CLEVELAND -- In Cleveland, they attach names to the Browns' historic failures: The Drive, The Fumble, The Interception.
The Steelers yesterday stole one of Cleveland's most infamous nicknames, and now they can call it their own:
The Mistake by the Lake.
Quarterback Kent Graham's inexplicable decision to hold the ball and not throw it away to kill the clock at the Browns' 6, allowed Cleveland to escape with a 23-20 victory.
The third-down play began with 14 seconds left as the Steelers went for the win. Graham looked for Bobby Shaw, then Plaxico Burress, saw neither open, stepped up in the pocket and was sacked by rookie defensive end Courtney Brown, one of three sacks yesterday by the top draft pick from Penn State.
The Steelers, with no timeouts left, rushed their field goal team out but time ran out before they could snap the ball for the tying points.
The loss continued the Steelers' worst tumble in 30 years. They have lost nine of their past 10 games, 17 of their past 23 and check in at 0-2 this season.
The Browns, who blew a 14-0 first-quarter lead, won for the first time in their new stadium and have beaten the Steelers two out of three since their NFL comeback. They are 2-1.
"You have to put it in perspective," linebacker Levon Kirkland said, "or you'll be drinking Scotch after this game."
At times, they appeared to have done so before the kickoff.
Coach Bill Cowher put the blame on his quarterback for not throwing the ball away on the final play.
"There were a lot of options on it. One of them wasn't to keep the ball in his hands ... that was the last thing we needed to do in that situation."
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| | Quarterback Kent Graham is sacked in the second quarter. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette) |
Said Graham: "In that situation, I know we have to get rid of the ball. I was trying to make a play, but at that point in the heat of the moment, I have to throw it away. I'm obviously disappointed in that decision. I don't know what else to really say about it."
It was one of several mistakes on offense and defense that cost the Steelers, who took a 20-17 lead into the fourth quarter and flubbed chances to put the Browns away.
Jerome Bettis should have stuck to the ground, where he ran 23 times for 122 yards and a go-ahead 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Instead, his coaches sent in a passing play for him. From the Browns' 20 in the third quarter, he took a handoff and threw a halfback pass that looked more like a wheel coming off a Bus. Hines Ward, who started for injured Troy Edwards and led the Steelers with five catches, flashed open, but Bettis underthrew him and Corey Fuller intercepted it for Cleveland.
"I made one of the biggest mistakes in the game," said Bettis. "It should never happen. If I don't feel I can get the ball there, I shouldn't throw the football there. I hold myself accountable to my teammates."
He wasn't alone. The Steelers defense also continued to yield big plays. They allowed passes of 79, 38, 36 and 36 yards as Tim Couch drilled them for 316 yards and two touchdowns, completing 23 of 31 passes to eight different receivers.
The Steelers had no sacks, no interceptions and one fumble recovery as they continued to be a small-play defense.
Couch's two touchdowns came on the opening two series, one of 2 yards to tight end Aaron Shea and one of 21 yards to fullback Marc Edwards for a 14-0 lead.
But Couch's biggest pass did not produce a touchdown. With the score tied late in the fourth quarter and the Browns on their 8, wide receiver Kevin Johnson streaked past safety Scott Shields. Johnson caught Couch's pass in stride at midfield. Shields finally chased Johnson down at the 2, but the damage was done on a 79-yard play. The Steelers defense held at the 2, but Phil Dawson came on to kick what would be the winning points, a 19-yard field goal with 2:45 left.
It was Dawson's 39-yard field goal on the final play that upset the Steelers Nov. 14 in Three Rivers Stadium.
He also kicked the tying field goal early in the fourth quarter after the Browns were backed up again. They were on their 3 after Josh Miller's punt. But on first down, Couch found the rookie Shay over the middle for 36 yards. Three plays later, David Patten caught another 36-yarder between Dewayne Washington and Ainsley Battles.
Dawson's 28-yard field goal tied the score at 10:49.
The Steelers, who produced just 30 yards rushing and no points in their opening loss to Baltimore, came alive in the second quarter, trailing 14-0.
Bettis ran seven times for 46 yards on their first scoring drive, which ended when Richard Huntley ran off right guard for a touchdown. Kris Brown kicked his first of two field goals, from 41 yards, to bring the Steelers back to 14-10 at halftime.
Ward returned the second-half kickoff 57 yards to set up Brown's 31-yard field goal to cut the lead to one point. Dawson responded with a field goal from the 23.
Then The Bus went back to work. Around a 31-yard catch by Ward, Bettis ran five times for 43 yards on a third-quarter series, including the final 10 for a touchdown to put the Steelers ahead 20-17.
It was a comeback of sorts for Bettis, who had only two 100-yard games last season and was held to 8 yards rushing in the opener.
"The guys did a great job today in the offensive line," Bettis said. "I just ran behind them."
He might have done even better had they kept him running and not throwing.
The Steelers also blew another scoring chance in the third quarter after rookie Hank Poteat returned a punt 29 yards to the Cleveland 33.
On second down, Brown beat rookie tackle Marvel Smith inside and sacked Graham for a 6-yard loss, and after an incomplete pass, they punted.
Graham completed 15 of 28 passes for 193 yards and again did not throw an interception. But it was the pass he did not throw that will long be remembered.
Graham had completed a 29-yard pass to Bobby Shaw on fourth down to keep the drive going.
Some Cleveland players cackled over the Steelers' fateful final plays.
"I thought they were going to run out the clock and go for the field goal," said defensive tackle Orpheus Roye, who left the Steelers for the Browns as a free agent this year. "But I guess they didn't have enough respect for us, that they tried to go for the touchdown."
Said cornerback Corey Fuller: "I'm no coach, but I can't figure out why they didn't try to tie the game. By the time they got to the field goal they had about 14 guys running on and off the field."
And halfback Errict Rhett, "They should have stopped, kicked the field goal and come off the field."
But Cowher was criticized for playing for a tie in similar circumstances Thanksgiving Day in 1998 in Detroit near the end of the game, instead of going for the win.
This time, he trusted the judgment of his nine-year veteran quarterback who has been praised by his teammates for his leadership and smart play.
"You just do what you've been trained to do," Graham said, "and hopefully make a better decision than what I did there."
Graham's failure to throw ball away in final seconds costs Steelers 
