Szmyt's 56-Yard Kick Beats Pittsburgh, but Rodgers' Box Score Is the Real Story
Andre Szmyt hit a career-long 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining, and the Browns beat the Steelers 27-24 on Thursday night. The kick was set up by Deshaun Watson's third straight week of moving Cleveland into go-ahead position in the fourth quarter. Watson finished with 268 passing yards.
The more revealing document is on the other sideline.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-40 passing. He also threw two interceptions, was sacked five times for 30 lost yards, and posted a 49.0 QBR against a traditional passer rating of 83.2. That gap is the whole game. A 40-attempt night with two turnovers and five sacks is a losing profile no matter how the yardage column reads, and Pittsburgh just lived it.
The Steelers' skill players held up their end. Jaylen Warren ran 17 times for 93 yards, 5.5 per carry. DK Metcalf caught 5 of 9 targets for 115 yards. Roman Wilson turned six targets into three catches, 74 yards, a touchdown and a 49-yard long. T.J. Watt recorded a sack, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and a fumble recovery. Payton Wilson made nine tackles, seven solo.
None of it offset the two picks and the five sacks. Pittsburgh moved the ball plenty and still needed Rodgers to survive third-and-long too often, which is where the turnovers came from.
On Cleveland's side, the numbers are thinner and the result is the point. Szmyt's 56-yarder is the longest of his career, and Watson's late-drive streak is now three weeks old. That's a pattern, not a blip.
My read: Rodgers' 299 and three touchdowns will get quoted all week as evidence he played well. He didn't. A 49.0 QBR with two interceptions is the accurate description of that performance, and it's why a Steelers team that outgained its opponent through the air lost a division game at home. Cleveland's defense won't get credit for holding a 299-yard passer under 50 QBR, because almost nobody grades that way. It should. Whoever Pittsburgh plays next has the tape and a template: make Rodgers throw it 40 times and get home five times. That's a replicable game plan, and the Steelers have to prove they can beat it.
