When the ball deflected off T.J. Watt‘s left hand and

fluttered to a water-logged landing Mel Blount Jersey , well short of the crossbar, there was nothing more the Browns could do.Their 17-game losing streak was over. Without a win 鈥?or a loss. Nothing to celebrate.“A sour feeling,” quarterback Tyrod Taylor said.More bitterness.Cleveland didn’t take advantage of forcing six turnovers by Pittsburgh and missed a chance at its first win since 2016 on Sunday, tying the Steelers 21-21 in overtime in a game that turned into another emotional roller-coaster for fans who were so close to seeing their team go 1-0 for the first time in 14 years.But the Browns, being the Browns, couldn’t finish the job.“Tying in the NFL is really weird,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “I never even thought I would be a part of it.”Bitonio could have never imagined playing on an 0-16 team, either, but that’s what happened last season when the Browns went through their entire schedule without posting a win. At least that can’t happen again.Watt capped a brilliant performance by blocking Zane Gonzalez‘s 43-yard field-goal try with 9 seconds left to preserve the tie for the Steelers, whose drama-filled week around Le’Veon Bell ended with more theatrics.It was the league’s first Week 1 tie since 1971, and the first time in 133 games the Browns and Steelers couldn’t settle their rivalry on the field.The Browns rallied from a 21-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to stun the Steelers, who blew their own chance to win it in OT when Chris Boswell‘s 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.Pittsburgh was without Bell, whose contract holdout will carry into the season’s second week. But the Steelers, who sacked Taylor seven times, refused to offer any excuses after falling dangerously close to becoming the first team to lose to the Browns in Week 1 since 2004.“Hell yeah, it feels like a loss,” Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. “I’m sorry for using that kind of language, but if we settle for those, we’re going to be an awfully (steamed) off bunch. We didn’t get the job done. I credit T.J. for getting that block, but the outcome was already decided. It just gives you a sick taste in your mouth.”Here are some other takeaways from the league’s first tie in two seasons:BAD BENSteelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hardly looked like a future Hall of Famer, throwing three interceptions in the first half and losing two fumbles. He made some uncharacteristic errors, forcing a pass into double-coverage that was picked off by Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward, who had two interceptions in his pro debut.Roethlisberger passed for 335 yards, but he was upset Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t put away the Browns.“It’s just frustrating that we can’t make the plays down the stretch,” he said. “We just didn’t make them.”GREAT GARRETTBrowns defensive end Myles Garrett seemed to be everywhere. He forced two fumbles Mike Webster Color Rush Jersey , recorded two sacks and rushed Roethlisberger into making some indecisive throws.“I think he is going to have a great year,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “He is showing that he was worthy of being the first player drafted a year ago. A healthy Myles Garrett means a ton to this organization and football team. He just has to do it week in and week out and be this player every week.”The Browns were last in the league with just 17 takeaways last season.WATT A PLAYERWatt already had four sacks and 11 tackles when the made the game’s defining play.“When it snapped, I’m just trying to do my job and get penetration,” Watt said of his game-saving block. “I threw my hand up at the last minute, and it hit my hand 鈥?tie game.”GORDON’S GRABJosh Gordon made just one catch 鈥?one mesmerizing, jaw-dropping, game-tying catch.With the Browns trailing 21-14, Gordon leaped and snagged Taylor’s 17-yard pass over Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton for a touchdown with 1:58 left in regulation.It was another positive for Gordon, who missed most of training camp to address health issues and was playing in his first season opener since 2012 because of drug and alcohol addictions. Gordon has also been battling a hamstring issue.ROUGH STARTBrowns undrafted rookie left tackle Desmond Harrison had a long day.Harrison, who moved into the starting lineup this week, was penalized for two false starts in the first half and had some other assignment issues.Harrison wasn’t the only offending Cleveland player as the Browns were called for 11 penalties for 87 yards.