Browns: 3 takeaways from Week 1 loss to Pittsburgh
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns may not have won on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but here are three reasons to be optimistic about the season.
It may have been a familiar ending on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium, but that does not mean these are the same Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland dropped a 21-18 decision to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their 13th consecutive loss on opening day and their 18th since 1999. The loss was also Cleveland’s fifth consecutive to the Steelers and 24th in their last 27 meetings.
But the Browns did enough good things on the day to give fans hope that things are finally starting to turn in Cleveland’s favor.
Here are three takeaways from today’s game that should keep fans coming back for more.
The defense is full of piss and vinegar
The Browns took it to Pittsburgh throughout much of the first half as they held the Steelers to just 18 plays and 42 yards of total offense on the first four offensive drives of the game, each of which ended with a punt by the Steelers.
It wasn’t until the final drive of the first half that Pittsburgh was able to get anything going, and as we’ve seen far too often in the past, that resulted in a 91-yard touchdown drive just before halftime.
That stung, but for the day the Browns allowed just 290 yards of total offense and limited the Steelers to just 35 rushing yards and 2.1 yards per carry. More importantly, they held Pittsburgh to just 14 points – a far cry from the almost 30 points a game the defense gave up last season.
The Browns were not able to put much pressure on Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and it ultimately burned them, but the defense flashed enough to show that they are going to make opposing offenses work for whatever they get this season.
And they did it without defensive end Myles Garrett.
DeShone Kizer is a rookie – and that is OK
DeShone Kizer joined a growing list of Browns rookie quarterbacks who have lost their debut game, a list that now stands at 10 quarterbacks drafted by the club since 1999.
But amid the growing pains that are going to be a part of Kizer’s game for the foreseeable future, there was a lot to like.
Kizer finished the game 20-of-30 for 222 yards and accounted for both of Cleveland’s touchdowns – one on a one-yard run in the first quarter and another on a three-yard pass to Corey Coleman in the fourth quarter.
He also took seven sacks, two of which were not his fault, threw a horrible interception, held onto the ball too long, and missed some throws that would have gone for big gains.
Kizer did not always receive a lot of help, however, as the running game only chipped in 57 yards and 2.3 yards per carry, Kenny Britt had a drop on a perfect pass that would have gone for a big gain, and Kasen Williams showed a lack of field awareness on a deep pass that should have been completed.
All in all, it was probably about as good as could be expected for a quarterback that might not be ready for primetime making his first NFL start.
The big step now is to take what worked, and try to fix what didn’t, as the Browns prepare to head to Baltimore to face a Ravens defense that pitched a shutout today against the Cincinnati Bengals.
New year, same script … sort of
We’ve all seen this movie before.
The Browns say they want to be a run-first team, but at the first sign of trouble they abandon the run and start throwing the ball.
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It happened again on Sunday against the Steelers, as the Browns threw the ball 30 times against 24 rushes – only five of which came in the second half.
Sure, the Browns were down 21-10 in the third quarter, but that is not insurmountable and the team spent a considerable about of money on the offensive line in the offseason. But, once again, head coach Hue Jackson kept dialing up pass plays, pass out of empty backfields in the red zone, and just couldn’t control himself when it came time to take some pressure of Kizer and put it on the Steelers.
Where things were different came in how the Browns responded to adversity.
The game could not have started much worse for Cleveland as they opened with a three-and-out followed by a blocked punt for a Pittsburgh touchdown.
In the past that would have been enough. The Browns would have folded and the Steelers would have rolled a 30-point victory.
But this time the Browns fought back, gave as good as they got, and it was a three-point game with a little more than three-and-a-half minutes remaining.
The Browns could not get the ball back as Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown hooked up for 38 yards on one of those plays that the Steelers always seem to pull out against the Browns, but this is a different Browns team with an improved attitude.
That may not have been enough to pull out the victory today, but it does inspire hope that this season will in on way resemble 2016.
Odds and Ends
Corey Coleman, Seth DeValve, Ricardo Louis and David Njoku combined for 13 of Cleveland’s 20 receptions and 147 of their 222 passing yards. But a bad day for the youngsters.
Derrick Kindred notched his first NFL interception and added 30 yards on the return.
After being plagued by penalties throughout the preseason, the Browns cleaned things up by committing just four on Sunday. For a team that can struggle to move the ball under the best of circumstances, that is huge.
Next: Browns lose a close one, 21-18
Speaking of penalties, the Steelers continue to be the dirtiest team in the league. On Sunday Pittsburgh was flagged 13 times for 144 yards, including more personal fouls for cheap shots than one team should be allowed.