WILLIAMS: Steelers’ thoughts with Squirrel Hill community

Heavy hearts weighed in after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 33-18 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Heinz Field.

The game was played several miles from where 11 people were murdered on Saturday at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, the place Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and defensive lineman Cameron Heyward call home.

Both fought back tears when asked about the shootings.

Tomlin estimated he lives “800 yards from the church.

“Our hearts go out to the victims,” Tomlin said in a terse postgame media conference. “I’m a member of the Squirrel Hill community, words cannot express how we feel.”

Heyward said his father, Craig, “played basketball at the Jewish Community Center there.”

Craig Heyward played for the University of Pittsburgh then 11 years in the NFL.

“That community, it doesn’t matter if you are Jewish, it doesn’t matter if you are Christian,” Cameron Heyward said. “Everybody cares about everybody, it doesn’t matter where you come from. It’s a great melting pot.

“It’s just not fair,” Heyward said of the tragedy. “No person should have to go through that. Its just a hateful act, nobody deserves that.

“It’s going to take a while to heal, but we’ll heal as a community, we’ll heal as a city.”

FIRST-PLACE

After a frightful September that included two blowout losses plus a fourth-quarter collapse for a tie in Cleveland, the Steelers posted a perfect October.

But Sunday’s victory was anything but festive, with a start that made Charlie Brown’s rock collection look like a treasure and a third-quarter mistake that temporarily gave the Browns life.

Punt returner Ryan Switzer owned up to the mistake. After the Browns were hit with a safety for holding in the end zone, Ryan Switzer let Britton Colquitt’s punt on a free kick land about 10 yards behind him.

No one in a black-and-gold uniform moved for the ball, then the Browns’ Denzel Rice fell on it at the Steelers 24 for a fumble recovery.

“Nobody chased the ball,” Switzer said. “I was thinking punts are punts and kickoffs were kickoffs, and it was dead if it hit the ground.”

The Browns, with a boost from several Steelers penalties, then scored on a 1-yard pass from Mayfield to Antonio Callaway to make it 16-12.

But after kicker Greg Joseph missed the extra-point kick, the Steelers immediately marched down the field for another touchdown.

“That falls on me and I’m fortunate that we came out with the win,” Switzer said. “Ultimately, we’ve got to fall on the ball, we have to run after it.”

Asked about the play, Tomlin was in no mood to elaborate.

“We screwed it up,” he said, ending the discussion.

SLOW START

The Browns’ improved defense limited the Steelers to no first downs on their first three possessions while the Cleveland offense generated more than 120 yards.

All the Browns had to show for it was two Greg Joseph field goals and another missed attempt.

The tide turned when, on the Steelers’ fourth series, Ben Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown alone way past Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward with no safety help for 43-yard touchdown.

Right before the half, the Steelers struck again with a 16-play, 87-yard drive for a 14-6 lead that erased the remnants of the Browns’ solid start.

Tomlin said he wasn’t concerned with the offense’ slow start.

“Obviously not excited about the start in terms of the game unfolding in ways we didn’t want it to, but liked the resolve of the group,” Tomlin said,

AFC NORTH

A Steelers win next Sunday in Baltimore would turn the AFC North chase into a two-team race between the Steelers (4-2-1) and the Cincinnati Bengals (5-3). The Ravens are 4-4 and the Browns 2-5-1.

After that, the Steelers will host Carolina, which clobbered the Ravens on Sunday, and then travel to Jacksonville for a Sunday night game against the team that eliminated the Steelers in January.

Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Williams_Vindy.