Steelers beat Browns, slide into playoffs

CLEVELAND – Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin might not have called his counterpart in Buffalo, Rex Ryan, last week to ask him for help by beating the New York Jets Sunday.
But he might want to buy Ryan a drink the next time the two get together at an NFL function.
He might even want to make it two.
The Steelers got four second-half takeaways against Cleveland to blow open a tight game and beat the Browns, 28-12. At the same time, on the eastern shore of Lake Erie, Ryan and the Bills were busy beating the Jets, 22-17, putting the Steelers into the postseason for a second consecutive season.
“We have an excited locker room and rightfully so,” Tomlin said. “It’s been a tough, 16-week fight for us, but we’re where we want to be. We’re where we need to be. We have an opportunity, like the others in the field, and for that, we’re grateful.”
The Steelers (10-6) will travel to Cincinnati (12-4) in the opening round of the playoffs next weekend. The teams split two meetings this season, with the Bengals winning in Pittsburgh, 16-10, Nov. 1, and the Steelers winning at Cincinnati, 33-20, Dec. 13.
The game will be played at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
“We’ll have some familiarity,” said Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward. “We know what they want to do. But they’re a good team. They have a good defense and a good offense. We just have to be ready to go there and have a good game.”
It wasn’t all good news for the Steelers against the Browns.
Running back DeAngelo Williams suffered a sprained right ankle in the second quarter. He was taken to the locker room and later returned to the sideline. He was declared out of the game at halftime and was in a walking boot following the game. Fitzgerald Toussaint, who began the season on the practice squad, replaced Williams.
“We don’t know the extent of that,” Tomlin said about Williams’ injury. “We’ll evaluate him. We’ll put the best group that we can out there.”
Without Williams, who had been subbing for injured Pro Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers rushed for only 30 yards on 19 carries, putting more pressure on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the passing game.
Roethlisberger had an up-and-down game, throwing a pair of interceptions but finishing 24 of 36 for 349 yards and three touchdowns.
“We still put up points and found a way to win,” Roethlisberger said. “It wasn’t our smoothest game on offense, but we’ll take it.”
Wide receiver Antonio Brown had another strong game despite a fumble – his first of the season – on Pittsburgh’s opening possession. Brown caught 13 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. He finished the season with 136 receptions to match Atlanta’s Julio Jones for the league lead. The 136 receptions are the second-most in league history.
“We’ve got to be a lot better,” said Brown of the offense. “We’ve got to protect the ball. We can’t turn it over.”
Fortunately for the Steelers, the Browns turned it over more. The Steelers had the game’s first three turnovers but Cleveland had the final four, including three in the fourth quarter when Pittsburgh turned a 17-12 game into a 28-12 rout.
It was the final straw for Cleveland owner Jim Haslam, who fired both general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine following the game.
The Steelers kept the Browns out of the end zone on five trips inside the red zone, sacking quarterback Austin Davis – starting in place of injured Johnny Manziel – seven times and intercepting him twice.
All three of the Steelers’ turnovers came in their own territory, yet Cleveland scored just three points off the miscues.
“That’s what we need as a defense,” said Heyward. “It’s not always going to be perfect. It’s not always going to be the sacks and easy plays. We just kept battling. Nobody was ever shaken when we were on a short field.”
The Steelers will need defensive efforts such as that in the postseason as they try to win a playoff game for the first time in five seasons.
“We understand that we have to win,” said linebacker Arthur Moats. “We slipped up last week (in Baltimore) but we were able to bounce back this week and get some help from Buffalo. We were in position last year, made the playoffs and lost in the first round. We don’t want that to happen again. We are focused on going to work now.”
Lawrence Timmons had 10 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks for the Steelers. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt had a pair of sacks. … Linebacker Jarvis Jones and Martavis Bryant each left the game with minor injuries in the first half but the team did not disclose what happened to either player. … William Gay and James Harrison had interceptions for the Steelers. … Markus Wheaton and Heath Miller caught the other two touchdown passes from Roethlisberger. … Pettine’s firing marked the fifth consecutive time the Browns have fired their head coach after playing the Steelers in a regular-season finale.