Browns 21 - Steelers 7

Not quite 48 hours have passed since the that El Stinko of a Steelers loss to the Browns on Thursday night.  The game itself and its results have been overshadowed by they ugly scene between Myles Garrett and Mason Rudolph that you see above that took place with :08 remaining in the game.  Is there really any further need to elaborate on it and the suspensions that followed in its wake?  The entire affair was best summarized by my pal Dan who said that if the preceding Monday Night game between Seattle and San Francisco embodied all that there is to love about the NFL, the scene at the end of the game on Cleveland on Thursday embodied all that there is to dislike about the NFL.

As to the game itself, it exposed the weaknesses and difficulties facing your 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers, namely....

• Playing with a (essentially) rookie quarterback in Mason Rudolph, who definitely had his worst game as a Steeler. Do you give up on him?  Absolutely not, but becoming a star, or even a very good QB in the NFL is a process, and, except in rare instances, it doesn't happen overnight.
• No running game.  James Conner, after missing two games, reinjured his shoulder and was gone in the first quarter.  Other injuries at the position have reduced the Steelers to playing someone named Tony Brooks-James, who was out of the League three weeks ago.
• Injuries to wide receivers.  Both JuJu Smith-Shuster and Dionte Johnson left the game with concussions, and Rudolph was left having to throw to James Holton and Tevon Jones, another guy who was out of work just two weeks ago.

It was a real mess on Thursday, but are the Steelers done for the season?  Well, unless they can overcome the three bullet point listed above, I suppose so, BUT they are still 5-5 and face the Bengals and the Browns  in the next two weeks.  If they can take care of business in those games and sit at 7-5, who the hell knows where it might lead?  And by the way, I can't wait for that rematch with the Browns, who, despite wins over the Ravens and Steelers this year, are still a bad team.

However, they have to get healthy and they have to be able to run the ball, otherwise, well, you can see where this will all end up.