Steelers TE Washington breaks arm in upset loss

CLEVELAND — Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington sustained a broken arm in Sunday’s 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns, coach Mike Tomlin said.

He added he doesn’t know Washington’s timeline to return.

Washington exited late in the first quarter as the Steelers’ leading receiver at that point with 15 yards on two catches on two targets. His longest catch went for 11 yards on third-and-16. Though Washington was short of a first down, the Browns were flagged for taunting at the end of the play to continue the Steelers’ drive for an eventual field goal.

“Darnell is a big part of what we do,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who completed 21 of 39 attempts for 168 yards.

Washington’s absence was especially significant for an offense that also played without its top two wide receivers in DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III (hamstring).

The Steelers will be without Metcalf, who had a season-high 148 receiving yards in the first meeting with the Baltimore Ravens, for the Week 18 de facto AFC North title game as he serves the second game of a two-game suspension for an altercation with a fan in Detroit, and now they also could be without Washington.

“It was an impact,” Tomlin said of missing Metcalf against the Browns. “But we certainly got capable men, and we expect those guys to make necessary plays, and we certainly didn’t make enough today.”

Washington, who has 29 receptions for 349 yards and a touchdown this season, is also instrumental in the Steelers’ tush push play, often the primary pusher behind tight end/fullback Connor Heyward. The Steelers lined up for only one tush push against the Browns in a play that turned out to be a fake and a 29-yard gain by Heyward.

“We get challenged with the attrition component all the time,” Tomlin said, explaining the impact of Washington’s absence on his short-yardage decision-making. “We make no excuses regarding that. We got capable men. We adapt, adjust, and we keep moving.”

With the trio of pass catchers out, the Steelers turned to a collection of midseason pickups and under-the-radar receivers to fill the void. The group was largely ineffective as the Steelers averaged only 3.9 yards per completion and failed to score a touchdown for the first time all season.

Facing fourth-and-1 from Cleveland’s 22-yard line as the Steelers trailed 10-3 late in the second quarter, Rodgers opted to take a deep shot to receiver Scotty Miller in the end zone. In the past, the Steelers have utilized the tush push in those situations. This time, though, Rodgers’ 50-50 ball to Miller was too high, and the Steelers squandered a scoring opportunity created by rookie Jack Sawyer‘s interception of Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Rodgers also targeted wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, his former Green Bay teammate who was signed from the Steelers’ practice squad to the active roster earlier this month, nine times, including three in a row from Cleveland’s 7-yard line with seconds left in the game.

“[Rodgers] had eligibles on the play, and certainly [Valdes-Scantling] was one of them, and he’s a capable guy,” Tomlin said. “I got no qualms about us playing to win the game in the way that we did.”

Rodgers and Valdes-Scantling didn’t appear to be on the same page for his second-and-goal throw with 24 seconds left, and Rodgers was nearly picked off by Denzel Ward in the end zone. He went back to the receiver on the next play, but again, Valdes-Scantling wasn’t where Rodgers anticipated him to be. This time, Rodgers threw inside, but the receiver stayed wide on the right side of the end zone.

With one final shot to tie the score, Rodgers again looked for Valdes-Scanting, but this time he was blanketed by Ward, and the pass fell incomplete.

“That was definitely interference,” Rodgers said of the fourth-down play by Ward on Valdes-Scantling.

Asked about the play, Valdes-Scantling said, “The ball went up, and [Ward] did a good job of playing through me. I thought I could’ve got a call, but no call was made. That’s what it was.”

Tight end Pat Freiermuth finished as the Steelers’ leading receiver with 63 yards on three receptions in five targets.

With the loss, the Steelers enter Week 18 facing the highest stakes of the season. A win against the Ravens would send Pittsburgh to the postseason. A loss ends the Steelers’ season and gives their rival the AFC North title and playoff berth.

Rodgers, though, expressed confidence in his team to bounce back.

“Because we’ve done it all season,” Rodgers said, explaining the root of that confidence. “We’ve handled adversity well, and when we had to play our best ball, we did — other than today.”