CLEVELAND -- So, Ben Roethlisberger, what did this win mean to the Steelers?
This was my question for the quarterback, and his response was delivered almost as rapidly as the result itself:
https://vimeo.com/192374515
"Honestly," the man spoke, "it doesn't really mean anything."
Yep. And here's betting that only about, oh, 99.9999999 percent of the Nation relates, albeit in a decidedly different context.
For Roethlisberger, the 24-9 bouncing of the Browns on this bone-chilling Sunday afternoon marked a brief respite from that four-game losing streak, but nothing more. He embraced it as a possible beginning, as the first of possible baby steps, but nothing more. He had no use discussing it, much less dwelling on it.
The first few minutes after he and his mates had strode off the frozen turf of FirstEnergy Stadium, all of the players and coaches had gathered, as I was told, to celebrate James Harrison breaking the team's sack record. And in the first few seconds after that, when the doors opened to us reporter types, Roethlisberger, typically among the last to be interviewed, had already whirled through the phone booth into his Clark Kent civvies and stood at his stall to welcome the cameras and microphones and ... well, to get it over with.
To move on to Thanksgiving in Indy, with the short week and tall task still ahead.
"That's all," Roethlisberger would say, "that matters right now."
For the Nation, of course, the real reason this outcome could feel so hollow is the 0-11 opponent, a franchise so forlorn that, when people poke fun that the Browns are about to "Put the 0-16 in 2016," as the popular T-shirt playfully boasts, it somehow feels sadly redundant. Like making a joke about a joke.
So what, to restate, did this win really mean?
Mike Tomlin, who might have needed this more than anyone, was equally enthused: "Good team victory for us. Contributions in all areas. The guys really fought."
I'll concur with Tomlin and Roethlisberger: It wasn't really anything.
And I'll add, in harmony with the Nation, that we are talking about Cleveland.
But I'll also suggest it's at least worth examining this day's five most striking facets, for better or worse, and wondering if they were a mere Mirage By The Lake or something more:
'RUNNING DOWNHILL'
It's a common term for any football team that's really feeling it with the running game, but David DeCastro uses it so often that I associate it with him. He loves to run-block, and his fellow 300-pounders very much share that.
So when the Steelers' line had spent the better part of the losing streak being shoved backward, and when Le'Veon Bell, who could find a hole in the hull of a space station, suddenly couldn't find any running room, yeah, they took it hard. They were embarrassed. They were hanging their heads as much as at any point I could recall with this group.
"We need to run," DeCastro would tell me after this. "It's who we are."
It's who they were, anyway, until taking the field this day in the jumbo formation, then chewing up the grass and the clock with Bell's 146 yards on 28 carries. Sure, the wild gusts of wind also held Roethlisberger to 167 yards on 23-of-36 passing, but this was infinitely more about pressing the reset button, about addressing the most surprising shortcoming of this offense to date.
"It was a step in the right direction for us," Bell said, including his blockers. "The line wasn't satisfied with how we ran the ball against the Ravens two weeks ago and against the Cowboys last week. They put a lot of time in the film room these two weeks, and it showed. They kept me clean, kept Ben clean."
Roethlisberger struck a similar chord, calling Bell "awesome" but adding, "He's only as good as the boys in front of him. They did a great job opening up holes."
The most inspiring instance came with no time left in the first half.
Roethlisberger couldn't connect on three passes following first-and-goal at the Cleveland 3 but, because the Browns drew flags on the latter two, they were allowed to take a bonus snap after each because the half can't end on a defensive penalty. Todd Haley had called for yet another throw, but Roethlisberger, flexing yet again the broad latitude he enjoys in their relationship, hurried to the sideline to plea for a change.
"I told Coach Haley that we need to run this," Roethlisberger recalled, "because the boys up front want to run and pound it in."
The final pound paid off:
https://vimeo.com/192365946
This wasn't a mirage, and this wasn't about the Browns, although the running certainly will be more uphill than downhill against others.
EIGHT SACKS!
Um, no.
The only way a defensive front drags through nine games with only 13 sacks, then whips up eight -- eight! -- on the week that its premier performer, Cam Heyward, goes down for the season .. that happens against the Browns and only the Browns.
Sure, it was fun to see Stephon Tuitt, who's been somewhat unlucky with sacks this season, get rewarded with 2 1/2. He's earned it overall, and he bashed more than his share of heads on this day. He struggled when Heyward was out with another injury earlier this season, so this represented real progress.
