Post-Gazette sports columnist Paul Zeise reacts to the day in Pittsburgh sports, specifically the Steelers' NFL Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. Is this team still a true contender with the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills in the race for the AFC title? Or are those teams still a step above? What should we make of Russell Wilson, George Pickens, Najee Harris and the offense playing well in the second half after a sluggish first half? Did OC Arthur Smith make good use of backup QB Justin Fields? How much should we see from him moving forward? And why didn't T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig, Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Joey Porter Jr. and the defense have enough answers for Jameis Winston, Nick Chubb and the struggling Browns offense?

On the Friday edition of the North Shore Drive podcast, presented by Edgar Snyder & Associates, host Adam Bittner welcomes Post-Gazette Steelers insider Brian Batko to react to the team's NFL Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Offensively, what should we make of the late surge from Russell Wilson, Calvin Austin III and the offense after a sluggish first half? Was the Justin Fields package a true spark? Or did it leave the unit disjointed at times? What was going on with George Pickens as some of his frustration boiled over? And what should we make of another game where Jaylen Warren was more efficient than Najee Harris in the running game?

Are duo tackles those questions, plus looks back on some controversial Mike Tomlin coaching decisions that proved pivotal. Then they wrap the show talking defense. Was the Steelers' pass rush as bad as it seemed? Or did Jameis Winston, Jerry Jeudy and the Browns just make some impressive plays in the face of pressure from T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and Cam Heyward? And what should we make of the secondary's performance with names including Joey Porter Jr., Minkah Fitzpatrick and Donte Jackson allowing some key plays to go Cleveland's way?

Post-Gazette Steelers insiders Gerry Dulac and Ray Fittipaldo react to the team's NFL Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns. What went wrong for Russell Wilson, Najee Harris, George Pickens and the offense after a lackluster first half cost them in the end? Did Arthur Smith deploy backup QB Justin Fields correctly? Or was his late-game miss a bad call? What happened to T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and the pass rush defensively after they struggled to get to Browns quarterback Jameis Winston? What should we make of a shaky performance from Dan Moore Jr. and the offensive line after Myles Garrett dominated them for three sacks? How encouraging was Pat Freiermuth's involvement in the gameplan? And why does Mike Tomlin's team seem to have so many problems in Cleveland in recent years? Our duo tackles those questions and more.