That was sweet. Anytime the Browns beat the Steelers is a great day. It shouldn’t be surprising, Pittsburg’s head coach Mike Tomlin, forgets how to coach on Thursday night against divisional opponents. He’s now 0-8 on Thursday Night Football against divisional opponents. Conversely, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is 5-0 on Thursday Night Football. Hopefully the NFL will move all Browns games in 2025 to Thursday night. The Browns last night also broke the personal winning record of Steelers QB Russell Wilson, who came into last night’s game 3-0 against the Browns. Those games were played when Russell played for Seattle and Denver, and we all know how bad the Browns play when they head west.
I’m encouraged by how OC Ken Dorsey made adjustments to the offense during the first half of the game. First two drives were a disaster, and then he opened up the playbook for Jameis Winston and bam, an eighty-yard drive for a touchdown. I was very impressed with Winston, he turned the ball over twice, but still late in the game when the Browns needed a drive and a score, he was good Jameis. The difference in the offense between now and the beginning of the season was the offensive line. RT Jack Conklin is a Watt killer. Prior to this game, as a Brown, Conklin had only allowed Watt one sack and six pressures. LT Germain Ifedi did well enough to keep his starting position over Jed Wills. It would be a smart business decision. When the Steelers took away David Njoku, Winston found the backup tight ends. Yes, they dropped two passes but made three big catches when the Browns needed them. Nick Chubb is getting closer to being Nick Chubb. On the last touchdown, Chubb ran the last nine yards even when the Steeler defense knew he was going to get the ball. Finally, Jerry Jeudy is a number one WR.
The defense still gave up too many big plays. I’ve defended CB Greg Newsome in the past, not anymore. He left both Juan Thornhill and Grant Delpit on islands against fast wide receivers. He left two safeties covering wide receivers. The Browns drafted Cameron Mitchell to replace him, so hopefully he will in 2025. The run defense really stepped-up last night. After a few big plays by Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and Justin Fields, the defense started to overwhelm the Steeler offensive line. I said in my preview article, the way to slow down Russell Wilson was to bring pressure up the middle, and they did. Glad to see Russell Wilson getting hit after the threw the ball, it was very effective. Myles Garrett is back in the DPOY discussion.
Finally as I write this, the week sixteen game against the Bengals on Thursday has been flexed to Sunday. After playing Kansas City week fifteen, going on the road to play on a short week was not ideal. I’m glad it happened. In the coming weeks due to the holidays, my opportunities to write my blog may become a little erratic, so hang with me. Stay safe and Go Browns.