Report Card Grades for Browns' NFL Week 4 Game vs. Steelers

The young Cleveland Browns might not have much experience in the spotlight, but they seemed right at home in a 27-24 Week 4 win on Thursday Night Football.

Todd Monken's squad moved to 3-1 and the lead in the AFC North with a win that was built around a 21-point explosion in the second quarter, an effective pass rush and just enough playmaking in the final quarter to finish the job.

Let's take a closer look at who shined and who struggled as Cleveland extended its winning streak to three.

Quarterback

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Deshaun Watson: B+

Deshaun Watson had one quarter of A+ football and enough negatives from the other three quarters to bring the whole thing down a letter grade.

His first-half statline was his best as a Cleveland Brown and looked reminiscent of his best days in Houston. He was 14-of-17 for 181 yards and a touchdown. He was using his feet to extend plays and finding receivers downfield.

Then the turnovers and lack of ball security crept in. He threw an interception on a throw that was altered by Jack Sawyer in the backfield, lost a fumble and registered another one that was recovered by his own team.

Then he showed a recovery of his own, pulling himself together and making enough plays on the final drive to set up the game-winning field goal. It was a nuanced performance that was enough to get the win.

Running Backs

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Jaleel McLaughlin

Quinshon Judkins: C+

It remains really difficult to assign credit and blame for the Browns rushing attack (or lack thereof) at this point. Judkins was once again held in check to the tune of 3.1 yards per carry. However, 50 of his 53 yards came after contact, per PFF.

It does appear that Judkins is hit in the backfield often, but he also doesn't seem to be hitting plays where they are blocked either. That being said, his 43 receiving yards can't be ignored.

Raheim Sanders: C

Sanders was just kind of adequate within his small role on the offense. He had two carries for nine yards and two receptions for seven.

Jaleel McLaughlin: A

One snap. One carry. One touchdown. McLaughlin's 28-yard scoring run was the run game's best play of the day and it again raises questions about Judkins' struggles to get free.

Wide Receivers

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KC Concepcion: B

There was a lot to like about KC Concepcion's game this week. The obvious is that his eight targets were much more productive. He turned eight looks into five receptions for 64 yards.

However, he also made an excellent effort to block Patrick Queen on Jaleel McLaughlin's touchdown run—an encouraging sign from a young, smaller receiver.

Denzel Boston: B+

Boston followed up a relatively quiet day on Sunday with an impressive performance on Thursday. Boston once again had the longest reception of the game at 60 yards.

He might have had a touchdown if Steelers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. hadn't gotten away with a bit of holding on a deep ball from Watson.

Jerry Jeudy: C+

Welcome to the 2026 football season, Jerry Jeudy. The stat line wasn't gaudy. He had just three catches for 36 yards, but two of them were on the final drive in crunch time.

Tight Ends

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Harold Fannin Jr.

Harold Fannin Jr.: B+

Fannin got into the end zone for the second consecutive week. His production would have been boosted if Watson hadn't badly overthrown him when he was wide open on 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter.

Blake Whiteheart: C

Whiteheart was on the field for 22 snaps and wasn't targeted in the passing game. He was fine as a blocker, but also didn't make much of an impact either way.

Offensive Line

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Spencer Fano: B

Fano put together a relatively clean sheet in pass protection with no sacks given up. There were a few edge pressures to come from his side, but he mostly protected Watson well.

Zion Johnson: C

Johnson didn't have any glaringly bad reps in pass pro. That put him on a path toward his first good grade of the season.

Unfortunately, he also had a false start on the last drive that cost the team five yards and 10 seconds off the clock.

Luke Wypler: C+

Wypler was playing for an injured Elgton Jenkins at the pivot. He did a fine job considering some of the play Browns fans have seen from him before. He surrendered a few pressures, but wasn't completely dominated by Keeanu Benton.

Austin Barber: B

Barber overcame a tough matchup and some growing pains last week to post a decent performance against the Steelers. He was solid in pass protection and played penalty-free.

Tytus Howard: C-

Howard's grade has been abysmal most weeks, but he actually gets some credit here for going against T.J. Watt and holding up to some extent. Watt beat him across the face after getting chipped by the tight end once, but the day wasn't a total disaster overall from Howard.

