The Cleveland Browns have their biggest test of the year in their season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers with the playoffs on the line.
The Cleveland Browns are fighting for their playoff life on Sunday as they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the finale of the 2020 NFL regular season. For Cleveland, all they have to do is win. If they win, nothing else matters, they’re in the playoffs. Despite having the lowest odds of all the wild card teams to make it, the Browns are actually in a great position. The Steelers, you see, are sitting their only real offensive weapon in Ben Roethlisberger.
With Roethlisberger sitting, that means Mason Rudolph is going to start. It also implies that the Steelers won’t be playing their star players very much. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Steelers treat this like a preseason game, where the starters only get so many reps before being sat. The Steelers may also make adjustments on the fly. If they have a chance to get a higher seed, maybe they leave more of their starters in longer.
If they don’t have that shot, maybe they start yanking guys at a higher rate. Either way, this is a game the Browns are very much in, no matter what happens between now and Sunday. So let’s take a look at the three players the Browns still need to game plan for.
Cameron Heyward
Cameron Heyward isn’t seen in the same light as a T.J. Watt type player. He’s more known as a grinder, who gets in the face off the offensive line and helps open up the linebackers to make plays. That’s the burden of a 3-4 defensive linemen. Yet, if Nick Harris is the starter on Sunday, Heyward may see himself in a place to make plenty of big-plays, as Harris has proven to be less than efficient.
Harris got gobbled up by the Jets front line, and while PFF paints his play as less-than-good, in actuality he played horrifically. He couldn’t get the defensive linemen who were over him off the line of scrimmage, which caused the running game to sputter and stall when they went to the right side.
The rushing game has tanked since Harris replaced Wyatt Teller and Chris Hubbard got put on the IR. It’s going to be a long day trying to run the ball with Heyward gobbling up Harris.