The Cleveland Browns picked up their third straight win, 27-24 over the Pittsburgh Steelers, on Thursday and it was their best offensive outing of the season. The Browns' offense put up 27 points and quarterback Deshaun Watson played one of his best games in a Cleveland uniform, so vibes were incredibly high.
Unfortunately, there was still one problem plaguing the offense.
The Browns still couldn’t consistently run the ball, despite finishing with 112 rushing yards on 27 attempts. While Quinshon Judkins did find the end zone for the first time this season, and Jaleel McLaughlin also ran in an exciting score, Cleveland couldn’t lean on the run like it needed to.
The Browns had an opportunity to shut the door on the Steelers in the fourth quarter when the score was 24-16, but since the offense couldn’t run the ball, things got a bit more dramatic. Of course, everything worked out on Thursday, but the offense’s inability to run the ball almost cost the team the game.
Browns must be able to run the ball so they can close out games the right way
After the defense forced a quick three-and-out, Cleveland's offense had the ball on its own 1-yard line with 5:31 left in the game and an eight-point lead. That’s the exact situation where teams want to run their four-minute offense — a style of offense that leans on running the ball and picking up first downs to drain the clock, and hopefully end the game.
The Browns tried to do just that, but it quickly became clear that their run game wasn’t good enough. On first down, Watson ran a quarterback sneak for a gain of 1 yard to give the offense some room to work. A play later, Cleveland went to the air, with Watson hitting Denzel Boston for a 15-yard gain.
No longer backed up against its own end zone, Cleveland could really get into its four-minute offense. The Browns attempted, but Judkins was stuffed for a 1-yard gain on first down. On second down, Watson threw a pass to Judkins that only went for 1 yard, leaving Cleveland with no choice but to pass on third-and-8. Unfortunately, Watson missed a wide-open Harold Fannin Jr., which stopped the clock and gave the ball back to the Steelers with 3:32 left in the game.
Pittsburgh capitalized, scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game up. Fortunately for the Browns, the offense was much better in a two-minute situation, driving down the field to set up a game-winning field goal.
However, it shouldn’t have come to that. A productive rushing attack would have helped Cleveland run plenty more time off the clock and either end the game with another score or by kneeling the clock out.
If the Browns really want to be at their best and continue winning big games, they will have to find a better rushing attack. The best way to close out games and secure victories is by running the ball. Cleveland hasn’t figured out how to do that yet, so games remain complicated.
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