JAMES HARRISON
Outside Linebacker
CLEVELAND – What began on Nov. 14, 2004 with a sack of Jeff Garcia was completed here today with a sack of Cody Kessler, and William Gay is now the all-time leading sack artist in Steelers franchise history. The record-breaker came in the third quarter, and it helped the Steelers force the Browns into attempting a field goal after having a first-and-goal at the Pittsburgh 1-yard line.
The sequence went like this: the Browns converted a fourth-and-9 from the 27-yard line with a 26-yard pass from Cody Kessler to Terrelle Pryor, which gave them that first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. On the next play, Dan McCullers dumped Isaiah Crowell for a 2-yard loss, and then on second down, Harrison beat guard Spencer Drango and sacked Kessler for a 5-yard loss.
Harrison finished the game with one tackle-for-loss and that sack, and for the historical significance of his performance in the team's 24-9 victory, he is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.
Also considered were Le'Veon Bell, who had 146 yards rushing on 28 carries and a touchdown, plus another 55 yards on eight catches to finish with 201 yards from scrimmage; Stephon Tuitt, who had six tackles, including two for loss, plus 2.5 sacks; Artie Burns, who had an interception and three passes defensed; Antonio Brown, who caught eight passes for 76 yards; Ryan Shazier, who had seven tackles, a pass defensed, and the sack and forced fumble that resulted in the clinching touchdown; Javon Hargrave, who had a sack and recovered that fumble for the touchdown; and Ryan Shazier, who led the team with eight tackles and added a sack and three quarterback pressures.
