Cleveland Browns is a team that is in first place and has one of the best in that, with Nick Chubb. The Steelers had the luxury of facing the Browns without Chubb in their first fight in Week 6. He has averaged 5.6 yards per attempt this season, the best of his three-year career. Remove the 47-yard touchdown, in which the Steelers lost several tackles; Pittsburgh kept Chubbs relatively under control with 61 yards on the ground.
But after Sunday’s game, the Steelers have a new wrinkle to the game plan – quarterback Baker Mayfield escaping from his pocket and taking off. In his previous four games against Pittsburgh, Mayfield had a total of 4 runs for 17 yards. This week, he made six runs for 44 yards – three to the left and one to the right.
Mayfield, who had more yards on the ground than Kareem Hunt, had a great 28-yard run in the Steelers’ territory, which prepared them for a score. And, of course, the third-down critical conversion with one minute left to play. Their three-yard run allowed the Browns to race to victory.
“I thought we should do a better job of containing Mayfield,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said at his weekly press conference. “He hurt us a little with his legs. Not only the big race, but the big race in the last part of the third quarter that produced a touchdown boost, but also the conversion races, third downhill races when he was fighting and converting. We know that he is capable of that. Therefore, our haste has to be better, not only in terms of applying pressure, but of containing it, minimizing this component of the game. “