Grading Browns offense from Week 12 against Steelers

The Cleveland Browns are a few days removed from a big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in what felt like a great moral victory for the team. In Week 12, they flexed everything - their receiving corp, their ability to function with Jameis Winston, and their run game. Despite the inclement weather, they managed to pull a win out with touchdowns and not with Dustin Hopkins, who would have struggled to kick field goals through the heavy snow.

There were a few key plays that stood out for the Browns in the win - Winston's hurdle into the end zone, David Njoku's flip-catch for a two point conversion on the same drive, and Nick Chubb's second touchdown to seal the game for Cleveland all come to mind. But, the offense overall had a clean outing, and leaving with just two turnovers that resulted in zero points is a great sign of progress for the crew.

Read more: Browns OL's major victory over T.J. Watt in Week 12 supported by this one stat

Let's see how each positional group graded out on the Browns' offense in Week 12.

Quarterback
Grade: A-

Winston will give and take so much during a game. One minute he is absolutely slinging it downfield and over defenders for excellent passes in the snow, and the next he's throwing a pass directly into a defender's chest. Luckily, his one interception on the night ended up being his only turnover in the air - the second turnover came as a result of a strip sack. But, Winston was overall steady and provided energy to the Browns all game long.

Wide receivers
Grade: A

The receivers would have gotten an A+ had Cedric Tillman not fumbled a catch downfield during the game. Other than that, the trio of Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy, and Tillman were all extremely reliable options for Winston despite not scoring any touchdowns. Jeudy was especially helpful for reviving drives during the game.

Tillman and Jeudy are the most important out of the trio to be successful since they'll actually be on the team come 2025 guaranteed. Moore is going to be a free agent, and while he's inconsistent at times as a receiver, he'll still likely be coveted by a team looking to sign a free agent for a low price. The Browns likely don't have as much flexibility. Regardless, it's good to see how well the receivers are meshing with Winston. They'll need that chemistry in Week 13 against an excellent Broncos secondary.

Tight ends
Grade: A+

The true heroes on offense, the tight ends for Cleveland came through for Winston in this snow globe game. Blake Whiteheart, Jordan Akins, and David Njoku added a ton of diversity to the play calling that Ken Dorsey and Winston were able to execute. With Whiteheart and Akins' multiple clutch catches downfield late in the contest, and with Njoku coming through with an athletic grab for a two point conversion, the tight end room was all over this victory.

Running backs
Grade: A

Any game where Nick Chubb has two touchdowns is a victory for the running back room. Given that the last time Chubb had played the Steelers is when he suffered a horrible knee injury that had him out for all of last season and for the first half of this season, it was wonderful to see Chubb not only grind out some yards but score multiple times, too.

Jerome Ford also looked solid, earning 19 rushing yards on his four carries. Despite a diminished role, Ford looks solid behind an actually solid offensive line - same for Chubb.

Offensive line
Grade: A-

There were a few penalties that knock the grade for the O-line in this game down a bit. But, given what Jack Conklin was able to accomplish - keeping T.J. Watt far away from Winston throughout the entire contest - the line deserves some major love. Conklin, German Ifedi, Joe Bitonio, Ethan Pocic, and Wyatt Teller all served up some strong performances against a pretty formidable Steelers defensive line.

Winston was only sacked once - granted, it was a pretty big strip sack - but nonetheless, a great showing from a line once again introducing a new left tackle to its starting lineup.

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