In a Week 7 win over the Tennessee Titans, the Cleveland Browns had their best rushing day of the season, picking up 183 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries.
There was finally hope that the Browns figured out their struggling rushing attack and had it moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, that quickly proved to be a case of Cleveland taking advantage of a bad Tennessee run defense.
That was exposed on Sunday as the Browns fell to Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-6. Pittsburgh has one of the top rush defenses in the league, entering Sunday’s game allowing a seventh-best 91 rushing yards per game. Cleveland proved to be no match, picking up just 34 rushing yards on 15 carries.
The abysmal 2.3 yards per carry is a big reason why the Browns lost, as the inability to run the football led to several more problems for Cleveland.
Browns’ offense will continue to struggle if it can’t run the ball
When an offense can’t run the ball, it becomes one-dimensional, putting the unit at the mercy of the defense. It becomes much easier for defenses to defend the pass and rush the passer. That was on full display on Sunday as the Steelers recorded eight sacks against Cleveland.
Of course, the Browns have other issues contributing to the sack total, but it doesn’t help to face a defense that isn’t threatened by a run game. Defenders can just pin their ears back and get after the quarterback.
Additionally, not being able to run the ball really makes extending drives hard. The Browns tried to pick up a third-and-1 on the ground on Sunday, and ended up losing a yard. Cleveland also got down to Pittsburgh’s goal line twice, and the two rushing attempts resulted in a combined negative 3 yards. The Browns never got in the end zone on Sunday, and they quickly put their defense back on the field a lot.
So while Cleveland does have a solid defense, some exciting young pass catchers, and a running back room that can get rolling when given lanes, none of it really matters if the team can’t consistently run the football.
Running the ball is a foundational element in football, and if a team can’t do it, everything gets incredibly harder.
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