Steelers, Browns clearly far apart
PITTSBURGH – Myles Garrett alternated between whistling and singing to himself as Michael Jackson’s “She’s Out of My Life” mournfully wafted from the speaker on his cellphone, which sat on the top shelf of his stall inside the visitors locker room at Heinz Field.
Garrett, a 6-4, 272-pound 22-yearold, chuckled to himself and shook his head while pulling on his T-shirt, reflecting on the King of Pop’s words, and perhaps the irony of the moment. Garrett’s Browns, like MJ, had blown an opportunity and had no choice but to deal with the loss.
Describing the most difficult aspect of the defeat on Sunday at the hands of the Steelers a short time later, Garrett smiled weakly, sighed and said, “Knowing that we were toe-to-toe with them first time we played, and that we gave them one (this time). Should’ve been a lot closer. There were some plays we could’ve made on all three phases of the game and didn’t take advantage of that.”
Indeed, the rebuilding Browns did battle their division rivals to a 21-21 tie in the first week of the season. Garrett and teammates drew encouragement from that because of their own aspirations and because of the standard the Steelers have set as consistent AFC North contenders.
But seven weeks later, the Browns looked nowhere close to Pittsburgh’s level. After a closely contested first quarter, Cleveland collapsed, and the shot at an upset slipped away.
The Steelers, who rolled to a 33-18 victory, are trending upward, having extended their winning streak to three games. The early-season kinks that plagued them during a 1-2-1 start seem thoroughly resolved and long forgotten. Confidence and a keen focus reign supreme within that locker room.
The Browns, meanwhile, seemingly have regressed. Answers remain elusive, dysfunction permeates from the organization and uncertainty looms as players and coach Hue Jackson continue to face questions about the competency of the staff and job security of offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
The midway point of the NFL season drew nigh for the Steelers (4-2-1) and Browns (2-5-1) and Sunday’s contest seemed to reflect the true state of each franchise.
The Steelers, who returned from their bye week without skipping a beat, have begun to “hit their stride,” as mem- bers of the locker room put it. They weathered the early-season storm and now look very much like a squad equipped to win their division and contend in the postseason.
The Browns might have made modest improvements during the offseason as Jackson and general manager John Dorsey aim to reverse the course of a franchise that went 1-31 in Jackson’s first two seasons at the helm. But they still have a long, long way to go.
For the Steelers, Sunday’s game played out much like the course of their season thus far.
The offense sputtered at the outset. A punt, an interception and a punt reflected the early going for Ben Roethlisberger and his unit. But because the Steelers are built to withstand those bleak times, “no one hit the panic button,” guard Ramon Foster explained.
“You can’t fight the negative stuff,” he said. “Football is a game of mistakes more than anything, and the team that makes the least mistakes has the greater chance of winning. We really just capitalized on our opportunities. I guess you can say we felt it out a little bit and went with what was working. We just caught a groove. We were in good spots. It (comes from experience). Especially what we do. Myles Garrett got the sack early ... but you just chalk it up to: That guy is a damn good player and you just keep moving on. A few minutes later Ben throws the touchdown.”
Roethlisberger’s first touchdown pass even came off of a broken play. Down 6-0 early in the second quarter, he broke from a collapsing pocket to run, then saw Antonio Brown racing up the sideline uncovered, and with a flick of the wrist fired a 43-yard touchdown pass. Later, he orchestrated a sevenminute scoring drive capped by a 1-yard toss to Brown, and Pittsburgh led 14-6 at halftime. Order was restored.
“With the guys we have on this offense, we have the opportunity at all times to score and make big plays, and guys realize that,” Foster said.
Meanwhile, in a fashion indicative of their season, the Browns showed that their promising start isn’t sustainable. Pittsburgh’s defense exposed the inadequacies of Cleveland’s offensive line.
Chatter about Haley’s job security arose last week when Jackson mentioned wanting to get involved with the offensive game-planning. Because both men own strong personalities, speculation spiked of a rift between the two. But nothing changed when it came to the operation of the offense on a day-today basis last week, and Haley remained on the job.
But Sunday’s outing against the Steelers showed the Browns’ problems go well beyond play-calling. Dorsey and his staff checked off a number of boxes this offseason as they found a franchise quarterback in Baker Mayfield, added play-makers such as wide receiver Jarvis Landry and running back Nick Chubb, and gave the defense a potential shutdown corner in fourth overall pick Denzel Ward.
But much work remains, and it must start along the offensive line. The Browns’ best chances for success Sunday came with quick-hitter passes that got the ball out of Mayfield’s hands quickly. But the unit needed to move downfield in big chunks and put points on the board. It couldn’t because Mayfield had little time to let plays unfold. Balance could have helped ease pressure on the quarterback, but the point deficit basically eliminated the run game from the equation, and Cleveland struggled mightily while routinely faced with third-and-long situations (and went 3-for-13 on third downs).
But questions of coaching competency came up frequently within the Browns’ postgame media scrums.
Garrett did question whether the Browns got too cute on defense rather than using a straight-forward approach to attack the Steelers as they did in Week 1. But the pass-rusher and his teammates — leaders such as guard Joe Bitonio and defensive back Damarious Randall — insisted they remain confident in the staff.
The Browns’ search for answers will extend through the remainder of the season and an offseason that could feature more change, a stark contrast from that of the opposing locker room Sunday.
The Steelers largely have figured things out. The uncertainty about Le’Veon Bell’s return and unresolved long-term contract status remains. But there’s no question among players and coaches about their abilities. They’ve been here and know exactly what they have to do in the next eight weeks.
“We’ve just got to continue to hit our stride,” Brown said. “We know once it gets past November, the teams are going to show themselves. We want to play in the postseason, so we’ve got to continue to get better.”