It also was fun to hear Tuitt and others talk about doing this for Heyward:
https://vimeo.com/192372492
True to that, the defensive captain was keeping a live tally on Twitter:
7 sacks and counting! Keep doing it boys
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) November 20, 2016
“It is tough. It is tough," Jackson said. "I think we all know what we are doing and what we signed up for. It is football and you are going to get some of those hits. It is part of it. We will move forward.”
The same was true on the flip side of the card. The Steelers' offensive linemen weren't just sealing blocks. They were dishing out pancakes.
"Physical football," Ramon Foster said with no elaboration beyond a grin. And none was needed. On one running play in the second half, he drove Danny Shelton, the Browns' nose tackle, so far backward that the block was recorded in Akron.
"Yeah, yeah," Maurkice Pouncey chimed from the next stall. "We're going to have to watch that film all week now."
The Steelers won't manhandle many opponents. We've seen that this year, beginning with the Philadelphia bullying in Week 3.
But seeing them assert themselves against anyone, even the Browns, can't be a negative.
BLEEDING IN THE RED ZONE
The Steelers' many methodical marches up and down the field resulted in one offensive touchdown, and that's nowhere near good enough, Cleveland or not.
Roethlisberger didn't seem crazy about my question on this subject, replying, "We're one of the best in the league in the red zone. We just didn't get it done today. Give the Browns credit for that."
No thanks. He's undeniably right to counter about the Steelers being largely good in the red zone. Those were four very real touchdowns against the Cowboys the previous week and, above all, their 68 percent success rate ranks fourth in the NFL.
At the same time, those were also four very real missed two-point tries in that Dallas game, and those were three very real scoring outputs of 15, 16 and 15 points in the previous games against the Dolphins, Patriots and Ravens. So the concept that the Steelers' arrow has pointed downward in this regard also is very real, especially when weighing that, against the Browns, they usually didn't come close to scoring but for Bell's touchdown.
"We've got to do better down there," Bell said. "We have work to do."
Exactly. I've got more doubts than ever about the defense with Heyward gone, but it's hardly nuts to think that this offense, featuring three of the league's greatest weapons, can compensate with another touchdown here or there.
Partial mirage on this one. More like an oasis that kept getting yanked away.
OUR MAN ARTIE
Artie Burns isn't the Steelers' best player and, as a rookie, he's far from their most seasoned. But he might already be poised to make the biggest difference.
It's almost hard to fathom what a ballhawking corner looks like in black and gold, at least since Rod Woodson. Others have been plenty capable at covering, and a whole bunch have been superstars at the mundane art of tackling the catch. But the truly special talents at the position are the ones with the sixth sense to be where the pass is thrown and to take it the other way.
Again, Burns isn't there. But he did come up with his second interception of the season -- accounting for the secondary's entire production, by the way -- and he nearly had another but for a case of frozen fingers. The pick stunted the Browns' opening drive:
"The kid's doing some good things," bookend corner Ross Cockrell offered.
The coach is noticing, too. And not just in words but in deeds, as Burns has moved in a month from being groomed to becoming an every-snap mainstay.
“He’s a guy that’s continually on the rise," Tomlin said. "He’s a young guy and he’s playing a lot for us. He’s growing every week, and it’s much needed. I’m glad he’s providing some splash for us. Splash that he showed us in draft preparation by being a ball guy. That’s important.”
Imagine that. A "ball guy" in the Steelers' secondary. Actual hope at corner.
This is what'll be needed in greater quantities and in greater quality down this stretch.
Meaning hope.
The Steelers are 5-5. It isn't where they wanted to be. It isn't where anyone expected them to be. And in losing Heyward, they've found their first vacancy that legitimately can't be filled. The skepticism about where this season's headed, the one that's been growing for a while and took firm root last week, remains there in almost every way.
But the primary goal of any season, certainly from the chronological viewpoint, is making the playoffs. This team has a clear-cut path for that, and it's to win the AFC North. Which it should do, Cam or no Cam.
Look and listen to the relentlessly energetic Shazier, and feel that for yourself:
Did you know the Steelers are tied for first place?
And after the Colts, they've got the Giants and Bills, then chances to put down the divisional rival Bengals and Ravens.
Oh, and the Browns. They also play the Browns again.
MORE STEELERS
Kaboly: About Dawg-gone time
Dopirak: No Cam? Time for sack party
Dopirak: No. 92 'teary-eyed' after record
Morning Java: Yeah, but it's Cleveland
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