The final game of the 2016 regular season for the Pittsburgh Steelers pitted the Black and Gold against the recently winless Cleveland Browns. The Steelers won a squeaker 27-24 when back up QB Landry Jones tossed a touchdown pass to 3rd string wide out Cobi Hamilton.
The first post-Christmas gifts that the Pittsburgh second stringers should be passing out are to the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers gifted the Browns with their first and only regular season win by the score of 20-17, via a missed field goal attempt by Chargers placekicker Josh Lambo on Christmas Eve 2016 at Cleveland. That solitary win put a little less pressure on the Browns to; “win one for the Gipper.” One would have erroneously surmised that with the Browns residing at the bottom of the NFL barrel, they would have stopped flailing their arms around, quieted down and waited to glean the residue of ineptitude and instability that losers in the National Football League get to enjoy.
If the Browns were coming into Pittsburgh 0-15, you can rest assured that Head Coach Hue Jackson and his staff would have been digging into archived footage and defensive concepts of the late great Paul Brown as well as paying homage as they embarked on a pilgrimage to the NFL legends gravesite to be spiritually motivated by the history of his greatness.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, enter Pittsburgh Steelers 2nd string QB Landry Jones, who by most accounts may be slightly deficient and inexperienced as a backup NFL signal caller. As most of you already know, after the Steelers clinched the AFC North crown, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin made the prudent and correct decision to give a little “woodburn” the “rump roasts” of the big five, starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown, running LeVeon Bell, linebacker James Harrison and center Maurkice Pouncey as well as limiting the appearances of a few others on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
The first half of the game looked as though the Steelers offense, specifically QB Landry Jones had changed training camp from July to January and camp had been moved from Latrobe to Heinz Field. Now one would’ve thought just the opposite because Jones would be working with the majority of 2nd and 3rd stringers that he would typically be working and running with on the scout team and would at least have developed limited chemistry with.
Now it should be understood that practice can never be adequately simulated as game experience, but at the end of the first half, Jones had only attempted 13 passes with 7 completions for a paltry 62 yards with the longest completion being 14 yards. When Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown exit the tunnel before the game even begins, you can pencil in a 20 yard completion. However, it was good to see many of Pittsburgh’s 2nd stringers compete and win a game considering the number of the Browns 1st stringers who were competing not just for credibility but for their very jobs. With the slew of skilled player injuries happening in the NFL in the past month or so. One thing must be made very clear to alternate players earning a paycheck. If they don’t successfully perform when they become the next man up, the may very well be the next man gone.
Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412.583.6741. Follow him on Twitter@ultrascribe
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