Pittsburgh Steelers: The Good, the Bad, and The Browns

Not bad, not bad at all. There were many reasons to be happy with the Steelers 27 to 14 win over Cleveland. Sadly there were some ugly moments. And not just by the Browns.

Here's the deal. Let's start with the good things:

• The Steelers put up 543 offensive yards. Yes the Browns stink, so you and I would be upset with anything under 450 yards

• My wish for offensive balance finally came to fruition. 35 Passes/36 Rushes

• Reiterating that Cleveland stinks, I expected the Steelers to control the clock. They did

• Ben Roethlisberger was monster today. 23 for 35 and 417 yards, 2 TD's. Outstanding 11.9 yards per attempt. It was his 3 rd 300+ yard passing game this year. Steelers are actually 3 and 0 in those games. (See opponents before you get too excited)

• Ben tossed the rock to 6 different set of hands. Mike Wallace is becoming a big chunk yardage receiver. One big 29 yard reception. It seems every game he has 1 reception for 20+.

• Steelers D held Cleveland to 197 yards of total offense. Derek Anderson was only 9 for 24. A pathetic 5.1 yard per attempt. (That was a Hall of Fame day compared to last week in Buffalo)

• Hines Ward had 8 catches for 159 yards and 1 TD, Santonio Holmes had 5 catches for 104 yards. 2 nd time this year that both eclipsed 100 yards receiving in same game

• Troy Polamalu's return already had an effect. He had 1 INT and Ryan Clark had another INT. Steelers also got 2 fumbles

• Lawrence Timmons had 2 sacks

• Steelers ran 74 plays and only punted 2 times (Sepulvada had a decent day punting)

• Not a bad day with penalties. 4 for 30 yards. The Browns did not get any first downs off a Steelers penalty.

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And then there were the not so good things:

• Honestly the 140 yards rushing against a team that allows 170 yard per game is not good. That concerns me and it should concern you. Worse yet 21 of their rushing yards came from a tricky play that featured a Mike Wallace run.

• Ben had another pick. 2 TD's 1 pick for the day is not horrible but he has a streak now of picks going.

• The Browns Josh Cribbs busted a 98 yard kick return for a TD with the Steelers up 14 to 0

• Mendenhall, Parker, and Moore had an average day combining for 108 yards on 29 carries. That is an unimpressive 3.7 yards per carry. Especially because it was against a poor rushing defense

• The Steelers had 3 fumbles on top of the INT. That's 4 turnovers against a lousy team. The Steelers actually did more damage to themselves than the Browns D did. Ben had one of those fumbles. Willie Parker dropped one and so did Mendenhall. Not good

• Only 2 sacks against a team that sucks? Anderson was only 9 for 24.

• 2 for 4 in Red Zone? Normally 50% is not bad, but again, who were we playing?

It was nice to see that the Ravens dropped their 3 rd loss. So that leaves the Steelers tied for first in the AFC North with the mighty Bengals.

The real schedule begins next week however. The walk through cupcake park is over. The worst part is I'm not sure that the Steelers got any rhythm going as a team. Yeah there has been plenty of good stuff, but there has been plenty of breakdowns also.

Of course I don't believe they have established any continuity in the offensive line when it comes to running the football. I know people think I am a broken record but you will need to have the ability to run the football when the games really count.

The game against the Browns was a big step in the right direction. Again the point is that you just need to keep an opposing defense guessing. It doesn't mean you have to run more than throw. It doesn't mean you have to run for a zillion yards either. But your offensive line has to have a mentality and confidence that it can do whatever you ask them to do. And running is an attitude that can't be manufactured it comes from doing it enough.

Frankly, this is basically a Rookie year for Mendenhall since he was hurt early last season. He needs to big games under his belt as the post season approaches. And Willie Parker needs to learn the complimentary role in my opinion.

Next up? The undefeated Vikings! We take a look at this later this week.

By: Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Pittsburgh Steelers Correspondent