The most humbling night of their distinguished careers ended as it began with Ben Roethlisberger and longtime teammate Maurkice Pouncey sharing in misery’s spotlight.
The 38-year-old quarterback and 31-year-old center sat on the bench long after the Steelers' stunning 48-37 loss to the Browns went final at Heinz Field. Photographers kneeled at a respectful distance snapping pictures of them following their first-round playoff ouster. A television network technician suspended a boom mic over their heads.
Teammates approached like mourners. James Conner, Vance McDonald, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds. All of them extending hands and sympathetic words. JuJu Smith-Schuster gave his quarterback a hug before running off the field and into free agency.
While Pouncey has another season remaining on his contract, there’s a chance the relentless pounding he’s absorbed in recent years will steer him toward retirement. It’s what made this potential last quarterback-center exchange on the bench so poignant.
“I love that guy,” Roethlisberger said. “He is one of the best competitors and teammates I’ve ever had. It’s been so much fun to share a football field with him. I hate that it ended the way it did.”
The future of many key players in this organization is uncertain following a shocking loss to an opponent they have dominated in this stadium for nearly two decades.
A night that started with Pouncey snapping the ball over the head of Roethlisberger on the first play of scrimmage for a Cleveland touchdown, concluded with some Browns players running from the field mockingly shouting, “Same old Browns.”
The Steelers turned the ball over five times, including four Roethlisberger interceptions, in losing to the Browns in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2003. They had beaten the Browns 17 straight times at Heinz Field.
Cleveland advances to the second round to face the defending champion Chiefs on Sunday. The Steelers head into a long offseason filled with lots of pending free agents and precious little salary cap space.
Given how the club has sputtered down the stretch the past three years, ample changes could be coming.
“I don't know. It's totally possible that I could be gone next year,” said Cam Heyward, who signed a contract extension last offseason. “I don't know what to expect. We are in uncharted territory to say the least, and changes have to be made. That's part of the game. We all have to deal with this.”
Roethisberger didn’t give a definitive answer on whether he will return next year — “this loss is fresh, it's just sitting on our hearts and our minds right now" — but he’s expected to be back for an 18th season.
The future Hall of Famer has endured some difficult endings to campaigns, but almost nothing to rival this one. The Steelers opened the year 11-0 only to lose five of their last six games.
“We didn't do enough," said Mike Tomlin, whose club lost its third consecutive playoff game. “We didn't position them in enough good circumstances. We didn't make enough plays, particularly in the critical moments. We were a group that died on the vine."
Roethlisberger’s struggles played a significant role in the flameout, especially Sunday night. He threw three interceptions on the Steelers’ first six possessions as the hosts fell behind 28-0 after one quarter.
It marked the first time in his career the Steelers had three first-quarter giveaways. That such generosity occurred against Cleveland only added to the surreal nature of the evening.
These were the Browns, an opponent Roethlisberger virtually has walked on a leash since entering the league in 2004. He had been 24-2-1 them prior to Sunday night.
“I need to apologize to (the fans) for tonight, the rest of my teammates, for the way I played,” he said. “Very disappointing. I hate it for our fans. I hate it for my teammates."
Roethlisberger finished 47 of 68 for 501 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. His number of completions set an NFL postseason record and the yards passing are second only to Tom Brady's 505 yards against the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
But the totals were misleading and inflated given how the Steelers had to throw on nearly every down to get back in the contest. And no stat on his bottom line was more glaring than the four interceptions -- his most since tossing five versus the Jaguars on Oct. 8, 2017.
Asked after the game whether he thought Roethlisberger could still play at a high level, Tomlin was curt in his answer: “I do.”
It wasn’t just the quarterback who had a rough night. The Browns rolled up 390 yards and scored a killer touchdown late in the second quarter to make it 35-7 after the Steelers finally tallied with a 1-yard Conner run.
A defense that has a regular-season sack streak of 73 games failed to ground Baker Mayfield once. The big first-half lead allowed the Browns to keep their quarterback — sacked a combined 13 times in his last three games against the Steelers — out of harm’s way and obvious passing situations.
The Browns also didn’t commit a turnover.
“We didn't stop the run early,” Heyward said. “We didn't execute. And then the quick passing really got the best of us and yards after catch. Our tackling was poor. And we didn't (hold them to) field goals.”
Mayfield was an efficient 21 of 34 for 263 yards with three touchdowns and a 115.2 passer rating. Nick Chubb rushed for 76 yards on 18 carries, caught four passes for 69 yards and produced a back-breaking 40-yard TD reception early in the fourth quarter. The touchdown came after the Steelers, who had found their offensive rhythm in the third quarter, elected to punt trailing by 12 points on a fourth-and-1 from their own 46.
The decision was second-guessed in some circles the moment punter Jordan Berry trotted on the field. The criticism grew louder after the Browns went 80 yards in six plays to make it 42-23.
"We had some stops, wanted to pin them down, maybe provide the short field for our offense," Tomlin said. "We had maybe two or three consecutive stops. I just wanted to keep the momentum going in terms of field positioning. But we weren't good enough in terms of doing that."
A week after reaching the postseason for the first time since 2002, the Browns won their first playoff game since 1994. Their first road postseason game since 1969.
“We believe in the people in this room no matter what is going on,” Mayfield said. “We knew that everybody was counting us out. We knew what mentality we were going to have, and it's just to cut it loose . . . because no one believed in us besides us.”
Cleveland had been dealing with serious COVID-19 issues for several weeks and arrived in town without its head coach Kevin Stefanski and several key players, including cornerback Denzel Ward and Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio. The Browns couldn’t even practice until Friday because their facility had been closed due to the virus.
To help minimize the spread, the Browns’ assistant coaches did not fly with the team, but came over separately. Ailing right tackle Jack Conklin drove himself to the game.
The Browns were a mess — right up to the game’s first snap.
Thanks largely to the Steelers’ giveaways, the Browns became the first postseason team since the 1969 Raiders to score 28 first-quarter points, according to ESPN research. Put another way: the 28 points were as many as they were able to muster in their last 13 first quarters in Pittsburgh.
Cleveland players said they used Smith-Schuster’s “the Browns is the Browns” remark earlier this week as extra incentive. Mayfield uploaded a Browns hype video on Sunday to his Instagram account entitled “Browns is the Browns."
"Any talk like that is going to be disrespectful to anybody on any team," Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said. "We definitely did not appreciate it. I think we made that known tonight with our performance. We just have to carry on with this momentum we have getting this big win in their house. I think we have what it takes to keep it going."
Smith-Schuster, who appeared near tears after hugging Roethlisberger after the game, said he didn’t regret his remarks.
“They came out and they played a hell of a game,” he said. "You know, there's been games where we feel we lose them, and today wasn't our night, and hopefully the same Browns will show up next week . . . and go out and do the same thing they did tonight and have a hell of a game.”
The Steelers won’t have such a luxury. Their season is over. Now the question is who comes back for next year.
Those discussions likely began immediately -- and maybe on the bench where Roethlisberger and Pouncey sat as teammates perhaps for the last time.