Browns vs. Steelers: Full Report Card Grades for Cleveland
The Cleveland Browns continue to be historically bad.
That is the biggest takeaway from Cleveland's 24-9 home loss to AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The Browns showed fight and determination while battling up through the fourth quarter, but Cleveland's offense once again failed to produce positive results when it mattered most.
No squad in franchise history began a season 0-11 before the 2016 Browns, and there seems to be no hope for the team's immediate future unless quarterback Robert Griffin III is physically able to return to the field and plays as he did during his rookie campaign. Sunday's game offered numerous reminders this rebuilding process is going to take more than a year.
Whether head coach Hue Jackson or the team's current front office will be around to see the process through to the end is anybody's guess at this point.
Quarterback
1 of 10
We may have witnessed rookie quarterback Cody Kessler make his final start of the season on Sunday.
Kessler left the game in the third quarter after he was on the receiving end of a vicious, and also dirty, late hit delivered by Lawrence Timmons, and the Browns later announced Kessler had suffered a concussion for the second time in two months. The 23-year-old will begin the week in concussion protocol as the Browns prepare to host the New York Giants.
Expect veteran Josh McCown to start if Kessler is sidelined, as Robert Griffin III has not yet officially returned to practice. Griffin may get the nod following the bye.
Both Kessler and McCown held on to the football far too long too many times against the Steelers. Kessler cost the Browns potential points on two occasions by doing so, and McCown surrendered a touchdown on a strip-sack in his own end zone on a play where he had plenty of time to throw the ball away.
Cleveland's offensive line was downright offensive against the Steelers, but Cleveland QBs failed that unit early and often in the losing effort.
Grade: D
Running Back
2 of 10
Josh McCown led the Browns with 11 rushing yards against the Steelers.
Don't reload your screen, don't wipe your eyes and don't think that's a typo. Isaiah Crowell had little burst during the first half, and he began the second half on the bench behind Duke Johnson on an unwritten depth chart.
Both Crowell and Johnson gained 10 yards on the ground against Pittsburgh. Johnson finished the afternoon with two carries, while Crowell ran the ball eight times.
It's now not an understatement to proclaim the Browns have zero rushing attack, and there's little reason to believe that will change anytime soon. In fairness to this unit, Pittsburgh's offense did well to dominate time of possession and keep Cleveland's offense sidelined. With that said, Cleveland never came close to establishing a rushing attack against the Steelers.
Jackson either has no faith in Crowell or Johnson, or he simply forgets about them during games.
Grade: F
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Wide receiver Terrelle Pryor is the best playmaker the Browns have featured since Josh Gordon.
Pryor's numbers don't leap off a screen, as he finished the contest with five catches and 97 yards. Those statistics don't show how Pryor twice saved Kessler by slowing down and catching underthrown passes, nor do they speak of the toughness Pryor displayed after he returned to the game following a nasty shot he took over the middle after McCown sailed a pass over his head in the fourth quarter.
The Browns need to either sign Pryor or plan on using a franchise tag to keep him in Cleveland for at least one more season.
The trend of tight end Gary Barnidge receiving no looks from Kessler continued. McCown twice hit Barnidge after the journeyman QB entered the game, and Barnidge scored Cleveland's only touchdown of the game when he did well to catch and hold on to the ball while covered by two defenders.
Those looking for a good fantasy football play next week may want to start Barnidge if McCown is under center. McCown and Barnidge have proven chemistry, and the defense of the Giants is downright lousy against even decent tight ends.
Grade: C
Offensive Line
4 of 10
As has become a weekly tradition, we begin with center Cameron Erving. Erving's top highlights from the loss to the Steelers include committing back-to-back penalties during a drive, hanging Kessler out to dry on a play that ended in a sack and seemingly failing to adequately communicate with fellow blockers before snaps.
Erving's bad season continued on Sunday, but he was hardly the only bad player among this unit.
As Scott Patsko of Cleveland.com explained, the Steelers began the day tied for last in the NFL in sacks. Pittsburgh accumulated eight total sacks in Cleveland. While both Kessler and McCown deserve blame for holding on to the football far too long in the pocket, the reality here is Cleveland's line needs to be completely rebuilt in 2017.
Austin Pasztor was physically overwhelmed on multiple occasions, and he remains a liability in pass protection. John Greco missed an assignment on Pittsburgh's strip-sack touchdown.
Robert Griffin III may want to think twice about playing behind this line in December.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
5 of 10
One should desire to be occasionally positive even when describing something as dreadful as the 2016 Browns, and so we'll start this portion of the piece by praising Danny Shelton. Shelton was Cleveland's lone useful weapon in attempting to stop Pittsburgh running back Le'Veon Bell, and the second-year pro hassled QB Ben Roethlisberger on multiple occasions.
Unfortunately, Shelton received little help from those around him.