“Disappointed,” Jackson said of the infractions. “Our team has got to get better. It is not good enough. You take the turnovers, and the penalties that we had and our inability to do some things early offensively, those are huge keys to a tie game. We have to do some things better.” The Pittsburgh Steelers have been here before. Often in fact.A jarring early-season misstep filled with mental breakdowns and missed opportunity is kind of their thing.So too, it seems, is finding new ways to explain the erratic behavior of All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown.Even a day removed from a 42-37 home loss to Kansas City that dropped the two-time defending AFC North champions to 0-1-1, the talk didn’t center on a defense that gave up a franchise-record tying six touchdown passes , but on the latest outburst by the talented if mercurial Brown.The four-time All-Pro 鈥?who caught nine passes for 67 yards against the Chiefs 鈥?responded to a tweet by a former team employee who suggested Brown wouldn’t put up his eye-popping numbers without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger by suggesting “trade me let’s find out.”The post caused an immediate stir on social media but not in the Pittsburgh locker room, even after cameras caught Brown venting on the sideline in the second half and slowly trudging off the field even as his teammates celebrated Roethlisberger’s diving 3-yard touchdown run with 1:59 to go that pulled the Steelers within five.Brown did not make himself available to media afterward and was nowhere to be found Monday, leaving his teammates to try and explain away his behavior. Again.“I’m not worried about his frame of mind,” veteran wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said. “I know football is No. 1 to him. He works his butt off to be the great player that he is. As long as he brings that same energy in practice and brings that same energy to the game, I don’t have any problem with him, because I’ve seen guys who don’t care in this league and they don’t last long.”The issue with Brown has never been work ethic. The former sixth-round pick is the only player in NFL history to post five consecutive seasons with at least 100 receptions. Yet the 30-year-old has become increasingly volatile. During minicamp he complained about having the spotlight on him , then arrived at training camp in a helicopter . He called a reporter who noticed him limping off the field during workouts at Saint Vincent College 鈥?in full view of fans 鈥?a clown. Last Friday he issued a bizarre soliloquy about his status, calling himself “an exceptionalism” before adding he’s “not an ordinary guy.”Of that there is no doubt. And his teammates stress there is no issue with everything that comes with having Brown in the fold.“AB is a hell of a player and I’m glad he plays for our team https://www.steelerssportshop.com/Jack-Lambert-Jersey ,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “It’s as simple as that. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody in the world.”At the same time, Heyward made it a point to steer the topic away from Brown, who had nothing to do with Pittsburgh’s defensive issues against the Chiefs.“If we ain’t talking about football, we’re talking the wrong thing,” Heyward said. “All this other stuff is beside the point.”The point being the Steelers find themselves preparing for a Monday night trip to surprising Tampa Bay (2-0) at crossroads, familiar territory during their run to four straight playoff berths.Last fall, it was the national anthem debacle that preceded an overtime loss to Chicago. Two years ago they started 2-0 only to get drilled on the road in Philadelphia by a rookie quarterback named Carson Wentz. In 2015 they celebrated the first day of October by blowing a fourth-quarter lead at home to Baltimore. Back in 2014 they allowed Tampa Bay’s Mike Glennon to spark a late rally at Heinz Field, one of two games the Buccaneers would win all season.Each time, the Steelers chose patience over panic. Each time, they recovered to reach the postseason.“I think you panic when you know you’ve lost control,” Heyward Bey said. “We haven’t lost control.”Maybe, but it looked like that way at times against Kansas City. The secondary, playing without injured veteran cornerback Joe Haden, looked flat-footed at times and lost at others. There was no pass rush to speak of 鈥?the only sack came when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes crashed into nose tackle Daniel McCullers. After spending camp talking about improved communication, the Steelers spent plenty of time looking at each other before Mahomes snapped the ball, as if trying to figure out where they were supposed to go.“We’ve got to make sure we’re on top of each other,” cornerback Mike Hilton said. “We’ve got to make sure we know what we’re doing so explosive plays like we gave up yesterday don’t happen all the time. It’s a copycat league, so some team might be doing the same thing Kansas City did.”A team like, say, the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay is unbeaten thanks in large part to 35-year-old quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has gone over 400 yards in each of Tampa Bay’s first two games. What looked like a mismatch two weeks ago looks far different now.“It’s a big week,” Heyward-Bey said. “It’s a Monday night game. It’s prime time against a team that’s thrown for a lot of yards and scored a lot of touchdowns and are confident. We’ve got to find a way to light our fire and put theirs out.”___