It wasn’t the best Thursday night game, but it was one of the most memorable – with injuries galore and a game-ending brawl that will affect both teams going forward. (The league today suspended Myles Garrett for at least the rest of this season, so there’s a chance he won’t be available on opening day in 2020.) A position-by-position breakdown:
Baker Mayfield:
He’s been a big disappointment, but he’s been coming around recently and did some good things in this game. Mayfield threw 12 interceptions in his first seven games, but he’s now gone three games in a row without a pick. And he’s thrown 2 TDs in back-to-back games (he didn’t throw more than 1 TD in any of his first eight starts). Key in this game, I thought, was Mayfield’s ability to move around a little bit, avoiding pressure and buying time to put additional pressure on the secondary. That was the biggest difference between the two quarterbacks, I thought.
Mayfield’s not a finished product. The final touchdown pass was wild and ill-advised. It easily could have been intercepted, while all the Browns needed was a chip shot field goal to clinch the game. But Mayfield is trending upwards and the schedule looks very favorable. Two of the next three are at home against the Dolphins and Bengals, and then they’re playing Arizona, which has allowed a league-high 25 touchdown passes. Over the next four weeks, I would say, Mayfield should be just fine.
Mason Rudolph:
Rudolph reminds me of Cliff Stoudt and Bubby Brister. We’ve seen him for eight games now, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to ever get over the hump and develop into a viable starter. I don’t think he’s ever going to be one of the league’s top 30 quarterbacks.
He faced an uphill battle in this one, with both of his receivers getting knocked out with concussions. And he was under constant pressure. But there were missed throws, and Rudolph didn’t do a good enough job of buying himself extra time by moving away from pressure. He’s got limited mobility, and that will always be a problem for him.
When Rudolph first took over as a starter, they were trying to protect him by using a lot of quick, short throws – lots of throws around the line of scrimmage. They’re starting to open things up some now, with more downfield attempts. He threw for 251 and 242 yards against the Dolphins and Rams, and he threw for 221 in this one. But as Rudolph is asked to do more, it underscores that he’s not really a starter-type guy right now. He threw 4 interceptions in this game, and most of them were pretty ugly.
Browns running backs:
Nick Chubb is one of the top half-dozen running backs in the league right now, but this is turning into a one-two punch backfield. Kareem Hunt is also a starter-caliber back, and they’re using him heavily.
Hunt has been on the field for over half of the team’s plays in each of his two games, and he’s developing into their primary short-range pass catcher. He hasn’t made a big impact as a runner, but he caught 7 passes against the Bills, and caught 6 balls in this one. Hunt made a couple of big plays in the first half of this game, keeping drives alive – looks like he might be one of the top 15 or so running backs in the league. He’ll be a free agent in offseason, and if the Browns want to trade him and pick up some draft picks, they might have that option. With the attrition at the running back position, probably more likely that they just keep both backs.
Chubb didn’t shine in this one. His 27 carries went for only 94 yards – 3.4 per attempt (almost 2 yards under his usual average). That was due to the Steelers playing good run defense. I don’t have any concerns with Chubb as a runner going forward, but I notice they’re using him less on pass plays now that they’ve got Hunt. Chubb has caught only 2 passes for 5 yards in his last two games.
Steelers running backs:
Those who drafted James Conner have been looking forward to Week 12. The Steelers are playing Cincinnati that week, and the Bengals rank a distant last in run defense. But those plans can now be shelved.
Conner aggravated his shoulder injury in this one, so he might not even be available. If he plays, it will be at less than 100 percent, with concerns he might be spelled more or leave early. And after the game-ending brawl, the Steelers will be without their seven-time Pro Bowl center, Maurkice Pouncey. He’s been suspended for three games after going berserk in the melee. (Are the Steelers even going to win at Cincinnati in Week 12? I don’t think that’s certain.)
If Conner needs to sit in Week 12, I don’t think there would be a clean, full-time replacement. They would probably start Jaylen Samuels, but they’ve been spelling him heavily with other backs recently in similar situations. Trey Edmunds played more than Samuels last night. They used Tony Brooks-James a healthy amount in Week 10. Benny Snell has been down the last three games, but he’s probably about ready to step back on the field and potentially could lead them in rushing in that game.
