Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Cleveland Browns 28
The Browns played outstanding on special teams and it was almost good enough to win this game. But, Phil Dawson’s 52-yard field goal attempt just came up a couple of feet short. Joshua Cribbs scored a TD on an incredible 100 yard kickoff return in which the ball got behind him and rolled to the goal line before he started his amazing return to give the Browns a 28-24 lead in the 4th quarter. He also set up another Browns TD with a 90-yard kickoff return in the 2nd quarter. Cribbs finished up with 204 yards on 4 kickoff returns (51.0 avg) and he also returned 4 punts for 19 yards (4.8 avg). Derek Anderson had a good first half but he couldn’t finish strong in this game. He completed 16 of 35 passes for 123 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 interceptions. Jamal Lewis had a rough time finding any running room against the Steelers defense as he carried the ball 16 times for 35 yards (2.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 8 yards (2.7 avg). Kellen Winslow (5 rec, 46 yards, TD) and Joe Jurevicius (5 rec, 44 yards) both played solid games on Sunday. The Browns finished with 40 yards rushing on 18 carries (2.2 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 35 passes for 123 yards.
The defense was led by rookie CB Eric Wright (12 tackles, sack), Leon Williams (11 tackles) and Brodney Pool (5 tackles, interception). The Steelers finished up with 159 yards rushing on 35 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 35 passes for 242 yards.
The Brownies almost pulled it out, but the Steelers almost ran for as many yards as the Browns ran and passed for. They were lucky to even be in the game. Cribbs should be that good considering all of the practice he gets returning kicks. The Browns D still sucks, and Derrick Anderson was horrible after the first drive. After that, he was blessed with a 3 yard and 18 yard field, and has not got a first down since Romeos 1st-half challenge.