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PITTSBURGH -- Forget the 0-4 start. Forget the remarkable finish, the one that kept the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoff picture until the final minutes of the regular season. Theres no such thing as partial credit in the NFL. "We were an 8-8 team," safety Troy Polamalu said. One that will spend January at home for a second straight year. LeVeon Bell ran for 90 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers drubbed the lifeless Browns 20-7 on Sunday, though Pittsburghs bid to become the second team in NFL history to go winless in September and make the playoffs ended when San Diego edged Kansas City 27-24 in overtime. "We are going to build on this," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "I think we have put together a good foundation." One that went 6-2 over the final eight weeks, recovering from a potentially franchise-altering 55-31 loss to New England on Nov. 3 to play perhaps the best football in the AFC by someone not named Denver over the second half. Or, the exact opposite of what happened in Cleveland, which fired first-year coach Rob Chudzinski hours after the game. The Browns (4-12) lost their final seven games and 10 of their last 11. Not exactly the step forward new owner Jimmy Haslam was looking for with a roster littered with five Pro Bowl players. "We needed to see progress with this football team," the Browns said in a statement after firing Chudzinski. "We needed to see development and improvement as the season evolved and, unfortunately, we took a concerning step backward in the second half of the year. "Our fans deserve to see a consistently competitive team. We have high standards, and theres an urgency for success. When we believed we were not positioned to achieve significant progress in 2014, we knew we had to admit that a change was needed, and move forward." Chudzinskis players did something after the game they failed to do during it: rally around their coach. "Its just absurd to me that a report would be out like that, about a good coach like that," Browns linebacker DQwell Jackson said. "Its crazy, and that (ticked) me off when I heard that." Cleveland didnt exactly play angry while letting the Steelers roll to victory for the 26th time in 31 meetings since the Browns were revived in 1999. Roethlisberger passed for 179 yards and a touchdown against two interceptions as Pittsburgh won its third straight to avoid the franchises first losing season since 2003. "Guys just kept fighting," Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward said. "Wasnt anything glorious or something beautiful, we just came out of nowhere." Jason Campbell completed 23 of 41 passes for 240 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Josh Gordon caught seven passes for 82 yards to finish with an NFL-high 1,646 yards receiving, a first for the franchise. It proved little solace on a wet, miserable day at Heinz Field in which Cleveland looked very much like the same old Browns. Cleveland was largely noncompetitive over the seasons final three months, with seven losses by a touchdown or more, including two to the Steelers by a combined 47-18. There is no sense of panic in Pittsburgh. A season that appeared teetering on embarrassment after the record-setting loss to the Patriots ended up with a decidedly rosier finish. The Steelers scored on the opening drive, a 9-yard strike from Roethlisberger to Jerricho Cotchery, and it was more than enough. Whenever the Browns threatened, they found a way to botch it. Twice they failed on fourth-down attempts in Pittsburgh territory and didnt reach the end zone until Campbell found Fozzy Whitaker on a 35-yard pass with 2:46 remaining. By then most of the attention had turned to the scoreboard, where the biggest roars were saved for scores by the Bengals and Jets, who then won to boost Pittsburghs playoff chances. Kansas City nearly did the same, but Ryan Succop missed a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in regulation and San Diego survived. Still, the Steelers remain convinced better days lay ahead, thanks in part to Bells rapid development. He broke Hall of Famer Franco Harris team record for total yards from scrimmage by a rookie by combining for 96 yards in the muck at Heinz Field. Bell finished with 1,259 total yards in just 13 games, 24 more than the mark of 1,235 Harris set in 1972. Bells 5-yard touchdown burst in the second quarter, which included a nifty spin move in the backfield, gave the Steelers a 14-0 lead at the break. It capped an 87-yard drive in which he touched the ball 10 times in 14 plays. That was plenty for a rejuvenated defence that sacked Campbell three times, including a strip fumble by defensive end Brett Keisel, likely playing his final regular-season game of his 12-year career with Pittsburgh. Despite the outcome, Keisel isnt closing the door on a return. "I still feel like I can play," Keisel said. "You know, well see." Just not until 2014. NOTES: Brown caught nine passes for 97 yards to finish with 110 receptions on the season, narrowly missing the club mark of 112 set by Hines Ward in 2012. ... Roethlisberger finished with 4,261 yards passing, the second-highest total in team history to his 4,328 in 2009. Jim Kelly Jersey . Its the games against the leagues struggling franchises that have proved to be an issue. Micah Hyde Jersey . Jeter doubled high off the left-field wall and scored on Jacoby Ellsburys first hit in pinstripes in the fifth. Hiroki Kuroda (1-1) pitched 6 1-3 sharp innings in the Yankees 112th opener in New York. In what manager Joe Girardi said would be a season-long lovefest for Jeter, the shortstop was cheered every step of the way by an adoring crowd of 48, 142 -- even when his double-play grounder back to Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez (0-2) scored Solarte in the third inning for the first run. http://www.shoptheofficialbills.com/Eli ... ls-Jersey/. Scrivens stopped 48 shots and captain Andrew Ference scored in overtime as the Oilers pulled off a 4-3 upset of the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. John Miller Jersey . - A retired Indiana school principal who was NASCAR star Jeff Gordons drivers education teacher was killed with his wife in a Tennessee crash while returning from watching Gordon race. Colton Schmidt Jersey . -- Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 98-96 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.Mike Ashley talks Newcastle, Manchester derby fall-out and Mark Schwarzer on Leicester. Its all in the SSN Now Podcast! It was another busy day on Sky Sports Now with plenty of talk on how the title race is shaping up. Sky Sports Now podcast - March 21 Listen to the Sky Sports Now podcast Leicester goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer gave us his thoughts on his sides title chances and there was reaction to the Manchester derby - from both Manuel Pellegrini and Louis van Gaal.dddddddddddd Mike Ashleys thoughts on Newcastles survival chances after their derby day draw are also worth listening out for.Plenty to catch then - and remember you can watch Sky Sports Now every week day from 10am on Sky Sports News HQ. 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