The Pittsburgh Steelers managed a 15-10 win against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, despite a first-half fake field goal attempt going horrifically wrong.
Not only did the attempt fail, but kicker Chris Boswell got injured in the process.
the hit on boswell on that fake field goal pic.twitter.com/40jrRVpZ6Z
— Benstonium (@Benstonium) October 31, 2021
Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE spared no criticism of that decision.
“It was about the stupidest decision you could possibly make,” Madden said in this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “You put your kicker at unnecessary risk. He was out the rest of the game. Who knows if he will be out beyond given the concussion protocol Chris Boswell is now in. I just don’t think you take that kind of risk with your kicker. Especially a kicker of that quality.”
So far in 2021, Boswell has made 11 of 12 field goals and 12 of 12 extra points.
“The Steelers should’ve taken the three points when they were available right then and there,” Madden said. “And, really, they are lucky what happened did not lead to unmitigated disaster and ultimately losing the game. It kept them from doing the right thing based on score and situation because they did not have a kicker.”
Despite that significant misstep, the Steelers still managed to scratch out a victory. And the biggest reason why is that the defense stepped up in the run game. After being sliced for 144 yards on the ground against the Seahawks before their bye weekend, the Steelers managed to hold Cleveland’s vaunted rush attack to only 96 yards.
“The defense was great,” Madden said. “(Cameron) Heyward and (T.J.) Watt are as good as there is in football at their respective positions. I thought that they contained the Cleveland run game and that Cleveland didn’t run with the commitment — let alone the quality — that it normally does.”
The uplifting outcome is in direct contrast to Pitt’s defeat Saturday at Heinz Field. The Panthers (6-2) blew whatever momentum they had coming off of their victory against Clemson last week by losing 38-34 at home to Miami (4-4).
“People want to believe that they are a good team with a couple of bad losses. I think they are a bad team with a couple of wins they shouldn’t have gotten,” Madden said.
Also in the podcast, Madden and I discuss the Penguins’ three-game losing streak, Sidney Crosby’s lackluster return, the Cincinnati Bengals’ surprising loss to the New York Jets and Penn State’s latest disappointment.
