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.
T.J. Watt
If the Steelers do end up starting T.J. Watt and playing him for a bulk (if not all) of the game, then the Browns are going to have a real problem on their hands. Jedrick Wills is expected back, and while he’s a massive, massive upgrade over Kendall Lamm, he still has his own issues against faster pass rushers. Something Watt and the Steelers will surely look to exploit with a variety of blitzes from various angles.
Watt currently has 15 sacks and is on the shortlist for winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award. He’s going to be looking to make a statement against the Browns in this matchup, and the Browns need to be ready for him.
The best-case scenario is he, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cameron Heyward, and Stephon Tuitt all get sit after half-time and the Browns are able to maintain or extend their lead on the Steelers and end up winning. As of right now, not many other teams are planning on sitting any players in Week 17. So that means the Browns are going to be in a unique situation.
If the Browns win, however, they’ll more than likely get the Steelers in the opening round, so it’s going to be wise for both teams to play smart, and make the other team do as much as possible to find out just what each other has to offer with a full contingent of players.
Chase Claypool
For a rookie, Chase Claypool has been pretty good for the Steelers as a receiver. He’s caught 57 passes, for 772 yards, and has eight touchdowns to his name. He’s going to be the biggest target for Mason Rudolph in the game. Considering the Browns’ secondary is already bad enough, and now with them now being without Andrew Sendejo for the contest, the Browns are going to have to respect his ability to get open.
By no means is Claypool a D.K. Metcalf type, but he can still hurt you. In his last game against Cleveland, he had 74 yards on just four receptions. This is a player who can make the most of his opportunities. Luckily for the Browns though, Claypool appears to be the only big-play guy the Steelers have left.
James Conner hasn’t ever lived up to the expectation of replacing Le’veon Bell, JuJu Smith-Schuester has proven he’s not a number one or even a number two receiver despite a lot of hype around that possibility. Then there’s Eric Ebron, a former Pro Bowler in Indianapolis but with 558 yards to his name, he’s not exactly the guy that the Browns are going to need to worry about in the passing game.
Anyone can hurt you if you let them, but the Steelers offense is not good, and that’s in part due to their lack of real playmakers. If the Browns can contain Claypool, then the Steelers offense may not be able to get started at all.