EYES ON THE PRIZE
NFL Rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool had four receptions and a rushing touchdown on Sunday as his Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 5-0 on the season
What Mike Tomlin was trying to say a few days ago when he made a mess of an old adage is that the Pittsburgh Steelers thoroughly enjoy and are quite accustomed to the pressure of a divisional battle, especially when first place is on the line.
They pounded home that point with a loud follow-up statement on Sunday.
Led by their formidable defence, the running of
James Connor and yet another standout performance by Canadian rookie
Chase Claypool, the Steelers hammered the Cleveland Browns 38-7 to claim sole possession of top spot in the hotly contested AFC North.
The win gave Pittsburgh its second 5-0 start in history and first since 1978, while also cooling down the Browns (4-2), who were riding a four-game winning streak. The Baltimore Ravens (5-1) squeaked by the Philadelphia Eagles (who, get this, are second in the NFL East with a 1-4-1 record) by a 30-28 score to settle into second place.
As of dinner time Sunday, the Steelers and the Rams were the only teams in the league not to have surrendered triple-digit `Points Against', and the Rams were likely to slip over the 100-mark in a meeting a few hours later with the 49ers.
On the lone sour note for the Steelers was the loss of linebacker Devin Bush to what ESPN's Adam Schefter was told is a ACL tear that requires season-ending surgery. Bush is a good one, the play-caller on defence. Before the injury he had been on the field for every defensive snap of the season. The Steelers will miss him, but mostly because his replacement, Robert Spillane, had played just one defensive snap before this season.
Speaking of pain, Browns QB Baker Mayfield entered the game with bruised ribs and exited in the third quarter, pulled for Case Keenum, after being sacked four times and intercepted twice, one a pick-six.
“That was varsity ball,” Tomlin said about his team's dominant display. “They stepped up and stepped up big all across the board.”
While Connor carried the ball 20 times for 101 yards and a score, Ben Roethlisberger didn't have to do much. He completed just 14-of-22 passes for only 162 yards and a touchdown.
He did, however, continue building on his chemistry with Claypool, the 22-year old from Abbotsford, B.C. who last week set a franchise record for freshmen by scoring four TDs against the Eagles.
Versus the Browns, he pulled in all four of his targets for a team high 74 yards, and also scored on a three-yard run in the third quarter.
His longest reception, a 36-yarder down the right sidelines, set up a touchdown plunge by Connor.
The 11th receiver selected in what has to be one of the strongest classes ever at the position when he was taken 49th overall eight months ago, Claypool is just the fifth NFLer in the last 50 years to score six touchdowns in his first five games.
The elite group he joins consists of Willie Gault (1983 Bears, finished with eight), Randy Moss (1998 Vikings, finished with 17), Martavis Bryant (2014 Steelers, finished with eight) and Calvin Ridley (2018 Falcons, finished with 10).
Meanwhile, the Browns are now 1-20 at Heinz Field since returning to the league 21 years ago. Their last victory there was in 2003.
“Dang I was still wearing diapers,” Claypool Tweeted to that fact on social media. Yes, the Steelers home is the stove in the kitchen that is the best division in football. And the Browns can't yet stand the heat.
FLAT PATS
Used to be if Bill Belichick had 13 days to prepare for a game the opponent had very little chance. Of course, it also used to be Belichick's quarterback was Tom Brady. Playing for the first time since a 16-point loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 10, the Patriots fell 18-12 to the Broncos at Gillette Stadium. The result left both teams 2-3, marking the first time New England has been under .500 five games into a season for the first time since 2002. “We need more time together, we need to practise together,” said a grumpy Belichick, whose team has had its routine disrupted by COVID-19. “We all need to do more, practise more. We need to get our execution levels up a lot higher.” The Patriots also need more from their quarterback, and Cam Newton knows it. He ran for 76 yards and scored a touchdown, but he completed 17-of-25 for only 157 yards. He also tossed two interceptions. “Obviously every knows what the situation was and it is what it is,” Newton said, refusing to blame his stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list, from which he returned Thursday. “I have to be better and I will be better.”
BREAKING THE HUDDLE
The Bears finally scored their first points in a third quarter this season and they proved to be the difference in a 23-16 victory over the Panthers that, coupled with Green Bay's loss, put Chicago (5-1) alone atop the NFC North … The Falcons made a winner of interim head coach Raheem Morris with a 40-23 pounding of the Vikings, who at 1-5 are off to their worst start since 2013. Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins threw three first half interceptions, bringing his total in six games to 10. “The reality is if the pace I'm on … if that were to continue, I won't finish the season,” said Cousins.
DOWN AND OUT
Derrick Henry, the NFL's 2019 rushing leader, had his biggest day of the season when he carried 22 times for 212 yards in the Titans 42-36 overtime victory over the Texans. A large chunk of that was came in a 94-yard TD run that, according to ProFootball.com, made him the fifth player in history with multiple runs of 90 or more yards. “We all witnessed somebody taking a game over,” said Titans coach Mike Vrabel.
“He put us on his back and carried us.” … In the Dolphins 24-0 blowout of the Jets, highly-touted first round pick Tua Tagovailoa
took the first snaps of his career. He completed both passes he threw, a twoyarder and a seven-yarder, after Ryan Fitzpatrick had toss three touchdown passes and a couple of interceptions … Chiefs will pay Le'Veon Bell $690,000 in salary and up to $1 million in incentives and playing time, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
Had a team traded for him, they would have had to pay him $6 mill for the rest of the season