LAWRENCE TIMMONSInside Linebacker
The primary focus of the day was the return of Ben Roethlisberger, but as they had been doing all season to this point, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed themselves to be anything but a one-man team.
The Steelers defense came into the game ranked No. 4 in the NFL overall, but No. 1 in points scored, and the unit recorded five sacks and forced two of the three takeaways the team managed over the course of a 28-10 win over the Cleveland Browns in front of 65,168 enthusiastic fans on Sunday at Heinz Field.
As he has been since this season opened, Lawrence Timmons was a big part of the defense's success, with 11 tackles, two sacks that raised his season total to three, and an interception that set up the Steelers' final touchdown. For that performance, Timmons is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.
Also considered were Roethlisberger, who completed 16-of-27 for 257 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for a rating of 112.7; Rashard Mendenhall, who rushed for 84 yards on 27 carries and scored a touchdown for the sixth straight game at Heinz Field; James Harrison, who tied Timmons for the team lead with 11 tackles and added 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble; and Keyaron Fox, who had two special teams tackles and recovered a muffed punt by Chansi Stuckey.