Edge

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Jared Verse: C-

Verse had the best game of his early Browns career in Week 3, but this one had too many lowlights to ignore. Verse did not get in on the sack party, but did get tricked on the Roman Wilson misdirection jet sweep for a touchdown and jumped offsides when the defense had the Steelers pinned on the one-yard line.

Isaiah McGuire: B+

McGuire picked up his second sack in as many weeks. His spin to get back to the inside after Max Iheanachor had washed him out of the pocket is a move that he should continue to go to.

Sam Williams: B+

Verse might not have had the best night, but Sam Williams picked up the slack. He made an impact play by hitting Aaron Rodgers' elbow on the Denzel Ward interception in the second quarter and picked up his first sack of the season.

Defensive Line

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Adin Huntington sacks Aaron Rodgers

Mason Graham: Incomplete

Mason Graham's torrid start to the season was unfortunately derailed on Thursday night. He suffered a knee injury on the Steelers' opening drive and did not return to the game.

Michael Hall Jr.: B+

Hall continues to be an underrated element of the Browns defensive front. He got in the box score with a sack and was able to generate some pressure as the looper in some stunts.

He left the game at one point with an apparent leg injury, but returned and still made an impact.

Adin Huntington: B-

Huntington was forced into a larger role by Graham and Hall both getting injured. He responded with a sack and would have had two if one hadn't been negated by a Sam Williams penalty for hands to the face.

Still, Huntington was driven on the quarterback sneak that Rodgers scored on, but he conceded too many run lanes to get a higher grade here.

Maliek Collins: B

Collins had a sack where he was schemed to get a one-on-one with the running back. He delivered by bulldozing him and getting the highlight finish to the play.

However, he was also part of the reason that Jaylen Warren averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

Linebackers

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Carson Schwesinger: B+

Schwesinger was all over the field and put together another strong performance. He didn't have enough highlight-reel splash plays to warrant an A, but he was strong in coverage and racked up nine total tackles.

Quincy Williams: B

Williams made a high-leverage play getting to the flats and stopping Jaylen Warren in his tracks on a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter. He was good in pass coverage, but can't get an A based on finding himself out of position on too many of Jaylen Warren's runs.

Secondary

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Tyson Campbell (L) and DK Metcalf (R)

Denzel Ward: A

This is Ward's second A mark in as many games. His interception in the second quarter was teach tape coverage that flipped the momentum at the time. DK Metcalf had a nice night, but that didn't come at Ward's expense.

Tyson Campbell: D+

Tyson Campbell's return from injury was far from triumphant. The Steelers' drive to tie the game was largely predicated on isolating Metcalf on Campbell. The matchup did not go the Browns' way.

The only bright spot was that he tackled better than usual and registered one pass breakup.

Myles Harden: D

Roman Wilson, Darnell Washington and Pat Freiermuth all had good nights for the Steelers. They all made Harden look bad at different points. Ultimately, the Steelers had a passer rating of 141.4 on the seven times they targeted the slot corner, per PFF.

Grant Delpit: B+

Delpit gets bonus points for closing out the game with an interception. That was really the cherry on top for the safety, though. He put together a nice game that included six total tackles and a pass defended.

Ronnie Hickman: B+

Hickman was not at fault for the success of the tight ends and the slot receiver for Pittsburgh. He didn't make any outstanding plays in coverage, but he was an asset as a run defender.

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren: B

The rookie saw an uptick in snaps, and there was some good and bad. He had the critical pass interference on fourth down in the red zone while trying to cover Darnell Washington and was beaten for the touchdown by Pat Freiermuth.

But he also defended two passes while collecting four tackles.

Special Teams

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K Andre Szmyt: A

MVP! Szmyt continues to be the most reliable Brown every week. He went 2-for-2 on field goals and 3-for-3 on PATs. Most importantly, he drilled the 56-yarder to go ahead with 10 seconds left.

P Corey Bojorquez: A

Bojorquez gave the team plenty of margin for error by flipping the field a few times. One of his four punts was downed on the one-yard line.