Cleveland Browns: Grades from the bizarre defeat in Pittsburgh

Running Backs: C

Cleveland’s running backs brought forth both the best of the Browns and the worst of the Browns on Sunday. Statistically, it was one of their best games of the season. Isaiah Crowell ran for 152 yards on 19 carries, and even George Atkinson ran for a career high 34 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

Unfortunately, statistics don’t tell the entire story. If they did, the Browns would have won. On a first and goal from the five-yard line with just seconds remaining in a tie game, Crowell took the ball for the 19th time and coughed it up, costing the Browns a chance at a game-winning field goal.

This moment alone is devastating enough to bump the grade of the running backs from a borderline “A” all the way down to an average “C”. The inability to trust Crowell during the most critical point of the game is alarming. In fact, his fumble may have had something to do with the questionable play calling on the sequence of goal-to-go downs in overtime. With this in mind, it could be argued that Crowell cost the Browns the game twice.

Of course, the burst of speed evident in Crowell’s 67-yard scamper, which led to the game-tying touchdown, late in the fourth quarter gave fans a glimpse of the talent they have in the 23-year-old back. But even though Crowell may ignite the team at times, he also has a way of igniting their chances of winning. On Sunday, both of these characteristics of the running backs were on display.