CLEVELAND -- The Pittsburgh Steelers took full advantage of a penalty against the Cleveland Browns and turned the infraction into a seven-point lead with 11:16 remaining in the first half of their 21-21 tie in the 2018 regular-season opener at FirstEnergy Stadium Sunday.
But according to the National Football League, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett should not have been penalized for roughing the passer.
“The rule specifically says ‘most, if not all, of your body weight,’” Al Riveron, the NFL’s senior vice president of officiating, told NFL.com Monday. “So we want that player to make an effort. And the last three or four weeks, we have pulled extensive video to show the clubs exactly what we’re talking about. ... Because the question we get all the time is, ‘Well, what do you want our players to do?’
“Well, they have to not put the weight on the quarterback. And this one yesterday showed, even though there is some body weight on Ben, this is not what we would consider contact that rises to the level of a foul.”
On third-and-seven from the Cleveland eight-yard line, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger rolled to his left and lofted a pass out of the back of the end zone. Right after Roethlisberger released the throw, Garrett slammed into him and brought down the 15-year veteran signal-caller.
That penalty extended the 10-play, 88-yard drive enough for the Steelers to find the end zone.
One snap after Roethlisberger drew a roughing-the-passer penalty against Garrett, he handed off to running back James Conner, who sprinted untouched into the end zone for the touchdown, which kicker Chris Boswell followed with a successful PAT try.
Despite the penalty, Garrett showed the kind of impact he can make on a game. Garrett combined for six tackles, five of which were solo efforts, had two sacks, defended one pass and forced two fumbles, both of which were recovered by the Browns in their tie with the Steelers.
From the day Garrett was selected by the Browns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, one of his stated goals was sacking Roethlisberger. And on Pittsburgh’s first possession of the second quarter, Garrett made good on his goal when he brought down Roethlisberger behind the line of scrimmage for a four-yard loss.
On first-and-10 from the Cleveland 43-yard line, Roethlisberger took a shotgun snap and dropped back to midfield. Rushing from the quarterback’s blindside, Garrett ran all the way around to the right side of the pocket and wrapped up Roethlisberger for a four-yard loss.
Later in the game, the Browns were able to convert a Steelers turnover into a touchdown and draw to within one score, 21-14, midway through the fourth quarter.
With the Steelers looking to burn time off of the clock, Roethlisberger handed off to running back James Conner, but Garrett jarred the ball loose and strong safety Jabrill Peppers recovered the fumble at the Pittsburgh 17-yard line.
Peppers returned the fumble to the Pittsburgh one-yard line, and on the next play, running back Carlos Hyde pushed the ball across the goal line and into the end zone for his first touchdown as a member of the Browns.
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