The curse on the Pittsburgh Steelers remains in place as they fell to the Cleveland Browns during Thursday Night Football at Huntington Bank Field. The Steelers came in hot, riding the high of a winning streak, while the Browns came in with nothing to lose. While this had been referred to as a “trap game” by many in the week leading up, others felt as though the situation might be Pittsburgh’s kryptonite. The Steelers have still never beaten a divisional opponent in a Thursday night game on the road and are currently 0-8 in that situation. They have also struggled against the Browns when they play in Cleveland and are now 1-5-1 since 2018 when they travel to play them. Regardless, that feels like a game they should have won.

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Steelers’ Justin Fields looks to run during a loss to the Cleveland Browns in 2024.

At least quarterback Russell Wilson thinks so as he drops to 3-1 in his career against Cleveland. Of course, this is the first time Wilson has played them as an actual rival. He helped the team battle back in the fourth quarter and regain the lead, only to lose in the waning minutes. After the game was over, Wilson spoke to the media.

“We should have won that game,” lamented Wilson. “We felt like we battled, we fought our butts off, and it was a tough environment. Obviously, we wanted to win this one, but unfortunately, we came up short.”

Like most AFC North games, it didn’t matter to the Cleveland fans that the Browns came into the game 2-8. They only saw a chance to put a ding in the Steelers’ outstanding season. The crowd was noisy from the start, and it seemed to impact Pittsburgh’s offense, as they had some costly penalties. Those penalties came as Pittsburgh once again struggled coming out of the gates.

The previous week, the Steelers also struggled in the red zone against the Baltimore Ravens. They ultimately had to rely on Chris Boswell’s leg to get them the points they needed to win. After missing an early one in this game, Boswell returned to make two kicks. This was important because Wilson wasn’t able to find the end zone until the fourth quarter.

Steelers.com

The Steelers’ offense, led by Russell Wilson, tried to hold on to a lead against the Browns in Week 12.

There is plenty of blame to go around for this loss. Head Coach Mike Tomlin made some curious game management decisions, particularly in the final two minutes of both halves. The Steelers’ defense should not have struggled as much as it did against a very battered Browns offense, but it did. However, the offense and the special teams units really set the tone for the game. It became a game of field position and one that they lost based on the shortcomings of those two units. Not only did Boswell miss a kick, but Corliss Waitman shanked a punt late in the game.

Steelers’ Offensive Woes Continue

With Wilson under center, it felt like many of the Steelers’ offensive woes were being put to rest. Of course, they never got a strong second wide receiver, but Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith appeared to spread the ball around and get players like tight end Darnell Washington more involved.

Wilson had big shoes to fill. Most fans were satisfied with the job Justin Fields did during the first six games of the season, as he took them to 4-2 initially. Then Wilson got off to a hot start, and before anyone knew it, he had gone 4-0.

However, Thursday’s game spotlighted some offensive issues this team will need to fix if they hope to finish the season strong. That includes sustaining drives. The offense not only needs to score touchdowns, but it also needs to wear down the opponent’s defense and give its own defense a chance to recover.