Four observations from the Cleveland Browns 38-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their 17th straight loss at Heinz Field.
1. Mayfield played really poor
Baker Mayfield played badly, like really badly. Some will try to say the issue is that he was playing hurt. If he really was that hurt and it impacted his performance that much he should not have been on the field to begin with. Also, how would his injury impact his vision on the field because he did not see Minkah Fitzpatrick on his first interception of the day. Speaking of interceptions, he should have three but one was called back due to a penalty on former Browns corner Joe Haden. Mayfield was eventually benched, something that should have happened earlier in the game. Now that Cleveland has started the process they might as well finish it by benching him for good.
2. The offense misses Chubb
Nick Chubb is more important to the offense than many imagined. While Kareem Hunt is a good complimentary piece, he is not at the same level as Chubb. Without Chubb the Browns offensive attack just doesn’t have that punch they really need. Chubb’s return from his injury cannot come soon enough.
3. Kevin Stefanski’s game plan was not great
The offensive game plan did not really impress all that much Sunday. Pittsburgh was more than ready for everything that the Browns were going to call. At one point they had the quarterback cadence timed perfectly and were in the backfield before the play could even get off the ground. Pittsburgh was even ready for the trick play that Kevin Stefanski has grown fond of calling and it was a complete disaster from the start. It was almost like the defense was in the huddle when the plays were being called. The offense was very predictable and it was the first time since Week 1 that the team looked unprepared.
4. Are the Browns actually good?
Yes, the Browns have four wins and they were doing things that haven’t happened since before the franchise was inactive for three years. The reality is that when they played two really good opponents they got the doors blown off of them and it was not particularly close. Cleveland’s four wins came against two bad teams and two teams who appear to not be as good as we thought they were. On the other hand their two losses came against the elite teams in the division with the gap between them appearing to be quite large.
