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Steel Resolve: Steelers Rally From 15 Down to Top Browns 31-28

Posted by Matt Loede under Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers 

Miller scores the game winning TD

Following the same story line of a memorable AFC Wild Card Playoff game back in 2003, the Pittsburgh Steelers did what they had to do to hold off a game Cleveland Browns 31-28 at Heinz Field Sunday afternoon. The Browns on that day back in 03, held a big lead only to have Tommy Maddox allow the Steelers back into the game.  On this day it was Ben Roethlisberger, who had a 30-yard TD run and then a big drive score 15 fourth quarter points to cap the win.

The Browns, who at one point led 21-6, had a shot at the end, but Phil Dawson was just short on a 52-yard field goal with :06 left that would have tied the game and sent it into overtime.  The Steelers controlled the game from a stats point of view, as they outgained Cleveland 401-163, and they held the ball 38:17 to just 21:43 for Cleveland.

The Steelers had been dominant at home, putting teams away early and beating them down in the second half.  On this day, they needed every yard, but got it, and now at 7-2 have a stranglehold on the AFC North with seven games to play.  The Browns, who fell to the Steelers 34-7 opening day, drop to 5-4 and had their three-game winning streak snapped.

The game was truly a tale of two halves, as the Steelers were booed off the field, trailing 21-9 at halftime.  That is when the Steelers defense took over, holding the Browns without a first down for the whole second half until the final Browns offensive drive.  Browns QB Derek Anderson was held in check, going 16-for-35 for 123 yards and three TD’s.

Roethlisberger went 23-for-34 for 278 yards with two scores and a pick.  He was bottled up at some points, as the Browns were able to get to him for four sacks. The running game was helped by Willie Parker, who ran for 105 yards on 25 carries, a 4.2 yards per carry average.  It was the 9th straight win for the Steelers over the Browns, who got the help from two long kickoffs, one for a score, from kick returner Josh Cribbs.

Cribbs’ second return was unreal, as the ball tipped off his hands, and he had to go back and pick it up as he raced down the sideline 100 yards for the score which put the Browns up 28-24.  The Steelers though, had an answer, as they came right back and marched down the field, converting a few huge third down plays before Big Ben hit Heath Miller with a score that put the Steelers up 31-28.

The Browns final drive was hit hard by a penalty that would have put them after a punt return on the Steelers 39-yard line with time left.  Instead, they had to start at their own 33, and they were able to get close enough for Dawson’s short field goal attempt.  Just like that playoff game back in 03 though, it was the Steelers doing what they had to do, and the Browns on the short end.

The Steelers will travel to play the awful Jets next Sunday in New Jersey, while the Browns will be in Baltimore to take on the Ravens.


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Comments

3 Responses to “Steel Resolve: Steelers Rally From 15 Down to Top Browns 31-28”

  1. Jay on November 11th, 2007 3:53 pm

    I have to give Pittsburgh credit, for the first time since the Art(ful) dodger hosed Cleveland, Pittsburgh beat a real Cleveland team. Steeler fans should take about as much pride as an adult beating up a six year old on all those other wins, but this one, pride would be justified. One question though, when will the Steeler fans learn to use the bathroom instead of peeing into those towels and waving them about to dry? No wonder they re so yellow and referred to as being terrible.

  2. Russ Loede on November 11th, 2007 9:52 pm

    Big Ben [#7] shows why one draft pundit/expert called him the most talented QB to come out of College (Miami OH) since John Elway[#7] (Stanford), after getting picked in the ‘04 NFL Draft. “7’s” got something in common as they share: Great arms, scrambling/break tackle ability, and leadership role/a flair for the dramatic, as comeback signal callers that just win… Roethlisberger’s performance was just pure brilliance and clutch in the 2nd half, and esp. in the 4th quarter with all those runs he managed to pull off – I haven’t seen anything like it in awhile…

    Steelers = Legitimate AFC Contender ~ Pittsburgh at home vs. either SD or Tennessee TITANS Opening up the AFC Wild Card Playoffs would be a tremendous game to watch! (Looking ahead of course…)

    Cleveland = Browns are the new Bengals – No Defense and some good Offense…

    By the Way Jay ~ Don’t DISS the spectaular “Terrible Towels” because it sure beats the awful “dawg” fans and dog bones they carry around in the pound at Browns stadium… How can you not like the STEELERS Franchise/Organization ~ It’s one of the best in the NFL!

  3. Jay on November 14th, 2007 4:09 pm

    You ask why someone could not like the Steelers, the answer is, just because they exist. If there was such a thing as a “curse”, I would “curse” Pittsburgh by having someone buy the team and then promptly move it to California, with the Steelers name, history, and everything attached to the team. Then, maybe after ten or so years without football, I would let Pittsburgh have a new team. But, the new team would be doomed for the next twenty years to be the “toilet paper” of the NFL due to mismanagement, bad luck, injuries, busted draft picks, etc. Pittsburgh would also have to suffer thought forty straight embarrassing thrashings by the Browns. Then perhaps, Steeler fans might have the slightest inkling what the Browns fans have been through for the last forty years. True, there are a few fans left that remember the glory years of the 1950s, but for the majority, Browns fans know only, gloom, doom, and abject disappointment. So, to a Browns fan, the Steelers represent the NFL’s “Axis of Evil” in the same way, due to no fault of his own, a beggar hates the rich simply because they “have” and he doesn’t. The only way these feeling will change is either by my “curse” coming true (very doubtful), or the Browns once again become a perennial playoff contender and the Steelers become just another football team.

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