CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Browns resisted the Steelers on Sunday, 24-22. But that is just what the scoreboard said.
Here are the real winners and losers of the game:
WINNER: Trilogies
Browns-Steelers I was the type of idiot who goes straight to the video.
Browns-Steelers II had much more intrigue, but it lacked the power of the stars (although it is already a cult classic in Cleveland).
The NFL is not ready to cancel this series yet, because the third episode is coming to you on Sunday night in the version of an AFC Wild Card game.
Browns-Steelers III: Beginners strike back!
Who starts? Who knows?
But both teams will have several players back on the playoff roster after a week off or a week on the reserve / COVID-19 list. The game is already scheduled for prime time.
The biggest reason behind this is certainly division rivalry. The Browns and Steelers will not only play for the third time this season, it will also be the third time they have faced each other in the finals.
The first meeting was in 1995, a 29-9 loss to the Browns. The second was in 2002, a 36-33 defeat by the Browns.
The Browns went 0-3 against the Steelers in both seasons. And in 2002 the Browns lost all three meetings by three points. Talk about boring trilogies. It is as if they remade the same script indefinitely.
The Browns never won a playoff game against a division opponent.
Along with the defeats to the Steelers, the Browns lost a Wild Card game in 1988 to the Oilers. Similar to this season, the Browns had to face the Oilers in the final game of the regular season (a victory), then turn around a week later and face them in the playoffs (a defeat).
The division’s opponents have faced each other in the playoffs 20 times since 2002, when the NFL realigned itself to an eight-division format. The Browns and Steelers were first on the list with the 2002 playoff meeting.
They will be joined this year by the Rams and Seahawks, who will meet at the NFC.
The team with the fewest seeds won 10 of those 20 playoff games among the division’s opponents, with a No. 6 seed beating a No. 3 seed in five of them.
This season, the Browns are in sixth place.
Steelers is No. 3.
WINNER: Baker Mayfield
Should we start calling Baker Mayfield the double threat quarterback?
Probably not.
But he made two of the biggest moves in the game when running with the ball, which makes him a kind of threat.
The first move was his 28-yard run in the third quarter, going from the Steelers’ 44-yard line to 16. He launched a touchdown pass to Austin Hooper three moves later.
The second play came with 1:10 left and the Browns faced the third to 2. Kevin Stefanski called a goalkeeper, and Mayfield followed Jack Conklin and Kareem Hunt on the right end for three yards and a first down. This allowed Mayfield to kneel on the next move and exhaust the remaining seconds of the game.
Mayfield had 44 run yards in the game, a career record. Overall, he fought for the first three defeats against the Steelers.
As a passer, Mayfield finished 17 of 27 for 196 yards and a touchdown. This included 10 out of 12 in the second half.
He ends the regular season with the third highest passer score in a single season (95.9) in the history of the Browns, behind Milt Plum (110.4, 1960) and Otto Graham (99.7, 1953).
LOSER: Third-and-long
Steelers had 8 out of 17 on third casualties, including 5 out of 10 in the first half.
Each conversion seemed to come in the third and long.
Rudolph completed passes for first runs on the third and 8 (twice), third and 9, third and 10 and third and 11. Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson had 41-yard receptions on third downs, and JuJu Smith-Schuster had a reception of 26 yards.
We’re not even counting Claypool’s footprint for a 28-yard touchdown on the fourth to 10.
There are many long conversions that the Browns will not want to repeat on Sunday.
WINNER: Jacob Phillips
It’s been an intermittent debut season for Jacob Phillips. He has been inactive for six games and suffered a knee injury. Pro Football Focus gives him the team’s lowest defensive score in 15 games (34.4) and he had seven tackles in 102 snaps.
But with BJ Goodson on the reserve / COVID-19 list this week, Phillips was pressured to start working for the first time since Week 1, when he had 12 snaps in total.
Phillips had a maximum score of 10 tackles on Sunday, including a first-quarter loss tackle. But it was his blitz with Ronnie Harrison in the third quarter that was his biggest moment.
With Phillips pressing the middle and Harrison on the side, Mason Rudolph subdued JuJu Smith-Schuster, allowing MJ Stewart to intercept.
All of Browns’ other choices in the draft (except the injured Grant Delpit) had their moment this season. Jedrick Wills Jr. begins. Jordan Elliott forced a big fumble against the Eagles and played a key role in slowing Derrick Hendry from the Titans.
Harrison Bryant has three touchdowns. Nick Harris entered the right guard for two games. Donovan Peoples-Jones made some crucial catches this season.
Now Phillips has his moment.
LOST: Stefanski’s fourth and seventh best move on the opponent’s 35-yard line
The Browns were 0 out of 2 in fourth place against the Steelers. This follows what they did throughout the season, which is 8 to 22. This is tied for 10th in attempts, but 28th in conversion percentage (36.4) before Sunday’s game.
Stefanski mainly does what the analytical consensus says he should do on the fourth descent. And, believe it or not, going to fourth to 7 from your opponent’s 35-yard line is not entirely frowned upon by the analytical crowd.
According to the 4th Down Bot of the New York Times, which offers data on such decisions, coaches should try on the fourth and 7th anywhere between the opponent’s 44 and 36 yard lines. So Stefanski was well into his prime.
The key to all of this was time. There were only 3:41 left in the game. A 52-yard field goal puts the Browns at 27-16. But Cody Parkey has yet to try one of over 50 this season. And lately there have been unstable Parkey moments.
It really came down to a Stefanski trial.
“How many yards have we lost at stake previously? I probably would have kicked him if we hadn’t lost the yards, but we had a move in that window that we hadn’t used and it was really the best move in that window, ”said Stefanski. “I felt good about it, so that was it.”
The Browns led 24-16 at the time. A third sack fell four yards. But the Browns maintained their attack on the field and lined up 11 people with KhaDarel Hodge, Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins divided by the right. Mayfield’s Higgins pass was low and incomplete.
The play didn’t work, but it should. Higgins was open. A better shot keeps the momentum alive.
Good decision. Poor execution.
WINNER: Survivors 1-31
Joel Bitonio was a choice for the Browns’ second round in 2014. Charley Hughlett was hired by the training team a few months later, and was later drafted by a few other teams before returning in December.
No one on the Browns’ list has been here any longer.
But when it comes to experiencing the drama and frustration of the previous four seasons – including the 1-31 period of 2016 and 2017 – Bitonio and Hughlett have some company.
Another 1-31 survivors made it to the playoffs include Rashard Higgins, the last remaining member of the rookie class of 14 players of 2016. There are also Myles Garrett and David Njoku in the first round of 2017, along with Larry Ogunjobi in the third round of that year. And JC Tretter, who signed as a free agent that year.
Tretter was the only one in the group who had even experienced a winning record, thanks to his three seasons at Green Bay.
And, of course, there are fans of the Browns. They are also survivors from 1-31 and 13 years since the last winning record and 18 years since the last playoff game and 26 years since the last season of 11 wins.
LOSER: Grudges
WINNER: Rebranding
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