Three Down Look: Browns Dropped by Steelers 26-14

A look at three different things that can be taken away from the Cleveland Browns loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.

Cleveland fell to Pittsburgh in a game that didn’t seem like it was just a 12-point loss. The Browns fell by a score of 26-14 to the Steelers, but the winning team controlled it all the way.

Cleveland’s offense sputtered and turned the ball over when it counted the most. Playoff hopes were already gone for the Browns, maybe their pride went with it.

Quarterback position is due for a long and hard look

Going into the season Baker Mayfield very well could have played himself into a huge contract extension. The Houston Texans games rolls around and boom, Mayfield is hurt. This starts a domino effect of bad quarterback play for much of the season. Mayfield added injuries, offensive line injuries piled up and COVID-19 ran rampant as the Browns dropped games they shouldn’t have. Especially for a team that was once painted as a contender.

No matter what the reason is Mayfield took a huge step back and the front office will have to weigh their options. Mayfield is already back next year on his fifth year option, but that doesn’t mean much. If the team wants to move on they could find a trade partner, it just depends if there’s any rational options for Cleveland.

Maybe the team just brings in competition, but a look at the quarterback position is over due. The play from Mayfield has been terrible this year as he looks like one of the worst in the league behind center. Best case scenario for all involved is he has the surgery, recovers well and improves next year. It shouldn’t be that easy though, the Browns at least have to look at pushing him with some competition.

Defense is there and it’s been there

Coming into the season the Browns’ offense was expected to be ahead of the defense as it built chemistry. Early on in the season against the Chicago Bears this Cleveland defense showed what it was capable of. Defense coordinator Joe Woods finally got the guys he needed to run his system and it is working.

Of course there has been some injuries, but players like Grant Delpit, Greedy Williams and MJ Stewart have stepped up in big ways this season. Cleveland has legit stars in Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, as well as all-around smart players in Anthony Walker and John Johnson III. In 2021 the Cleveland defense was everything it was thought to be.

The offense may have put it in bad situations at times, but it normally panned out. Jadeveon Clowney came to Cleveland and has had a great year, another testament to this working defense. There is plenty to talk about after the season, but the defense not doing it’s job won’t be one. Sure, the team can add some defensive line help and maybe a linebacker. But, the job that was done this season by Woods and co. has been great.

2021 has been a reality check for Kevin Stefanski

Coming off of a season where the Cleveland Browns head coach was Coach of The Year, this year doesn’t really make sense. The team took a step back as whole, as did the head coach. Some can question if Stefanski has put players in a place to succeed this season, for example rookie James Hudson blocking all-pro T.J. Watt one-on-one. Stefanski has a hand in on the impact of this season.

This doesn’t mean that everyone should jump off the Stefanski’ bus or anything. A coaching change would be beyond silly. The year should just come as a reality check to Stefanski. Coaches have to be a student of the game and continue to develop and adapt. Surely Stefanski is doing that, but it didn’t happen on the field this season.

Play calling has been fine in the large part, maybe some questions about usage exist. There were games where Nick Chubb very well could have ran the ball down the defense’s throat, but the Browns elected to pass and the inevitable interception happened.

2022 offseason will be the first time that Stefanski as a head coach will come off a non-winning season. It is just his second year, so this will be new for him as a head coach. Perhaps it will be good for him, as a reality check can work out

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Brandon Little is a writer for Sports Illustrated’s Browns Digest website and you can follow him on Twitter here. You can follow Browns Digest on Twitter as well here.

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