There’s no love lost when it comes to divisional rivalries in the National Football League, especially in the AFC North, home to some of the most storied rivalries in professional football. And Week 17 was no different during the Cleveland Browns-Pittsburgh Steelers clash.
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The Browns prevented the Steelers from securing a playoff spot and a divisional title for at least another week. Aaron Rodgers, who was seen jawing back and forth with a Cleveland defender moments after the 13-6 loss, was quick to note that “they’ve got a good defense.”
However, the veteran quarterback doesn’t believe that was the reason for the frustrating loss. “We didn’t execute very well on third downs,” Rodgers flatly said before dissecting the other shortcomings.
“I didn’t have a very good game, and we didn’t run the ball really, like we wanted to, and we were pretty bad on third down,” added Rodgers.
For the Browns, the Week 17 victory stands as a monumental feather in the cap of their rookie signal caller, Shedeur Sanders. After enduring one of the most embarrassing slides in the history of the NFL Draft and being buried at the bottom of Cleveland’s depth chart, he has now managed to find his way to the starting role. And the former Colorado Buffs star has outdueled one of the greatest quarterbacks of the modern era.
The high point notwithstanding, Sanders is choosing to focus on the task at hand. He still believes that there’s plenty to work on.
“It felt good getting the win, especially because of the team we won against. I think it’s bittersweet because I feel like, offense, we’ve gotta do our part. I got to do my part. We can’t be happy with only 10 points,” said Sanders.
It’s a humble approach for a player who has often been criticized for being eccentric. It is possibly a sign that Sanders has matured in the past several weeks.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has to worry about the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17 and what lies beyond that. Regardless of whether or not they find their first playoff win of the past decade, the Steelers will have a plethora of decisions to make this offseason.
The futures of Rodgers, Mike Tomlin, D.K. Metcalf, and several others are all up in the air following the conclusion of the campaign.
A playoff win would go a long way toward securing Tomlin’s future. But with Rodgers expected to retire, the franchise will once again find itself in need of a quarterback, a situation that typically foreshadows more losses than wins.
Of course, those are all conversations to be had later, as no one in Pittsburgh can see past the next seven days.
