Did Cleveland Browns meet AFC North’s best in the Steelers?

If you thought the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to roll over and die for our Cleveland Browns this year, it’s past time to readjust expectations. 

The Cleveland Browns15-10 loss to the hated archrival Pittsburgh Steelers is a bitter disappointment, but should not come as much of a surprise to readers of this space. This fan is among those who predicted the Browns would win the AFC North Division this season.

Unlike a lot of others, I thought that the Pittsburgh Steelers, not the Baltimore Ravens, would be the principal competition in what is shaping up to be the toughest division in the NFL, with the possible exception of the NFC West.

Nothing has happened to change the assessment that the Steelers are the principal competition. They have allowed only 142 points in seven games (20.3 points per game), and they are trending better in recent weeks.

This writer cautioned Browns fans that Ben Roethlisberger was going to be fine. Not quite ready for the scrap heap. His offensive line got old and decrepit last season, and the new replacements are going to be an improvement as they learn to play as a team. This is what we saw at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday. Roethlisberger stayed upright for the most part, with only two sacks.

For these reasons, the young offensive line on Pittsburgh suddenly does not look so bad, does it? We could even say a few good things about the Bengals, except they just lost to the New York Jets, and we just can’t take them seriously if they are going to get involved with greasy kid stuff like that.

Pittsburgh has to be taken seriously as a contender. The basic formula of a premier defensive team, with a conservative dink-and-dunk offense, just wins. They don’t care if they win ugly. They just want to win.

Browns fans would normally be encouraged by a defense that only gave up 15 points to a tough team, but the expectation was that Pittsburgh’s offense was not going to be strong, and that the Browns offense was going to be at full strength.

The defensive backfield showed some improvement. They still look like they are playing too loose, especially for Roethlisberger and the Steelers. Still in all, they only gave up 15 points to the Steelers. The defensive squad was effective overall. The offense was just very weak.

Odell Beckham, Jr. seemed to once again not be at full strength. He was used mainly as a decoy, with only a couple of targets — and one completion for a paltry six yards.

Nick Chubb may not be at full strength yet. His yards-per-carry average was a pedestrian 3.81 yards per carry. That’s workable, but we are used to seeing something closer to D’Ernest Johnson’s 5.50 yards/carry on five carries for 22 yards.

Though the Browns think that they have a stout offensive line, they have to face the fact that they have given up 25 sacks in eight games, or 3.13 sacks per game, or about 53 over a 17-game season. This is too many for Baker Mayfield (or any quarterback) to survive. This level results in concussions, broken collarbones, shoulder injuries, joint sprains, and the like. Browns fans, we have been through this often enough to know better. If the number of sacks is held to two or less per game, then generally the quarterback can recover between starts.

Losing Jack Conklin hurt, but there may be other factors as well. A few adjustments might need to be made next season.

If the Browns cannot reduce the sack rate, then they might as well shut down Mayfield and have him get his surgery and get ready for 2022. For that matter, we can’t be sure Case Keenum is going to survive, either. Better keep Nick Mullens ready, just in case.

If the Steelers are not the best team in the AFC North, who is?  Baltimore, Pittsburgh — the team that the Bengals destroyed? The Browns, after being embarrassed at home? Pittsburgh has been as impressive as anyone, recently.

Yet, after watching this disastrous game, is there anyone who believes that the Browns have no chance in a future rematch?