5 Cleveland Browns whose stocks are down as Steelers get revenge

4. Freddie Kitchens

It didn’t take long, but the hot seat should be fired back up to blazing hot.

There was the T-shirt fiasco, reminding fans this team doesn’t need a “fan-coach,” and yeah, some Steelers are saying it was a factor. I don’t really believe them because these are professional football players, but none-the-less, it’s a bad look for Kitchens.

But here’s what I really want to get into: The play calling, and the evidences presented begins following Terrance Mitchell‘s interception.

The Browns took over at the Steelers’ 30-yard line and ran three straight passes out of the shotgun with 7:24 in the fourth quarter. Two went incomplete. Mayfield was sacked on third down. There was plenty of time to run here, but Kitchens abandoned the run, thus ditching the only thing that worked against the Steelers in Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb.

If you want to go back even further, the Browns were down 20-10 in the early fourth quarter, but with time to run, Kitchens abandoned the concept. He called six pass plays. Mayfield was sacked on 3rd down and 10 from the Pittsburgh 14. Credit to him, I guess, he got three points out of the drive.

The point I’m trying to make here is how much blame are we going to give the offensive line? Nick Chubb rushes the ball 5.0 yards per attempt! Mayfield is feeling the pressure, but you’d be under duress too if you were being bullrushed by 300-pound lineman every single play.

The Browns ran 16 offensive plays in the fourth quarter, 15 of which were passes. Chubb touched the ball on the first possession of the Browns’ first drive of the final stanza. That. Was. It.

Some will argue the Browns were down so they had to pass. Others will contend there was time. I think you know where I come out on it.

The two most important jobs on game day include the head coach and quarterback. And really the only elite member of the class of Tomlin, Hodgers, Kitchens and Mayfield was the guy wearing a Super Bowl ring.

Imagine if Tomlin were coaching the Browns. This wouldn’t have been close.