The Cleveland Browns turned back the clock to 2023 for at least one night in their 24-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in a winter wonderland on Thursday night.
Kevin Stefanski’s crew seemed to be embarrassed by a real or perceived lack of effort in the loss to the Saints in which Taysom Hill ran, threw, and caught all over the Cleveland defense, leading New Orleans to three fourth quarter touchdowns.
There were no major glitches in the operation, showing the Browns can win football games if they eliminated silly mistakes.
Myles Garrett spoke to the team before the game and then went out and backed it up on the field with his second three sack game in the last three, and one of the sacks caused a fumble which Cleveland recovered.
Jameis Winston gave the Browns solid quarterbacking play completing 18 of 27 passes for 217 yards. It was the kind of performance that Cleveland has received since Stefanski became the head coach, except for when P.J. Walker was at the helm.
Oh, and that other guy. Deshaun Watson.
It was Winston’s fourth straight game with more than 200 yards passing and we mention this because in the seven games Watson started, he never reached that figure.
We wondered after the game, playing the great “what if” game, what would have happened if the Browns replaced Watson at QB after the third game of the season, a loss to the equally woeful Giants, when Cleveland gained just 212 yards in total offense.
Or the following week after a loss to Las Vegas, or the following week after a terrible non-competitive loss to the Commanders.
Would they have two or maybe three more wins right now? Heck, we believe if Winston would have been the back up against Cincinnati instead of the bizarre decision to have it be Dorian Thompson-Robinson, they may have defeated the Bengals.
And despite an analysis of the game which asked why Cleveland threw the ball so much in the snowy conditions, it was about a fifty-fifty split, with 27 running plays, although one of them was a scramble by Winston (which resulted in a TD).
Nick Chubb’s numbers were up to his stats in 2020-2022, but he carried 20 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns, his most carries of the season. He still hasn’t busted one for 25-30 yards, but the flashes are there.
One group of people who probably weren’t happy with the win were the people expecting a coaching change perhaps after a loss to the Steelers, and definitely after the season.
Several national football writers have said that is not imminent, but although we would not fire Kevin Stefanski, who by the way, seems to have the Browns competitive within the division, but we would not run it back with the same group in 2025.
We would definitely consider a new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. And you have to question why the organization has ignored looking for a replacement/back up for Chubb, and why they can’t find a pass rusher opposite Garrett.
The remaining schedule is tough, without a doubt, but there are winnable games remaining, and the Browns need to continue to show the effort and mistake free football they played with Thursday night.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 