Browns receivers:
Odell Beckham hasn’t scored since Week 2. Jarvis Landry has scored three weeks in a row. But I would continue to rate Beckham slightly higher – I think he’ll be a little better the rest of the way.
In real time, it sure looked like Beckham caught a 43-yard touchdown on Cleveland’s first possession. The idea that his knee might have touched before he crossed the goal line didn’t even occur to me. But upon further review, the cameras show that he was definitely short. If we were to apply today’s replay to all the touchdowns scored in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, I wonder how many would be overturned? Might make a good show for the NFL Network (“Distant Replay, with Mike Pereira”).
The Browns have been trying to use Beckham around the goal line, with limited success. Included two plays against the Bills that were nullified by penalties, they’ve thrown 6 passes to Beckham when they’ve been inside the 10-yard line. All 6 have been incomplete. They’ve gone 4 for 4 passing to Landry in that area, including a 1-yard touchdown last night.
Too often it seems like Mayfield and Beckham aren’t on the same page. There was one long ball into the end zone in the second half last night. It looked like a potential touchdown, but Beckham didn’t realize the ball had been thrown, and it landed near him without him ever even seeing the ball.
Both Beckham and Landry are averaging just short of 70 receiving yards per game. They’ll both face that leaky Arizona secondary in Week 15. The Cardinals rank next-to-last in pass defense and have allowed a league-high 25 TD passes (though 10 of those touchdowns have gone to tight ends, so maybe the guy we should all be thinking about that week is David Njoku).
The Browns released Antonio Callaway on Thursday, so Rashard Higgins was their third receiver last night. Higgins was also their third against Buffalo. He was on the field for almost half of their plays in both games. But they haven’t been using him. He didn’t get a single target last night and caught only 1 pass for 7 yards against the Bills. Another reserve receiver had a much bigger impact on the game. KhaDarel Hodge didn’t play as much, but they got him deep for a 41-yard pickup, and they went to him in the end zone on a play that drew a pass interference penalty, setting up the second touchdown.
Steelers receivers:
JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson both caught 2 passes, but they were both knocked out in the second quarter after suffering concussions on helmet-to-helmet hits. That left the Steelers playing most of this game with James Washington, Johnny Holton and Tevin Jones.
Washington has been coming on some recently; he caught a touchdown against the Rams. But he had a lesser game on this night. On a long-ball early, Washington drew a pass interference penalty, but I think a lot of receivers would have simply caught that ball anyway (even with the penalty). And Washington had a drop on a short ball later.
Holton (who used to play for the Raiders) caught only 1 of the 7 passes thrown his way, but I thought he was causing some problems for Greedy Williams. You get the right quarterback and the right receiver, and I think there’s some big plays to be had on that side against Williams.
I had to look up Tevin Jones, who just joined the team off the practice squad. He looks the part (6-2, 225). He’s been trying to bust into the league for four years (after finishing at Memphis in 2015). In preseason games, Jones caught a 68-yard touchdown against the Titans in 2017 and had a big game against Carolina in 2018 (3 catches for 90 yards and 2 TDs). He caught his first two regular-season passes in this game.
Browns tight ends:
Ricky Seals-Jones has a knee injury, which I think limited his playing time (he was on the field for only 11 plays). They went to Demetrius Harris on a long ball that was nullified by offsetting penalties. Pharaoh Brown and Stephen Carlson are primarily blockers, but Carlson iced this game on a contested catch in the fourth quarter – his first-ever reception.
David Njoku indicated on social media that he’ll be back for the Miami game, and he’ll be their main tight end once he’s back up to anything close to full speed.
Steelers tight ends:
Vance McDonald caught 3 passes for 33 yards in this game. With the Steelers doing a little bit more with their passing game, he’s got some nominal value. He’s caught 3, 5, 3 and 3 passes in his last four games (with 1 TD). McDonald caught only 1 pass in the games against the 49ers and Chargers.
Austin Seibert:
Seibert missed both of his field goals in this game, but let’s not kick him to the curb just yet. Two of Cleveland’s next three games are at home against Miami and Cincinnati. He’ll be a good candidate for top-10 (at least) kicking production in both of those games.
Chris Boswell:
He missed his only field goal attempt in this game. Like Seibert, he’s a matchup-dependent kicker.
—Ian Allan