After the Browns let the Steelers come back from down 15, there were lots of people to blame: Jamal Lewis for gaining 35 yards on 16 carries… Derek Anderson for going 6-out-of-19 for the second half… the defense for allowing 401 total yards.

So, after the game, Browns players put the blame squarely on themselves. Willie McGinest started it by telling the team it was his fault for missing a tackle on Big Ben that resulted in a key first down. Josh Cribbs (who compiled 204 kick return yards on 4 returns) even apologized for not returning another kickoff for a touchdown. Darnell Dinkins blamed the refs.

That’s the Plain Dealer report on the game. As you can see, they played the Browns taking the blame prominently.

After two items, elaborating on that–first, one on McGinest taking the blame, the next about how others joined in, there was an item titled “Dinkins Steamed.”

It goes on to say how the Browns–and Dinkins especially–had no part in the loss. Nevermind that Dinkins was called for holding on the final drive that resulted in the Browns Phil Dawson missing the tying field goal by so little. The kick was a 52-yarder. Had it been five yards closer, it would have made it. Of course, it was the ref’s fault that the Browns missed.

From the PD:

Tight end Darnell Dinkins called the holding penatly against him “a horrible call.” …
“I came off the ball, threw the guy off the ball, and they called holding on me. The ref said he was the guy on the ground. It cost us the game. There’s too much on the line for a call to be made like that.”

Honestly, a first round playoff dismissal isn’t a whole lot to be on the line.

Dinkins is right that he isn’t to blame, but I’d also put a few other people ahead of the refs on the blame list:

Jamal Lewis
35 yards on 16 carries. With those kind of numbers, Derek Anderson has at least a little bit of excuse for his second half stumbles. Even worse, Lewis went 5 carries-for-5 yards in the second half. He also played terribly against Seattle the week before with 37 yards.

Derek Anderson
Good first half, no second half. He was 6-out-of-19 in the second half with 43 yards, 32 coming on the final drive. He has a good arm, but no accuracy. Going into the game, he ranked 1st in yards per completion and 27th in completion percentage.

Defense
I rank them 3rd in terms of blame because they aren’t supposed to be good; they never are. In fact, they played better most of the game than they usually do. Yes, they allowed 401 yards, but 31 points against the Steelers is just what should be expected for the Browns. They also sacked Big Ben 4 times. But, those other times… Big Ben ran for 49 yards on 5 carries, many for big first downs.

Most importantly, on the Steelers last drive of the game when they were down by 4, Roethlisberger ran from inside the 20 to dive for a first down on third. He got to the two and threw the winning touchdown on the next play.

Staying within 3 against the Steelers was impressive for the Browns. For the Browns. Just the fact that fans are celebrating 5 wins says all you need to know about the Browns. But, if they never get good, it isn’t their fault…

My Original Browns-Steelers Preview