The Cleveland Browns left Pittsburgh Monday night with two major losses. The Browns lost Nick Chubb during the game before losing to the Steelers’ defense in the final minutes. The game felt like an eternity after Nick Chubb suffered a brutal knee injury.
The Browns were battling the Steelers and a plague of injuries. It became obvious in the demeanors of the offensive players that they were looking to survive Monday night. Sadly, they were not able to as Deshaun looked gun-shy, battered, and everything else besides looking like a quarter of a billion-dollar man. The offense looked disjointed with Amari Cooper and Jerome Ford occasionally breathing life into the body without organs.
Buy Browns TicketsThe defense was able to keep on a brave face and remained steadfast despite the offense’s incompetence. A horrible miscommunication between Denzel Ward and Juan Thornhill allowed for a long George Pickens touchdown. While Ward was pointing at Thornhill to switch to Pickens, my early conclusion is that Ward should’ve locked onto George since the route broke nearly 10 yards downfield.
Unfortunately, miscommunications will occur early in the season. It helps when that’s the only touchdown given up by the defense. With Watson and the offense giving up the other two touchdowns. That buys them some leeway in this week’s studs and duds.
Stud: S Grant Delpit and the defense
Grant Delpit led the team in tackles for a second straight game. The fourth-year safety is firing on all cylinders after a quiet coming-out party last season. Delpit came away with an interception early in the game that put the Browns in the Steelers’ red zone. He would later recover the fumble from a savage Denzel Ward hit before fumbling the ball out of the ball that can only be described as “Chaplinesque.”
As a unit, the defense deserves its flowers. While they did allow a few long gains, the Browns were able to keep the Steelers from entering the red zone. The Browns’ defense allowed -7 yards in the 4th quarter to preserve the lead. They got the ball back for the offense. They did everything right only to be failed by the offense.
Fumbles everywhere!
📺: #CLEvsPIT on ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/zWM8hlwLFw pic.twitter.com/5sKASO1Jjp— NFL (@NFL) September 19, 2023
Dud: QB Deshaun Watson
Watson is going to face a serious reality check on the field. Without Nick Chubb to build a dynamic passing attack off, Watson will have to show why he is worth $230 million and three first-round picks. If defenses start to sit on the passing game because the running game provides no threat, then Watson will have to elevate his game to heights he hasn’t seen since Houston.
Watson has a lot to prove to himself, but he won’t be able to do that until he starts trusting his intuition and the offense. He needs to play in the structure of the offense for the offense to thrive. Since his return, Watson has waited to see receivers get open before throwing it, sometimes opting not to throw the ball altogether. But in the NFL, that’s a second too slow. Defensive players can react quickly to shut down the throwing window. If he can start operating this offense like Jacoby Brissett while being able to improvise like he always has, then the Browns are still a playoff threat.
None of what I wrote addresses the elephant in the room, which is the strip sack that sealed the game for the Steelers. There’s a lot of blame to go around. The Steelers love to sell out against the pass when they suspect a play-action pass.
They blitzed, and Alex Highsmith’s wide alignment allowed him to easily beat Jedrick Wills to the spot seven yards behind Wills. It was an extremely tough assignment, but one you’d hope to see the former first-round pick execute. But Deshaun needs to hold onto the ball. Especially with the game on the line inside our own 20. Ideally, he audibles into a different play. Watson’s decision-making was questionable the entire night, most notably on his first and second facemask penalties.
I’m not sure that’s the consistency we’re looking for.
Dud: WR Donovan Peoples-Jones
Donovan Peoples-Jones has entered his contract year in one of the worst possible ways. The big-play wide receiver was a serviceable returner and blocker last year. This year the wide receiver looks alienated and disinterested. Peoples-Jones helped pin the Browns’ offense inside the 20 with his refusal to return a punt on Monday night.
Pittsburgh’s punter had over 320 punting yards with four punts downed inside the 20. If the Browns are to open up their playbook, they need to be outside the shadow of the goalposts to do so. In the run game, Peoples-Jones had a poor missed assignment that allowed Ford to get tackled behind the line of scrimmage inside the Browns’ 20-yard line.
Peoples-Jones also came up short on fourth down. The ball was thrown a little too far outside for the sure-handed receiver to make a play on it. However, the play was also intended to draw a pass interference on the Steelers’ aggressive rookie cornerback. While everyone is too respectable to say it out loud, there is an art to refball.
One that was not used against the Steelers cornerback. Some of the savviest wide receivers in the game will grab the defender’s wrist or collar to bring the two closer together to sell a defensive pass interference. In some respect, receivers have to be proactive in getting a pass interference call because cornerbacks have tricks of their own. In the final play, Joey Porter Jr. holds Donovan Peoples-Jones before raising his arms over his head as the ball arrives. The game works both ways.
Hopefully, Peoples-Jones can bounce back after a bad first two games.
Joey Porter Jr. in coverage on the game-winning stop! #CLEvsPIT pic.twitter.com/yPY5EFISDP
— NFL (@NFL) September 19, 2023
