D'Ernest Johnson ran for a ten-yard score it in the third quarter for the only touchdown the Browns would score and Nick Chubb lead the runners with 6 yards.
The now 4-4 Browns will travel to Cincinnati next week to battle the Bengals.
Brownie Bits
1) Look, I'm going to try to be level-headed and not make this about Baker Mayfield, who didn't throw an interception and threw for 225 yards but when your season is disappointing and your supposedly high-powered offense isn't scaring anyone- that is where things start.
2) Once again, when forced to sit in the pocket, Mayfield is consistently high with his throws and disrupts the offense.
An example comes on the game's first drive, Austin Hooper is wide open and where is the ball?
Over this head, Hooper is forced to leap for it, can't come down with it, and to the Mayfield Kool-Aid drinkers, it is on Hooper.
Sure, he likely should have caught the ball anyway, but Mayfield's throw made an easy play a more difficult play and why add difficulty?
3) Mayfield generally is effective rolling to his left and not his right but this season Mayfield isn't rolling to the left.
Perhaps teams are taking that away from him and maybe it's Kevin Stefanski trying to protect the shoulder but the one thing that Mayfield is comfortable and effective doing has essentially been taken from the offense.
4) This is taken from Jason Lloyd of The Athletic and gives facts and stats to an opinion I've held of Mayfield from the start-the inability to throw the football downfield bites them in the final drives of the game.
"Mayfield and the Browns again faced the exact situation I referenced after the loss to the Chiefs in the opener: trailing by one score or less in the last four minutes of the game. In those instances throughout his career, Mayfield is 33 of 62 for 401 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. The five picks are tied with Sam Darnold as the most by any quarterback in that situation since 2018, Mayfield’s rookie year, and his passer rating is 61.3. The Browns are 3-11 in those situations".
5) The receivers aren't blameless.
Jarvis Landry is the most reliable receiver Cleveland has and he lost a key fumble with six minutes to go and then on the final drive, Landry dropped two more passes.
Everyone can have a bad day but Landry's second half was not only bad but unexpectedly bad.
6) Odell Beckham isn't the player that the Browns traded for.
I know this ranks under no kidding but he lacks the explosiveness that he once had to take a 12-yard slant to the end zone and he seems to be picking his plays to give a better effort.
Beckham caught a screen pass in the first quarter and wasn't targeted again until the pass that Mayfield threw over his head and was bailed out by a roughing the passer call.
I think both guys deserve some brickbats for that- Mayfield for the lousy throw and Beckham could have tried a bit harder to reach the football.
7) An offense based around the tight ends lacks the explosive difference-maker that the offense needs.
Austin Hooper drops more than he did in Atlanta and falls down when he does catch it (Is it possible to be negative in yards after catch?), Harrison Bryant seems to have potential but he's not physical and athletic as the elite players are and David Njoku has the ability to be that player but never the consistency.
8) Nick Chubb didn't have a great game, but when the other team camps eight and occasionally nine players in the box because they don't respect the downfield passing game, I suppose that will happen.
Chubb never let that affect his play and despite his being, at less than 100 percent Chubb is still giving his top effort.
9) And for all that I've written about Baker Mayfield's average play, I won't question his effort or his toughness.
To have an injury as he does and still play shows that he cares and has plenty of toughness.
I'll never knock him on that issue.
10) I also can't get past for all of the disciplines that Kevin Stefanski preaches that this team does so many brain dead mistakes.
Rashard Higgins with a false start in Steeler territory?
And how many boneheaded dumb personal fouls will Ronnie Harrison going to commit before he wakes up.
11) I couldn't let this go by without mentioning the absolutely idiotic fake field goal rollout called by Pittsburgh with kicker Chris Boswell resulting in Boswell being smashed by Jordan Elliott and missing the remainder of the game.
This left Pittsburgh without a kicker and forced the Steelers to try two-point conversions after both of their second-half touchdowns with both conversions failing.
Those failures could have cost the Steelers the game, had the Browns scored on their final drive.
Why teams get cute with the only position on the field that you don't carry a backup on the active roster and can win or lose you a game is beyond stupid.
12) Is this end of the Browns?
No, not considering even at 4-4 and last in the division, they are only one game out in the win column and a win in Cincinnati this Sunday would place them back into contention.
However, it may be time for Kevin Stefanski to decide a few things.
How can the Browns best relieve the clogging in the box that defenses are resorting to stopping Nick Chubb and the short passing game?
Is it better to use a damaged Baker Mayfield or a healthy Case Keenum, No matter the opinion of Mayfield after Stefanski's statement earlier in the week that Mayfield would start as long as he wanted to?
Can Stefanski as play-caller be as creative on the fly as he is on the planned play calls on the Browns first possessions?
Can the possible loss of Jack Conklin at right tackle again be adequately replaced to protect Mayfield?
All of these are legitimate questions and all of these may hold the keys to the Browns final nine games.
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