by taking the field on fourth down at the end of the first half, accepting a penalty that would have set up fourth down if declined. The Steelers are 0-3 in their last three games against teams 2-8 or worse – that’s a coaching issue. And while this isn’t me calling for Tomlin’s job, it is a clear pattern that is incredibly frustrating to watch.