The first-place Cleveland Browns entered their Week 8 showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers with an opportunity. Instead, they left Acrisure Stadium with a lot more questions than answers for their first-year head coach, veteran quarterback, and ultra-young roster.
The Browns won Round 1 against Pittsburgh five weeks ago, but the rematch was no contest. Cleveland came out flat, gave the football away on its first two drives, and left Pittsburgh with a demoralizing 27-6 loss.
There wasn’t much for Browns fans to feel good about after this one. Cleveland continues to start games poorly on both sides of the ball. The Browns have now been outscored by a 52-point margin, 65-13, in the first quarter of games this season.
Their struggles to run the football on offense and stop the run on defense also came back around. The Steelers out-rushed the Browns 200-34 on Sunday.
It was ugly, and unfortunately for the Browns, it starts with the head coach.
Harold Fannin Jr. was one of the few bright spots on a forgettable afternoon for Cleveland
Loser: Todd Monken - HC
Monken is off to an extraordinary start as the Browns’ head coach, but his company line — “We’re gonna fight like hell to fix it” — rings hollow when the team repeatedly struggles with the same issues.
This matchup was telling. The Browns have been a bit mysterious for their opponents to open the season with a first-year head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator. But there was no surprising the Steelers on Sunday.
The teams were playing for the second time in five weeks. The cards were pretty much on the table prior to kickoff. This game was always going to be about adjustments.
Painful but true: The Browns got out-coached on Sunday. Mike McCarthy and his staff had the Steelers ready to make a statement, and Monken had no answers.
Loser: Deshaun Watson - QB
Watson came into this one playing some of his best football, but the decisiveness he showed over the past two weeks wasn’t there on Sunday.
Watson lost a fumble on Cleveland’s second drive and was sacked eight times. He’s the only quarterback to take that many sacks in a game this season — and he’s now done it twice. His league-leading sack total climbed to 33 in eight games.
Cleveland’s offense failed to score a touchdown and was blanked in the second half. It was a rough day at the office.
Winner: Harold Fannin Jr. - TE
Fannin lost a fumble on Cleveland’s opening drive of the game, but he rebounded with a career game against a tough Steelers defense.
Fannin finished with 10 catches for 154 yards, becoming the first Browns tight end with 150-plus receiving yards in a game since Ozzie Newsome in 1984, per ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi.
The Browns have now targeted their star tight end 21 times over the last two games, and he’s rewarded that volume with 16 receptions for 245 yards. He’s balling right now.
Loser: Spencer Fano - LT
As Fano said in the locker room after the game, this one wasn’t his best.
The first-round rookie struggled to handle Steelers pass rushers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig, surrendering 10 combined pressures in those matchups, per Next Gen Stats. Fano was also flagged for multiple penalties.
Loser: Carson Schwesinger - LB
Schwesinger definitely isn’t 100 percent. He made a quick trip to the blue medical tent between drives during this game but once again didn’t miss a defensive snap.
The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year struggled with three missed tackles and was targeted in coverage by the Steelers on occasion. Schwesinger got caught chasing a big play to tight end Darnell Washington early in the third quarter.
Pro Football Focus charged Schwesinger with 89 yards allowed in coverage, which would be a career high. He’s the Browns’ most important player right now, and when he’s not right, the defense isn’t the same.
Winner: The specialists
It was one of those games. Let’s shout out the kicker and punter, shall we?
Andre Szmyt connected on a 49-yarder in the first half and finished 2-for-2 on his field goal attempts for the game. That whole operation is one Browns fans can feel confident in.
Corey Bojorquez only punted the football four times, but he averaged a healthy 49.8 yards per kick and dropped three inside the Steelers' 20 yard line.
When the specialists are among your most notable stars of the game, it was probably a rough one. It’s back to the drawing board for Monken and company entering another road game at New Orleans in Week 9.
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