The Pittsburgh Steelers saw their five-game winning streak come to a close on Thursday night as they surrendered the Cleveland Browns only their third win in the 2024 NFL season. Playing on the road on a short week in bad weather, the Steelers managed to come back from being down multiple scores to take the lead in the fourth quarter only two ultimately lose the game.

Along the way, there were some pretty questionable decisions made throughout the game. All these happen every week, and many times they work out well so they aren’t questioned, when a team loses a game against the team with a poor record these things are often brought up.

Now that the game is not so fresh where emotions overrule objectivity, I’m hoping that those were upset about certain things that really were the correct decision have calmed down and maybe even seen the light. Still, there are other decisions that should be questioned. For this reason, we’re going to look at six questionable decisions by the Steelers that they made against the Browns, but another three that were not.

Please note, it’s not that the three decisions shouldn’t have been questioned at all, it’s that after further scrutiny the conclusion should be drawn that it wasn’t obviously the wrong decision.

first, let’s hit the ones that were questionable…

The 58-yard Field Goal Attempt

This one may be the weakest of these decisions as I can see a defense for doing so. Also, if Boswell comes through and hits the kick like he typically has, it would never be questioned. But the fact that Boswell couldn’t connect from 58 yards in the snow is why that decision was questioned.

I understand that taking the sack on third down is a play t a team does not want to have cost them three points. But instead of it merely costing them the points, it also cost them at least 28 yards in field position. Luckily the Steelers defense held and forced the punt which made the decision not nearly as consequential.

Fourth Down Play Call/Execution (x2)

There are actually two decisions going on here, but I grouped them together because of their similarities. The Steelers had a failed fourth down conversion in each half in this game. The first one came on their second possession where they were 2 yards closer than the failed field goal on the previous drive. But instead of facing fourth and 11, the Steelers were only facing fourth and two. The decision to go for it was not a bad one, but the readiness and execution were a big issue. Even having Justin Fields on the field for this play was not something that I had a problem with, but it seemed like there was either confusion or horrific execution upfront which had the play doomed to fail from the start.

The Steelers other failed fourth down conversion came on their first possession of the second half. At their own 46-yard line, the Steelers decided to run a quick play and try to keep the Browns defense from substituting and getting set up. Unfortunately, running a play where the running back receives the hand off far behind the line of scrimmage was not a good choice and it was the second time in the game where the Steelers lost yardage on a fourth down attempt.

It should be noted that on both failed conversions the Steelers defense stepped up and held the Browns to a three and out. So it wasn’t that the Steelers defense didn’t come through in a tough spot, but the offense just couldn’t continue the drives because of the failed conversions.

Cordarrelle Patterson Play Call (x2)

There were two different places in this game that went to Cordarrelle Patterson that were very head-scratching. The first came on the Steelers first possession of the fourth quarter. After getting to the Cleveland 5-yard line for a first and goal situation, the Steelers decided to get cute and attempt to run an end around with Patterson. The play lost 2 yards and would have potentially had the Steelers set up for yet another red zone failure. Luckily, the Steelers were bailed out by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play and scored a touchdown on the next snap. Still, the decision to run that play in that moment with so many recent red zone struggles was very curious.

The more questionable play came just after the Steelers second touchdown when they were going for a two-point conversion to give them a three-point lead. With three receivers to the right side of the formation, running back Cordarrelle Patterson was lined up on the left side all alone. As soon as the ball was snapped, Russell Wilson immediately threw a jump ball towards Patterson which was not completed. While I’m not going to scrutinize whether that was the correct decision to go against the one-on-one with no one else around on the left side of the field, I wouldn’t have done so with the third string running back. Why that loan player to the left was not George Pickens or Mike Williams is beyond me.

The Most Critical 3rd Down

This is the one that bothers me the most. With 3:34 remaining in the game and the Steelers holding onto a one-point lead, they faced a third down and four at their own 30-yard line. With Justin Fields in the game, the Steelers decided to take a deep shot down the sideline to George Pickens. Whether or not Pickens was interfered with is another debate, but the Steelers ended up being forced to punt on the next play.

I am not against the Steelers throwing the ball in that situation. Having more than 3.5 minutes left in the game is not the time to surrender going for a first down in order to run another 40 seconds off the clock. The Steelers needed to attack for a first down in that situation. For me, I feel it was an obvious passing down. Having Justin Fields in there to maybe make the Browns think the Steelers were going to run was one thing, but chances are the Steelers were going to throw the ball. And instead of having their quarterback who had already thrown for over 240 yards in the game in the snow, they had their backup quarterback who had only thrown one pass (which looked terrible and didn’t even count because of a penalty) making the most critical throw on the most critical down in the game.

If the Steelers want Justin Fields to be the guy throwing the football in that instance, then he should be there starting quarterback on the field for every play. When faced with a third down and four with too much time left to make it an obvious run in order to use up clock, I want the quarterback that is leading your team throughout the game on the field to make the throw.

