1) Before I get into the game and the many criticisms, I don't always feel bad for players when they are injured.
Of course, I don't wish for them to be injured but injuries are part of the game and most players are paid well to play.
However, Nick Chubb is a player that does everything right.
Chubb plays hard, leaves all on the field, is a team player, and you hear nothing negative about him off the field.
He's exactly the type of player that you want representing your team and to suffer an injury to the same knee that needed major reconstruction at Georgia at minimum makes him unlikely to return in a similar manner as he has performed thus far in his career, well I feel bad for Nick Chubb and wish him the best in his recovery.
He deserves all the thoughts that he's been receiving all night.
2) Now the Browns have claimed to be "All In" this season, should the Browns consider trading for Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor?
Depends on the cost as the Browns have the previous two drafts and next year's first-rounder gone to Houston for DeShaun Watson and would have to move their 2025 first-rounder.
Can Cleveland afford to lose four first-round picks in a row?
3) Jerome Ford played very well in replacing Nick Chubb but he didn't look great in short yardage and there is only Pierre Strong behind Ford.
Could the Browns make an overture to Kareem Hunt, who is still available, it would make sense but Hunt and the Browns didn't part on great terms it seems.
4) DeShaun Watson wasn't good.
Again.
I won't fault Watson for either of Pittsburgh's defensive touchdowns as Harrison Bryant should have caught the ball that ricocheted to Alex Highsmith on the first play of the game and Watson was crunched from the blind side and never saw Highsmith coming on the play that decided the game as T.J. Watt grabbed the loose ball and scored the winning touchdown.
5) But otherwise, I saw very little to get excited about other than a few good throws and there weren't more than a smattering of those.
Watson's inaccuracy was almost Mayfeldesque and he never seemed comfortable all evening.
I'm not sure if the problem is DeShaun Watson or his fit into Kevin Stefanski's system or both but one thing is for sure- If this is the player that the Browns are paying sixty-five million in each of the next two seasons and mortgaged the franchises draft picks for, someone is going to pay with their job and it better be the whole damn bunch.
Not only one of DePodesta, Berry, and Stefanski- ALL of them.
6) While I'm running out of patience as some continue to excuse Watson's play last season and this, the one break that I can give him is the offensive line has been unable to protect him.
Andrew Berry has invested big money into Watson's protection and while Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller were fine and rookie Dawand Jones was decent enough for his first pro start against T.J. Watt, Jedric Wills was terrible and seemed to give up after he was beaten and Ethan Pocic was called twice for holding penalties.
7) Considering the money the Browns are paying out, even a strong pass-rushing team like Pittsburgh shouldn't have collected six sacks, and without Watson's mobility, the total could have been in double digits.
From what I saw against Pittsburgh, a concrete statue of Bob's Big Boy might be a better option at left tackle than Jedric Wills.
8) Amari Cooper deserves kudos for his seven catches for ninety yards considering that he was playing with a groin injury that appeared to have kept him out of the lineup as late as Monday afternoon.
Cooper made a key catch in the fourth quarter that had Watson not fumbled on the drive, might have been the talk of Cleveland.
Not bad from a guy that wasn't going to play.
9) The Cleveland defense gave the Browns every chance to win this game.
Other than the blown coverage on a 75-yard touchdown by George Pickens (and boy am I glad Andrew Berry was scared off by his "character" questions), you could not ask for more than the defense did in this game.
10) The Pickens score was the only touchdown allowed by the defense and they confused Kenny Pickett throughout the game.
11) I have one thing that I cling to from this game.
Pittsburgh has tied their future to Kenny Pickett and he looks pretty pedestrian to me as the Steelers quarterback for the next few years at least.
I'm pretty sure on this one, Pittsburgh isn't going to be able to win every game like they did this one, and sooner or later, this will bite the Steelers.
Watching the Browns and their parade of below-average quarterbacks, I like to think I know what a bad quarterback looks like, Pittsburgh may have one.
12) Grant Delpit intercepted a pass (although he fumbled it out of bounds) and continued his strong play and the secondary played well all around other than the one big play.
13) I could add even more and maybe I will later in the week but the Browns season looks to be in big trouble at 1-1 when they could have jumped to a large advantage over Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
With a questionable quarterback, their top offensive weapon out for the year, little depth behind him, and an expensive offensive line that is offering the type of pass protection that one would expect from security at the local Dollar Tree, the Browns will play their next three games at home against Tennessee, Baltimore, and San Francisco.
Any less than winning two of those three games and the Browns season could be behind the eight-ball with twelve games to go.
This loss was that bad...
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