Browns: 3 bad things and 3 worse things from Week 6

The Bad

Offensive line play

Everyone but J.C. Tretter got exploited today. The only reason Tretter didn’t was due to him usually having the nose tackle over him, making it easy for him to know who to block. The defensive ends were on the tackles inside shoulder and the outside linebackers were on the outside of the tight end’s shoulders, and that spacing caused so many issues on its own, leading to Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills to get bullied all game. Then you bring in the blitzing and oh my goodness, the fact Baker Mayfield didn’t have a rib dislodged and poking out is a miracle.

Baker Mayfield’s play

Mayfield looked like 2019 Mayfield for good reason, because the offensive line played like the 2019 line. While the lack of production is easily blamed on the line, as it starts and ends there, the turnovers Mayfield committed are entirely on him. While the Steelers defense were ferocious all game, he still opted to throw passes he knew he shouldn’t. That’s less about Mayfield’s abilities and more about him trying to make something happen. Sometimes you just need to eat turf and accept it’s not your team’s day.

No running game

Don’t kid yourself, the offense has been gutted without Nick Chubb. Yeah, when the Browns defense isn’t sucking eggs as they’re getting beat, they can sometimes get turnovers. That’s when it’s really easy to score big numbers. When the defense doesn’t do anything all day? Much, much harder. It’s pretty clear why Chubb is so important now. Against the Cowboys (3) and the Colts (2), the Browns defense actually caused turnovers (five overall), allowing for the offense to achieve success on shorter fields. Starting in Dallas, Hunt has failed to break 80 yards in a game. Sure, Wyatt Teller is a big function of this offense, but Chubb is heads and shoulders above Hunt, who is not looking like the playmaker so many fans expected him to be when he came over.