Emmanuel Ogbah did little of note other than attempting to cover Bell on a handful of pass plays. Carl Nassib has essentially disappeared since his strong start to the season. The Cleveland defensive line lost battle after battle up front, to the point that it's a little surprising to read Bell rushed for only 146 yards on 28 carries.
Bell seemed to be well on his way to 250 rushing yards in the first half.
Pittsburgh had a simple plan at the start of the game, as the Steelers intended to dominate time of possession and keep the Cleveland defense on the field. The defensive line of the Browns did little to disrupt this strategy.
Grade: D
Linebacker
6 of 10
Acquiring Jamie Collins via a trade with the New England Patriots may, when all is said and done, be the best thing the Browns do in 2016. Collins is far and away the best athlete Cleveland has on defense, and it's obvious defensive coordinator Ray Horton is keen on blitzing Collins when the Browns need to make a stop or gain momentum.
The problem vs. the Steelers is that Collins and other Cleveland linebackers were largely ineffective. Collins registered a single QB hit during the loss, and neither he nor anybody else managed to sack Roethlisberger a single time. They also couldn't prevent Le'Veon Bell from averaging over five yards a carry.
It's difficult to say how much, if at all, Cleveland's defense prevented Roethlisberger from having a bigger outing, as the windy and wet conditions made throwing the ball difficult for either side.
Grade: C
Secondary
7 of 10
Nobody in Cleveland's secondary was beaten for a long touchdown pass, nor did any safety surrender a lengthy touchdown run after missing a tackle.
That's how low the bar is for this unit. Cleveland defensive backs deserve praise for doing the bare minimum against an opponent.
The last three offensive plays of the first half should haunt the Cleveland defense every night until the Browns host the Giants on Nov. 27. Briean Boddy-Calhoun was correctly flagged for holding on what should've been the last play of the half, and then Joe Haden was penalized for pass interference when it seemed as if he didn't have to touch Antonio Brown to force an incomplete pass.
Le'Veon Bell scored on the next untimed down.
Safety Derrick Kindred quietly had a solid afternoon, as he made a couple of nice hits and forced a pair of incomplete passes. The hope is Kindred can contribute on a sunny and less windy afternoon.
Haden's best moment occurred with roughly four minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Brown burned the veteran cornerback deep down the left sideline, and Haden responded by grabbing Brown's jersey. The ref either didn't see it or took pity on Haden, as he kept his flag in his pocket and, in the process, forced the Steelers to punt.
It's only cheating if you're caught.
Grade: C
Special Teams
8 of 10
As of the writing of this sentence, kickers around the NFL have missed a total of 11 extra points today. That, per the NFL RedZone channel, is a new record for the league!
The weather obviously affected kickers outside of Cleveland in Week 11, and that is why nobody should crush Cody Parkey for missing an extra point after the Browns scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Parkey, to his credit, made a chip-shot field goal in the third quarter.
Cleveland's special teams units are neither a problem, nor do they accomplish memorable feats during games. Britton Colquitt booted a pair of punts inside the Pittsburgh 20-yard line, but neither of those kicks resulted in the Browns flipping the field and putting points on the scoreboard.
Little about these Browns is "special."
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
We understand head coach Hue Jackson probably feels demoralized at this point of the season. Jackson still hasn't won a game, and it's clear to anybody who watches this team he is tasked with leading the worst roster in the NFL onto fields each week.
None of this excuses Jackson failing to utilize his duo of running backs, and it shouldn't prevent fans and observers from criticizing a coach who apparently doesn't realize he has nothing to lose.
Cleveland trailed Pittsburgh 14-0 when the Browns faced a 4th-and-goal from the six-yard line with over eight minutes to play in the third quarter. Jackson elected to kick the field goal and put points on the board, and pockets of Cleveland fans who returned to their seats after the halftime break booed that decision.
The Browns don't have the talent to beat even average teams, and thus they need all of the help they're going to get if they are to fall into a victory between now and the end of the season. Going for the touchdown in such a scenario would be a vote of confidence in a struggling offense, and it would energize players on the sidelines and fans who are running out of reasons to watch games at FirstEnergy Stadium this fall.
Be brave, coach. Nobody will blame you for it.
Grade: D
Final Grade
10 of 10
It was no secret in August the Browns weren't going to compete for a playoff spot. It isn't even all that surprising Cleveland is winless 11 games into the season. In the past three weeks, the Browns lost to the Dallas Cowboys by 25 points, the Baltimore Ravens by 21 points and the Steelers by 15 points.
Cleveland isn't improving on either side of the ball, and that's what is worrisome about a young team and a coaching staff that has no answers.
There was never a time after Pittsburgh scored on the final offensive play of the first half when it felt as if the Browns could win the game. Even Cleveland finding the end zone and making it a one-score contest in the fourth quarter didn't change that. It's seen as a positive the Browns weren't embarrassed by the Steelers at home, and that says plenty about the state of the franchise four days before Thanksgiving Day.
The Browns going 0-16 feels more inevitable than ever before.
Final Grade: F
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