Tyrod Taylor stalls offense, Cleveland Browns tie Pittsburgh Steelers 21-21
The Cleveland Browns tied the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the play of Tyrod Taylor stalling the offense has the tie feeling like a loss.
The Cleveland Browns tied the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 and while an optimist may say the Browns are already better then their 2017 version, a glass-half empty view pins the blame on a poor performance from quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
This version takes the pessimistic view.
Taylor missed too many throws and at one point, incomplete eight-straight passes.
Rain fell, the wind swirled and conditions were deplorable.
Ben Roethlisberger was a turnover machine, throwing three interceptions, so when a future Hall-of-fame quarterback is bad, you can’t expect much from someone paid to be a game manager.
Despite facing an amped up Browns’ pash rush, Big Ben still threw for 313 yards.
Taylor was 15 of 40 for 147 yards for a touchdown and an interception. Pittsburgh sacked him seven times for 197 yards. He added 77 yards on eight carries.
The following sequence is part of the reason the game feels like a loss. Before the rain really started falling, the Browns had a chance to get into field-goal range.
Instead, offensive coordinator Todd Haley wanted to go deep. Josh Gordon had more than a step on the corner, but Taylor severely under threw the ball.
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And ladies and gentlemen, this is what you get with Taylor.
After the interception, he felt like Taylor was afraid to even try to push the ball downfield again. It was Taylor being true to his form. He doesn’t turn the ball over multiple times and by not attempting to make plays, Cleveland didn’t win.
He’s not a quarterback who’s going to dramatically elevate the play of those around him. That’s not to say he can’t win–he’s got about a .500 lifetime record–but when you need him to make plays with his arm, you leave a lot to chance.
You’ve got to wonder, if average quarterback play would’ve been enough to unlock the Bud Light fridges.
The chants to bring Baker Mayfield in haven’t started yet, nor should they, but you could get the sense that Taylor’s got to be better as the boo birds came out late in the game due to his ineffectiveness.
• Denzel Ward was excellent, collecting two interceptions. He gave the touchdown to Antonio Brown, but credit to Big Ben and Brown. It was a great play and a great catch that was well defensed by Ward.
Next. O-line play let the Browns down. dark
• Myles Garrett wants to be the league’s NFL Defensive MVP. He had six tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles. He was a difference maker and the Browns’b best player.