00:00But all Pittsburgh had to do was beat the lowly Cleveland Browns.
00:04And they held the Browns to 13.
00:07Not good enough.
00:08They lose 13-6.
00:10And now Week 18, win and in, lose and out.
00:17Baltimore in Pittsburgh.
00:20What is your biggest takeaway from those two games right now?
00:25Baltimore giving themselves life and then Pittsburgh letting that door come all the way open.
00:30Yeah, I think if you're asking the NFL, this is what they wanted, right, for an NFL Week number 18.
00:35But, you know, you talk about it, and you and I had broken it down last week where that win in Detroit was really eye-opening, right?
00:44We said that road win really solidified potentially the Pittsburgh Steelers as a contender to maybe make a run for a playoff and an AFC championship.
00:54If they can continue that type of momentum, that they look like a team that maybe at the price was worth betting on.
01:01But then you take the performance in Cleveland, and you see where they account for only 291 total yards.
01:09Yeah, their defense held an inept Cleveland offense with a rookie quarterback to 13 points.
01:14But when your offense could only put up six and get shut out in the second half scoreless, that was a pathetic effort.
01:21That was the old Mike Tomlin offense and Arthur Smith that you were concerned about, and that peaked it said last year in the playoff loss with Russell Wilson.
01:31It was the same type of, I want to say, conservative type of attack.
01:36Let's play not to lose.
01:38And that's what they did.
01:39They lost it.
01:40And it sets up a battle with an emerging Baltimore Ravens team that John Harbaugh learned from his mistake in the home loss to New England.
01:49128 yards for Derrick Henry with about 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
01:54He doesn't touch the football for the rest of the game.
01:56They lose it.
01:58And now they get a dominant road win.
02:00We'll see how they play next week.
02:02But right now, Baltimore has the momentum, and Pittsburgh is searching for answers.
02:07I think for me, Joe, we're going to, you know, focus on what Baltimore did Saturday.
02:13But it wouldn't have mattered if Pittsburgh handled their business.
02:17And it is funny because, and listen, you just have to own these things.
02:23But there was a couple times in a row I felt like I knew this Pittsburgh team like the back of my hand.
02:29Tomlin Spots and Tomlin Knots.
02:31And the win in Detroit was so surprising, they started to rope me in.
02:38And instead, it's just the same thing that they do every year.
02:42Get a big win.
02:44That tricks some.
02:45This time me.
02:46And then they lose a game like this that they lost here to the Cleveland Browns.
02:50And that tells me this is the same Steelers that they've been for a half decade.
02:57And it means they're not to be taken serious.
02:58And it means that they are very likely going to lose to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18.
03:03That series, that rivalry is almost always a split anyway.
03:06I could care less, and the books as well, that that game is in Pittsburgh.
03:10You can just, you can tell that they're not shading it that way.
03:14And again, I really believe for me, Joe, that even if they do beat Baltimore,
03:19because there's questions around Baltimore.
03:21You know this.
03:22And again, I can't be ashamed of it.
03:23It is what it is.
03:24I found myself wondering, am I going to bet Steelers futures?
03:27Am I going to place bets on this team to win this conference?
03:30I can't do that anymore.
03:31Not with what they put on display.
03:34And a lot of talk will be, well, they didn't have DK Metcalf.
03:37Look, guys, DK Metcalf is a good wide receiver.
03:40He has dropped a level.
03:41He's no longer one of these top 15 or so guys in football.
03:44And he's not had the caliber of season where you could excuse Pittsburgh looking like this.
03:48The Browns defense is not good.
03:51They just have Myles Garrett.
03:52And he's obviously had a phenomenal season.
03:55But that's not a good defense.
03:57Teams score on Cleveland.
03:59We have seen that throughout this season.
04:01And I just, again, some of it is I can't believe myself, but I still cannot believe that these Steelers are the same team again.
04:14Yeah.
04:14That whether it's Rodgers or Rudolph or Roethlisberger or you name it, it's all the same here in Pittsburgh.
04:23The offense will let you down.
04:25Maybe the defense will make a play.
04:27You can move right past them.
04:29And that's where Pittsburgh is.
04:31And that's where Pittsburgh is.
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