By Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Kellen Winslow #80 is tackled after a catch by Troy Polamalu in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game.
The Cleveland Browns walked out of Heinz Field bitterly disappointed with the outcome of their game with the Steelers, but at the same time quietly proud of how well they played. After all, the Steelers had manhandled them in an embarrassing loss in the season opener. Eight games later, they came within three points -- a play here, a call there -- of the Steelers.
"We showed today we can play with anybody," veteran linebacker Willie McGinest said.
There was no doubt the Browns played with the Steelers and gave them a large scare before eventually losing, 31-28, with a tying field goal in the final seconds falling a few feet short. Nor is there any doubt the Browns are a tremendously improved team. But they're not as good as they think, and no one should take from this game that there is anything resembling a change in the balance of power in the AFC North.
What the Browns do have is one of the great kick returners in the NFL in Joshua Cribbs. He returned one kickoff 90 yards to set up a touchdown and another 100 yards to score a touchdown.
But their defense, which played several notches above its previous level in the first half, was no match for the Steelers in the second half. More than that, though, what truly punctured a hole in the Browns' hope for success was the way the Steelers handled quarterback Derek Anderson.
Anderson, a sixth-round draft choice who the Baltimore Ravens gave up on, has been the key to the Browns' resurrection. The Browns were 5-2 with Anderson at quarterback and averaging 31.4 points a game. He came into the game fourth in the NFL in touchdown passes and has thrown only one interception in the past four games.
But he couldn't get it done against the Steelers.
Willie Parker #39 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs with help from Marvel Smith #77 against the Cleveland Browns on November 11, 2007 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers won 31-28.
After a brilliant opening drive --71 yards in 16 plays that took 8 minutes, 55 seconds -- Anderson was considerably less than ordinary. He completed 7 of 10 passes on that drive and was 4 for 4 on third-down conversions -- all coming on passes. It was brilliant football. But Anderson never came close to replicating it.
He threw for 25 yards the rest of the first half, 11 yards in the third quarter and, until the final drive of the game when the Steelers were giving up the short pass, no yards in the fourth quarter. After the opening drive, the Browns were 1 for 8 on third-down conversions.
"It's tough," Anderson said, "especially considering the way that we played in the first half. We put ourselves in a great position to win the game and obviously we didn't do enough in the second half to take it home."
Anderson maintained the Steelers did nothing special to neutralize him after the first drive.
"It was nothing we hadn't seen before," he said.
That same statement definitely couldn't be made about the performance of Cribbs, who almost single-handedly won the game for Cleveland. In fact, he might have won the game if it were not for a penalty on his final return of the game.
Cribbs returned a Daniel Sepulveda punt 19 yards to the Steelers 38, putting the Browns in excellent position to move for a tying field goal with 64 seconds remaining. But Darnell Dinkins, of Schenley High and Pitt, was called for holding on the play, moving the ball back to the Browns 33.
"That call was tremendous because we would have made the field goal if we had those yards," Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel said.
Asked if he used the proper technique, Dinkins said, "There is no doubt in my mind. You look at the tape and you'll see that I blew him off the ball."
It figured that a teammate would be the one to stop Cribbs because the Steelers could not.
Heath Miller #83 of the Pittsburgh Steelers stiff arms Sean Jones #26 of the Cleveland Browns on November 11, 2007 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers won 31-28.
He returned the Steelers' first kickoff of the day 90 yards to the 3, and he got a lot of that on his own by fighting off Allen Rossum with a stiff arm. He was finally brought down by Anthony Madison on the 3. The Browns scored four plays later.
The Steelers spent the remainder of the day kicking off away from Cribbs. But in the fourth quarter, after the Steelers had taken their first lead of the day, 24-21, Cribbs would not be denied. A hard squib kick came bouncing toward him around the 10. He allowed it to get past him. By the time he picked it up, the ball was just about at the goal line.
It looked for certain that Cribbs wouldn't get past the 10. He got that and a lot more.
"Guys were coming at me slow-footed and I was like, 'Dodge here, dodge there,' " he said. "It was like a video game and I saw my guys thinking, 'I have to get somebody.' "
They got everybody as Cribbs went 100 yards in what was one of the more spectacular plays in the history of Heinz Field.
But on a day when their kick returner was supernatural, it still wasn't enough for the Browns. They're vastly improved, but still not ready to play with the Steelers.
Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
First published on November 12, 2007 at 12:00 am
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