CLEVELAND — A fast-starting offense? Lately, the Steelers will take any kind of offense, but by the end of the first half Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium, they matched their touchdown total through the first two games.
Najee Harris’ 5-yard run and Mitch Trubisky’s 1-yard keeper gave the Steelers two touchdowns on offense in the first two quarters after scoring just one each in the first two weeks of the post-Ben Roethlisberger era.
Not that the end of the Roethlisberger era itself was a bastion of early offense. The 14 first-half points were the most for the Steelers since Week 9 of the 2021 season when they scored just as many in a Monday night win against the Bears at Acrisure Stadium.
When Harris plowed into the end zone on the first play of the second quarter, five seconds into it, he tied the score at 7-7. But he couldn’t quite end their streak of failing to score an offensive touchdown in the first quarter. It’s now 12 in a row, including the loss at Kansas City in last season’s Wild Card round.
Here’s progress, though: After going three-and-out on their first possession at Cincinnati and against New England, the Steelers ended that slump. They went four-and-out this time, punting three plays after a 13-yard completion from Trubisky to Diontae Johnson.
All told, the Steelers totaled 197 yards of offense in the first half and Trubisky threw for 109 yards on 9 of 13 passing, nearly all of it from throws outside the pocket. But he was 8 for 9 until the final drive of the half, which stalled on three straight incompletions before the Steelers could get into Chris Boswell’s field-goal range on a windy night.
In-game injuries
Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon left the game late in the third quarter with a hamstring injury and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the night. Before exiting, Witherspoon had trouble trying to blanket new No. 1 Browns wideout Amari Cooper. He allowed three catches for 52 yards on five targets, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Without Witherspoon, an every-down player, the Steelers had to use more of outside cornerback Levi Wallace and slot cornerback Arthur Maulet. Cam Sutton had to play more on the outside than in the slot, too.
The Browns briefly lost starting left tackle Jedrick Wills with 4:31 left in the third quarter, but that was just one of several in-game injuries for Cleveland. Starting linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Anthony Walker, as well as safety Ronnie Harrison and defensive lineman Taven Bryan, were banged up during the action.
Walker was carted off in the third quarter with a knee injury after Steelers right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor jumped on him to keep him out of a play while Walker was already on the ground. That’s one many Browns fans will call a dirty hit, while Steeler fans claim he was just playing to the whistle. Either way, Okorafor was flagged for ineligible man downfield on the play, wiping out a nice gain by Jaylen Warren.
Status quo inactives
For the second straight week, the Steelers did not give a helmet to No. 3 quarterback Mason Rudolph, wide receiver Steven Sims, offensive lineman Kendrick Green, defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk, inside linebacker Mark Robinson and outside linebacker David Anenih.
Those first five have been inactive every game so far, and Anenih hasn’t gotten a jersey on game day since the Steelers signed him off the Titans practice squad last Thursday. Instead, Delontae Scott was elevated from the practice squad to be the fourth outside linebacker for the second week in a row.
Having 10 days off before playing host to the Jets could give the Steelers a chance to get Anenih up to speed behind Alex Highsmith, Malik Reed and Jamir Jones. He had three sacks in the preseason for Tennessee.
The Browns inactives were No. 3 quarterback Kellen Mond, running back Demetric Felton, wide receiver Michael Woods II, tackles Joe Haeg and Chris Hubbard, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and safety Richard LeCounte III. Clowney’s pass rush was sorely missed opposite Myles Garrett, especially with Thomas Jefferson High School graduate Chase Winovich placed on injured reserve this week.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: September 23, 2022, 2:44 a.m.
