The Cleveland Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday to a score of 48-37 allowing them to move on in the playoffs.
The Cleveland Browns have done it, they’ve defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in a playoff game. Before the talk of the Kansas City Chiefs starts up, we’re allowed to bask in this win. This was a win 30-odd years in the making. A win that carried with it years of dealing with the absolute worst the Steelers fans could sling at Browns fans. A time period that the fans had to own and carry despite it not being our fault.
It was a time that died a death on Sunday night. Not only did the Browns beat the Steelers, but they also smacked them around. If it wasn’t for Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson is out, how many points would the Steelers really have been to respond with? That’s not an unfair question. The Steelers picked on a guy who wasn’t even on the team three weeks ago, and we’re supposed to be impressed?
This was a butt whopping in the most authentic of ways. No one had given the Browns a chance, not even local media personalities. They said, “why bother playing?” Well, here’s why. The Browns have proven themselves game after game this year. They’ve bested the best defenses in the league. Washington, the Colts, Steelers, and while they didn’t get a win, the Browns torched the Ravens too.
This isn’t an elite offense, it’s a legendary one. Before we talk about why the Browns shouldn’t be counted out against the Chiefs, let’s do one final look at the game that was the end of the Steelers dynasty.
The Good
Baker Mayfield’s playoff emergence
Baker Mayfield delivered in a big way. When Jack Conklin went down with an injury, the running game fell apart, just like against the Jets. Mayfield, with a full accompaniment of receivers and running backs, proceeded to propel the Browns down the field for some soul-crushing scores. The “game manager” completed 62% of his passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. He had a QBR of 92.8 and a quarterback rating of 115.2. He made plays with his arm, his feet, and even his head. All the while avoiding the Steelers pash rush with ease. Not bad for a guy deemed “undraftable”.
Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt going off
Nick Chubb finished the day with 145 combined yards and a touchdown in a game that showed that his ability to social distance from tacklers isn’t just restricted to rushing the ball. Kareem Hunt only had 51 total yards but had two touchdowns deep in the red zone. The Double Dragon of running backs was key in breaking the backs of the Steelers.
The left guards
The Browns had two guards, Michael Dunn and Blake Hance, who absolutely stepped up. Dunn was playing seamlessly, and when he and Conklin were in the lineup, the Browns ran all over the Steelers. Already filling in for Joel Bitonio, the Browns were dealt another blow when Dunn got hurt and backup Blake Hance was put into the lineup. Hance had never met his teammates prior to the game, and he and Baker Mayfield introduced themselves while in the locker room getting ready. Both men stepped up huge and made a certain Browns rookie look all the more worse in the process.
Taking advantage of mistakes
Every team makes mistakes at some point, it’s whether or not you can capitalize on them that matters. The Browns did just that and made the Steelers pay for each and every one of them.
The Bad
The secondary
For some reason, Joe Wood had Andrew Sendejo sitting out half the game and noticeably, it was the half the Browns were getting their teeth kicked in defensively. While yes, it’s more likely that Kevin Johnson and Denzel Ward would’ve been more effective at stopping the passing attack, or at least Ward, the Browns using Sheldrick Redwine and Karl Joseph over Sendejo was certainly a call. It’s also no surprise that when the Browns started to blitz more in the 3rd and 4th quarters, Sendejo was back on the field. Maybe it was a health thing, Sendejo was coming off of an injury but still. The secondary was awful.
Joe Woods prevent
If this is Kevin Stefanski’s edict and Joe Woods is simply enacting it, there is no criticism here. It’s his job to support his coach. If this is Woods’ plan, however, then dang, there needs to be a change somewhere. The Steelers were able to make it a game at some points because of Woods’ multi-defensive-back prevent defense schemes. It did not work. Part of the issue for why the secondary fell apart is admittedly the lack of a pass rush all game. The Browns did not generate one sack or any real pressure all game. In situations where your secondary is bad and your pass rush is nonexistent, one would think you’d try blitzing. In Woods’ defense, he eventually did start trying to blitz in the 4th quarter and it worked to a degree, but it was a long time to get there.
The conclusion
The Browns are for real. Their offense is arguably the best in the league top to bottom. If the offensive line is healthy or has the right guys ready to go, this is a team that won’t be stopped. Think about the losses on the year, most of them were because the Browns were missing key pieces of their team either due to COVID or injury. This isn’t a cupcake team and anyone thinking the Chiefs are going to roll the Browns have another thing coming.
This team can score on anyone. They beat the top defensive teams in the league, or torched them. The Chiefs are not a strong defensive team and can be beaten. Heck, they lost to the Raiders in fair conditions, and nearly lost to the Panthers. The Browns have a real shot here.
There’s no denying it any longer. We’ve been saying since Week 2 this team is differnet, Mayfield is different, that this team is capable of doing more and being more. Their only issues is their defense, which if ithey lose on Sunday, will almost land exclusively on that unit.
Until Sunday, however, we’re going to bask in the glow of the Steelers loss and celebrate the fact that not only did the Browns win a playoff game, but they shut up an entire fanbase in the process. We’re still waiting on those fans to get back to us after saying “leave your phones on, we’ll be back next week.”
Well, spoiler, they didn’t come back this week.
The Browns woke up feeling dangerous.