Jan 1, 2017 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – In the grand scheme of things, Sunday’s game between the Steelers and Browns was meaningless.

In terms of professional pride, it meant much more.

The scoreboard was not turned off, there were 55,000 fans in the seats, and the game was broadcast on television with many more fans watching.

Even though they had several star players, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell, receiver Antonio Brown and center Maurkice Pouncey as healthy scratches for this game, the Steelers weren’t ready to hand a division rival such as the Browns a free win.

Playing without those stars evened the playing field, but the guys who were out there treated this game as business as usual.

Don’t tell Steelers receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey this game, won by the Steelers, 27-24 in overtime, didn’t matter.

All you needed to see was Heyward-Bey running about 80 yards at full speed to turn a Cleveland interception of Landry Jones into a touchback that gave the Steelers the ball back at their own 20. That’s how much this game mattered to him.

“We threw the pick and I understood that if they scored that touchdown, they’re going to go up 21-7 and we can’t have that,” said Heyward-Bey. “I just looked at the pylon and ran as fast as I could and made a play.”

The veteran receiver, who is now relegated mostly to special teams despite once being the 7th-overall pick in the draft by the Oakland Raiders, is now on his third NFL team.

He was active in a game for the first time in more than a month last week against the Ravens after suffering a severe foot sprain on Nov. 6 at Baltimore.

Yet there he was, running all the way from the opposite sideline to punch the ball loose as Cleveland cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun stretched it out for the end zone, reminiscent of the way Antonio Brown stretched out the ball to beat the Baltimore Ravens a week ago.

“(I was) going for the tackle, but defenders never hold the ball well or that often. So when I got there, I just threw a little punch at it,” Heyward-Bey said.

Quarterback Landry Jones, who had thrown the interception, was there to fall on it in the end zone.

Ten plays and 80 yards later, the Steelers scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by DeAngelo Williams to tie the game at 14-14.

Later, it was Heyward-Bey, who has been questioned throughout his career because of dropped passes, going up over Boddy-Calhoun for a 46-yard catch that set up a touchdown to put the Steelers ahead, 21-14.

“My teammates needed me,” Heyward-Bey said. “I like to step up when my teammates need me and take advantage of the opportunity.”

Don’t tell the defense that it didn’t matter, either.

Playing with a makeshift defense line because of injuries and without linebacker James Harrison, who was held out to assure he also wasn’t injured, the Steelers didn’t play a great defensive game.

They allowed Cleveland to rush for 231 yards and throw for another 206. But they also forced four fumbles, recovering three, and intercepted a pass.

None of those fumbles was more important than late in the fourth quarter, when the Browns had the ball in a tie game at the Pittsburgh 5.

Isaiah Crowell, who burned the Steelers for 152 yards on 19 carries, took a handoff and crashed into the line of scrimmage with 1:04 remaining in the game.

He was met by a host of Steelers, including linebacker Jarvis Jones, who had been inactive last week against Baltimore and was playing only because Harrison was sitting out. Jones jarred the ball free and safety Mike Mitchell recovered it.

The defense rose up in overtime, forcing the Browns to kick a field goal, despite having first-and-goal from the 2, giving Pittsburgh’s offense an opportunity to win the game with a touchdown.

“I don’t want to lose anything, I don’t even know or care, but if we’re keeping score, I want to win,” said Mitchell. “I feel like that’s the attitude of our team. We follow (head coach Mike Tomlin) with that. I think a lot of guys are like that by nature, but it helps when your coach is like that. If they’re rolling the ball out there, we’re trying to win it.”

Professional pride is a motivating factor. And in this case, the Steelers wanted to prove they could win without their stars.

That was all the meaning they needed in this game.

Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.