Dominating from the moment they took the field, the Steelers overwhelmed
the Cleveland Browns 41-0, improving their AFC
playoff chances while embarrassing a team that is a rival in name only.
Ben Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass, Willie Parker had an 80-yard TD run and the Steelers (10-5) thrashed
rookie quarterback Charlie Frye -- and a
foolish Cleveland fan -- in their lopsided win.
"We made a statement," said linebacker James Harrison, who blocked a punt and body slammed a Browns
fan who ventured on to the field. "We won, that was the statement we
wanted. Margin of victory, stuff like that, is nice. But winning and
going to the playoffs is our goal. That's what we want."
And that's what they'll get if the Steelers play like they did for 60
minutes.
With thousands of their fans waving "Terrible Towels" from every corner
of Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Steelers dominated the Browns as
thoroughly as in almost any meeting in the rivalry's 55-year history.
Pittsburgh outgained Cleveland 457-178 and sacked Frye eight times. The
Steelers handed the Browns (5-10) a loss every bit as demoralizing as
their 43-0 shutout in the 1999 season opener when Cleveland made its
return to the NFL as an expansion team.
"It's definitely the most embarrassing loss of my career," Browns
cornerback Daylon McCutcheon said. "This
is way worse than '99. In '99, we didn't have a good team, now we got
talent. But from the opening kickoff, we played bad football. Today we
stunk."
Then there was the fan who jumped the railing and sprinted onto the
field in the fourth quarter. He made a move toward Pittsburgh's bench
before he was picked up and pancaked by Harrison before police took him
away.
"I didn't know what he was going to do," Harrison said. "So I waited
until he turned his back to me. Then I thought I could safely take him
down and hold him until the authorities got there."
Frye was treated even worse by the Steelers, who had him running for his
safety on nearly every snap.
The Steelers game plan was to make Frye uncomfortable, and they did much
more than that, confusing him with a variety of coverages and blitz
packages.
"We wanted to rattle him," linebacker James Farrior said. "He's looked good, but he's a rookie. So we
threw a lot of different looks at him and brought a lot of pressure."
|
|
Hines Ward went over 100 yards for the fourth time this season and scored his 11th TD.
|
|
Pittsburgh, which can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Detroit at
home next week, seems to have fully recovered from a three-game losing
streak that seriously jeopardized the Steelers' postseason hopes.
Roethlisberger, now 21-3 as a starter, picked the Browns defense apart,
going 13 of 20 for 226 yards in three quarters. Hines Ward caught a 7-yard TD pass in the first quarter and had
seven receptions for 105 yards.
"Everything clicked real good for us on offense," Roethlisberger said,
"and our defense was flying around. They're fun to watch when they're
playing like that. We went out there and did what we wanted to do."
Parker finished with 17 carries for 130 yards, giving him 1,067 this
season and making him the first Steelers back other than Jerome Bettis to go over 1,000 yards since 1992. Bettis scored
Pittsburgh's first TD in the first.
The Steelers were already ahead 20-0 when Parker broke through a huge
hole in the line and easily outran Cleveland's defensive backs for
Pittsburgh's longest rushing play since Kordell Stewart went 80 for a TD
in 1996.
"That play was supposed to go left, but the hole was so big to the right
that I took it," Parker said. "I never thought I would lead the Steelers
in rushing or get 1,000 yards. It's an emotional moment for me."
Pittsburgh's dominance in the first quarter was so complete that it
produced some almost unbelievable stats. In the opening period, the
Steelers outgained the Browns 196-1; had 162 passing yards to minus-2
for Cleveland; and led in first downs 9-0.
"We didn't do anything good or right," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said.
"I'm embarrassed getting beat like that."
Notes: The Steelers have beaten Cleveland five straight times and
won 11 of the past 12 meetings. Since 1994, Pittsburgh is 18-3 vs.
Cleveland. ... Jeff Reed kicked two field goals for Pittsburgh. ... The
Browns are 0-5 in the AFC North. ... The Steelers have outscored their
opponents 80-12 during their three-game winning streak.