The Cleveland Browns got their butts handed to them to such a degree that there isn’t one silver lining out of this game, everyone failed.
The Cleveland Browns got their proverbial teeth kicked in by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The saddest part, is the Steelers aren’t better, they just had a better plan. That was evident with their notorious blitz packages, and their ability to blow up their line of scrimmage regardless of the offensive play. Pass play? Blown up. Running play? Blown up. Special teams play? Blown up.
Standing in line to get something to drink? Blown up.
The Steelers had no real opposition from the offensive line, and despite nothing else being so one-sided, that matchup is the only matchup in football you can’t lose. Not once. Not ever. It’s why the best teams aren’t the ones with the best playmakers but are the ones with the best offensive lines.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski even admitted to not getting his team properly prepared for this game and it showed. The offensive line looked lost and unable to block anyone at any point during the game. That constant pressure was too much and it caused the Browns to pull Baker Mayfield at the end of the 3rd quarter because they knew they were out of it.
The team got obliterated, that’s why this week’s usual column won’t have any good in it, because what good was there? Mayfield didn’t die? That’s a pretty low bar for “good”.
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.
The Worse
Kevin Stefanski’s play-calling and gameplan
Kevin Stefanski was the first to cop to this, so that’s a good thing. It shows he’s aware that it was his strategy that failed the team and not the other way around. There was no stopping the Steelers pass rush, and Stefanski left Baker Mayfield out to dry 11 times in the game (four sacks, seven QB hits), mostly because he kept releasing tight ends and giving the Steelers outside linebackers a clear path at the quarterback.
The Browns defense
This is the normal for this team. Don’t kid yourself. The Browns defense was brutalized today. Jordan Elliot is playing poorly. “He’s a rookie”, ok. He’s an NFL rookie which means it’s time to step up. If he can’t, bye. Sheldon Richardson hasn’t been making any plays since Washington (no sacks, TFL’s or hits on QB), Olivier Vernon is almost making plays, so he’s almost useful. Myles Garrett had one play all day, and then disappeared like he had done his job (of stat padding.) Even Denzel Ward got spanked. And when the heck are the Browns going to bench Terrence Mitchell? Good golly, call Ross Fichtner and have him start because at 81, it’s fair to say he’s an upgrade.
Where were the playmakers?
Myles Garrett, Odell Beckham Jr. Jarvis Landry, Baker Mayfield, and Denzel Ward were absolutely awful today. “But Garrett had a pressure and a sack!” and that translated to what? 38 points? So then it’s fair to say that a player like Garrett needs to do more than make one play a game to actually be worth talking about? Ok good. Ward almost had a good game. He had some nice deflections and didn’t let many plays happen. Except as a defensive back, you’re the defense’s version of an 0-linemen, just one bad play warps how good you were all day. Ward gave up one egregious touchdown.
Conclusion
The Browns sucked. The Browns, however, do not suck. Let’s explain the difference. You can have a bad game and not be bad players, that’s the basic gist of this specific game. Everything that could go wrong, did. The team tried to make up for mistakes, and overplayed their hand, leading to many….many more mistakes. For example, Mayfield forcing two passes for interceptions. That was all Mayfield trying to make something happen.
It’s like that line from The Replacements, where the great Keanu Reeves as Shane Falco talked about the game is like quicksand. How if you struggle harder, you sink faster. That’s what happened today. The Browns got caught in quicksand and had Stefanski had a better gameplan, could’ve helped get the team out of that quicksand pit, and gotten the team back on track. Instead, everyone thrashed about, tried to over-play their assignments, forced plays, and ended up getting trapped.
This team will bounce back. That four-game win streak wasn’t a fluke. Games like this are. The Browns will get Wyatt Teller and Nick Chubb back in a week or two, Mayfield’s ribs will heal and if Andrew Berry values his job, the Browns will make one or two big trades at the deadline to shore up the defense.
This team will bounce back. It’s ok to be angry about how they played today because everyone is. Even the Browns. Just don’t lose sight of what this can do when healthy. They are hard to stop. Today, the Steelers just didn’t need to worry about a full strength Browns team. Like with Baltimore, this one deserves another shot.