Now it’s time for the decisions that have been questioned, but ultimately weren’t the wrong decision in the moment…

No Timeout At The End of the First Half

The Steelers got the football back after a Browns field goal with 0:40 seconds left in the first half. The Steelers took their second timeout with just less than 1.5 minutes remaining, but when the Browns rushed to the line as if they were going to go for it on fourth and sixth from the Steelers 16-yard line, the Steelers chose not to use their final timeout and save as much clock as possible.

The reason I have no problem with the Steelers not using a timeout as the Browns burned another 0:40 off the clock is very simple and only goes back four days prior. Just before halftime of the Steelers Week 11 match up against the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers got the ball with 1:16 remaining after a Ravens touchdown. And what did the Steelers do? They went three and out and gave the ball back to the Ravens with 0:38 left in the half. Fortunately, the Steelers forced a turnover on the Ravens next play and were able to score a field goal just before the half.

One thing that I have question about the Steelers and their management of the clock at the end of the first half in years past is more about giving their opponents too much time than it is not giving themselves enough. I’ve often said that as long as the team has a timeout, there is no need to burn one until there’s less than 0:45 remaining in the half. Using them too early could give the ball back to their opponent. How things worked out at the end of the first half against the Browns, that’s exactly what would have happened had they taken the timeout ahead of the Browns field goal.

Having 0:40 left and a timeout is enough time to do business. After the Steelers completed a pass for 19 yards to Pat Freiermuth that was just shy of midfield, some felt maybe that was the time to use their time out. But had they done so, they really would have been up against it. The fact the Steelers were able to take the next snap with 0:21 remaining and needing one more first down for a field goal attempt, keeping that timeout in that situation was a good idea.

Some fans are frustrated because the Steelers ended up taking that timeout into the half with them. Here’s what I have to say about that: So what? The reason they had the timeout with them and did not use it is because they were unable to convert another first down. Had the Steelers converted a first down, they would have used the timeout and attempted a field goal. What ultimately did the Steelers in was throwing two incompletions on the next two plays. Had the Steelers use their timeout after their first completed pass of the possession, the sack of Russell Wilson would have been accompanied by Cleveland timeout and they would have had the ball back with some time to attempt something.

There have been plenty of times the Steelers have mismanaged the clock at the end of the first half. Although they didn’t get points and they still had a time out in their pockets, the game against Cleveland was not one of them. The problem was the execution.

The Timeout on 3rd & 7

There are a lot of fans that are upset that the Steelers burned their second time out of the second half after they decided to accept the illegal touching penalty with just under two minutes remaining in the game. While it sucked to lose that timeout in that moment, calling it was not the wrong decision by the Steelers.

What was wrong was how the officials put them in a place that they had to use the timeout.

There was massive confusion on the field between plays. Officials were giving conflicting reports as to the down and distance remaining. Cleveland decided to get to the line to run the play and hopefully catch the Steelers being confused. The problem was the officials never should have let it be a situation where the defense was confused about what was going on. There is no problem with them blowing the whistle, having a conference, telling both sides what’s happening, and then continuing on with the game.

But that’s not what happened. Instead, the Steelers used the timeout to make sure their defense wasn’t on its heels.

The fact the Browns converted the very next play after the timeout is what stings, but taking the timeout to make sure they didn’t convert simply because the Steelers weren’t ready on one of the most critical plays of the game would have been a greater offense. To me, the ones that have a problem with the Steelers calling the timeout there isn’t the timeout itself but how the Browns successfully executed the next play while the Steelers did not. Frankly, that wasn’t the result of the timeout. But had the Steelers given up that third down conversion because they were scrambling, it would have been a much more egregious offense.

Not Letting Them Score from the 9-yard Line

I haven’t seen a lot of people forming this opinion, but it was out there that the Steelers simply should have let the Browns score a touchdown once they reached first and goal from the 9-yard line. The problem is, the only way you let a player score is if you plan on it. With the play happening at the 9-yard line, you’re not thinking to let them score. And in the midst of the play, even after Nick Chubb had gained 7 yards, you’re not going to think that he should just go at that point. The Steelers best option was still to keep the Browns out of the end zone. Unfortunately, had they had two timeouts at that time, they probably would have used one after first down in order to give themselves more clock. But that’s not the way it played out. To think they should have simply let them score to give them more time to have to go the length of the field in the snow is merely a hindsight take after the Browns scored anyway. Had the Steelers forced a turnover on the very next play, a foolish take like this would have been deleted off of social media as fast as one can do it.

So there are the explanations behind the six questionable decisions the Steelers made against the Browns and the three that really weren’t. I’m sure not everybody will see things the way that I did, but that’s my take on the situation. In fact, there may even been other decisions that I completely missed and didn’t cover. Either way, feel free to let me have it in the comments.