Pittsburgh Steelers: Studs and duds vs. Browns in Week 11
By Samuel Teets
Stud: Cameron Heyward, DT
I said it was an all-around horrible game, but Pittsburgh’s run defense does deserve credit. Nick Chubb did rack up 92 rushing yards, but his longest carry only went for 12 yards. He also carried the ball 27 times, meaning he averaged a mediocre 3.4 yards per carry. As a team, the Browns recorded 104 rushing yards on 35 carries. That’s an average of three yards per carry.
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Heyward, who recorded six tackles, deserves a lot of credit for locking down the run game. Javon Hargrave, who recorded nine tackles, also played a major role. Even though he didn’t record a sack, Bud Dupree also made some tackles in Cleveland’s backfield. If not for Cleveland’s passing game having success in the first half, the Browns wouldn’t have moved the football at all.
Dud: Mason Rudolph, QB
Last week, there was a little pushback when I included Rudolph as a dud in the game recap. Admittedly, he didn’t play that poorly and probably didn’t deserve the dud designation for that game. However, he more than earned it for Week 11.
Rudolph attempted 44 passes against the Browns, which is just too many for the young quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger can handle that workload, but Rudolph isn’t ready yet. The four interceptions he threw support that conclusion.
Rudolph completed 52.3 percent of his pass attempts and finished the game with a 36.3 passer rating. A few of his other passes should’ve been picked off as well but defenders just dropped the ball. It was by far the worst game of Rudolph’s professional career.
While no one should make excuses for Rudolph, Randy Fichtner’s play-calling didn’t help the young quarterback. They both deserve blame for the offense’s Thursday night struggles.