3 Takeaways from Steelers' Week 11 Loss vs. Browns

Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns felt like another typical one for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh was outplayed in the first half, battled back in the second and tied the game midway through the fourth quarter.

The Steelers have made a habit out of winning close, ugly games with critical late plays and. However, they failed to make enough of them against the Browns, and it was Cleveland that found a spark in the final two minutes.

The Browns did virtually nothing in the second half before their final drive, but they did enough on that one to notch a go-ahead Dustin Hopkins field goal and the win.

The Steelers fell to 6-4 and suffered their first AFC North loss with the defeat. Here are our three biggest takeaways from the Steelers' Week 11 loss to the Browns.

This Defense Is Still Good Enough to Spark a Playoff Run

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Steelers edge T.J. Watt

This loss hurts, and there's no way around that. The Steelers were facing a rookie quarterback making just his second NFL start in Dorian Thompson-Robinson. In a matchup that promised to be a battle of defenses, Pittsburgh should have had the advantage.

While it was Thompson-Robinson who shined late instead of Kenny Pickett, the Steelers defense did its job, especially in the second half.

The Browns finished with 13 points and 259 yards of offense. However, 10 points and 163 yards of that came in the first half. Cleveland was just 4-of-17 on third down, had one turnover in Pittsburgh territory and had a second-quarter field-goal drive stall at the Steelers' 6-yard line.

The defense played well enough to win, and if it continues to play at such a high level, the Steelers can get into the postseason. They'll face another backup in Week 12, as Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is out for the season with a wrist injury.

Another backup, Gardner Minshew II, is on the docket for Week 15, and Pittsburgh will face the offensively inconsistent New England Patriots the week before that and a rematch with Cincinnati the week after.

Jaylen Warren Had a Day, Needs to See Bigger Ones

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Steelers RB Jaylen Warren

Offensively, it was the Jaylen Warren show on Sunday. The 25-year-old broke things open early in the second half with an explosive 74-yard touchdown run. His combination of physicality and burst was on display throughout the contest, and he nearly carried Pittsburgh to a victory.

Warren finished with 129 rushing yards and a touchdown on nine carries. He also had three catches for 16 yards.

Unfortunately, Warren was also the only consistent playmaker the Steelers had on offense against Cleveland. He was responsible for 145 scrimmage yards. Pittsburgh finished with only 249 net offensive yards.

Pickett and the passing game were woefully ineffective, and while Najee Harris had a couple of nice runs, he averaged just 2.9 yards per carry on 12 rushing attempts.

Warren needs to be a focal point of the Steelers offense moving forward, and if he doesn't start out-pacing Harris in the carries department, something is wrong. Yes, Harris was a first-round pick while Warren went undrafted, but there's no doubt about which back is the more explosive option.

The Steelers Have to Get More out of Matt Canada and Kenny Pickett

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Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada

For as bad as Thompson-Robinson looked at times—and he finished just 24-of-43 for 165 yards and an interception—Pickett was somehow worse.

Pittsburgh's second-year signal-caller finished 15-of-28 for a mere 106 yards. With sacks factored into the equation, the Steelers had just 77 net passing yards on the afternoon. When a defense plays well enough to win and you lose by three, that's simply unacceptable.

Pickett and Canada have both been under fire this season, but Mike Tomlin has kept the Steelers winning close games with smart coaching and opportunistic late plays. That trend ended Sunday, and it's time to fully accept the fact that Pittsburgh's passing game isn't enough.

Canada hasn't done a good enough job of scheming receivers open or getting the ball to his playmakers frequently enough. Pickett has struggled to throw receivers open or throw with a high level of accuracy consistently. Against the Browns, that unappealing combination cost Pittsburgh in a big way.

Thompson-Robinson came up big the final time he had the ball, going 4-of-4 for 39 yards. Pickett did not, going 0-of-3 on Pittsburgh's final full drive—they had two seconds for a desperation play following Hopkins' field goal. That was the difference in this game.