The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting a lot of flak for losing to the Cleveland Browns, and rightfully so. They could’ve locked up the AFC North. The Browns weren’t an intimidating foe, either. They only had three wins before Week 17. However, the Steelers came up short, putting up one of their most disappointing performances of the year. Browns defensive tackle Shelby Harris didn’t mince his words when talking about the Steelers.

“They were more worried about Myles Garrett getting the sack record than winning that game,” Harris said recently on his We’re the Harrises podcast. “The offense, the way they set it up, they were trying to get rid of the ball. The O-line the whole game was saying, ‘You’re not going to get it on me…’ You didn’t take this game seriously because you were more worried about a record…

“They did not go into that game with a real game plan on trying to win. The stats show it. The quickest the ball has been thrown by Aaron Rodgers this whole year, by far. It wasn’t even any attempt at developing routes down the field. It was just hike, throw it or run the ball… If you ask me, it was a complete failure for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

Garrett himself said that he felt like the Steelers were more focused on him than winning. Despite Harris seconding that claim, it’s just not true.

The Steelers had the same plan for Garrett that they employed earlier this season. Of course they’re going to devote a lot of attention to him. He’s one of the best players in the NFL. Stopping him tends to correlate with winning.

Yes, Rodgers got the ball out of his hands quickly, but that’s nothing new. He’s been doing that all year. The Steelers’ passing offense has relied on the quick game.

Also, the Steelers didn’t have DK Metcalf against the Browns. If Harris noticed any difference in the Pittsburgh’s offensive game plan, that’s probably a big reason why. Metcalf is the Steelers’ best weapon, and he’s a great deep threat. Without him, and with Calvin Austin III missing the game as well, the Steelers’ passing game was handcuffed.

The Steelers are also on their fourth left tackle. Dylan Cook has played well, but he still doesn’t have a ton of experience. There was no way that the Steelers were going to force him to block Garrett alone for the entire game.

Harris’ team won the game. You’d think he’d want to focus on what the Browns did, not what Garrett didn’t do. That loss was a total failure by the Steelers. The Browns were the better team. Blaming everything that happened on the Steelers being more focused on Garrett than winning takes away from all of that, though. The Browns did more right, and the Steelers did more wrong, than just that.