The Cleveland Browns remained perfect in the AFC North with an impressive 21-7 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers. The win improved the Browns to 4-6 and dropped Pittsburgh to 5-5, but the score and standings and game all take a back seat to the ugly brawl at the end of the game involving Myles Garrett, Mason Rudolph and others.
The multiple ejections will be widely disseminated over the next few days. There will be major fines and certainly a suspension for Garrett. But here, we’ll just focus on the game prior to the unthinkable ending.
Baker Mayfield and the Browns passing offense proved hit-and-miss all night. For every great throw, including a fantastic late TD to rookie TE Stephen Carlson to push the lead to 21-7, there were wild misfires in the general direction of Odell Beckham Jr. Mayfield completed 17 of his 32 pass attempts, netting 193 yards and tossing two TDs. He avoided pressure nicely and looked confident in making several throws, though the connections weren’t always there.
It was that kind of a game. The Browns played well in general but not quite well enough to bury what was left of the dilapidated Steelers. Joe Schobert turned in a masterful performance on defense, picking off two passes and smartly being used by defensive coordinator Steve Wilks as the playmaking piece on the chessboard. Schobert was everywhere and an easy choice for player of the game.
But as good as Schobert was, safety Damarious Randall struggled before he was (rightly) ejected for a vicious and unnecessary helmet-to-helmet hit that left Steelers WR Diontae Johnson bleeding from inside his ear. Denzel Ward continued his rollercoaster with a bad early pass interference call, but the second-year CB also made some nice plays.
The game was won largely on the back of the defense creating four takeaways. With the Browns protecting the ball well once again–zero giveaways for the third game in a row–the defense was more than effective enough to stymie the Steelers, who were missing RB James Conner, WR Juju Smith-Schuster and Johnson.
Even the Browns special teams were all over the map. Punter Jamie Gillan was fantastic, booming kicks and setting up his cover men nicely. But fellow rookie kicker Austin Seibert missed both of his field goal attempts.
The win revitalizes the Browns playoff chances, pending the disciplinary actions that are certainly coming.