Browns let Big Ben win his Cleveland finale, fall to last place

 Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.

Instant takeaways from Browns 15-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers …

1. Offensive anemia: The Browns sunk to last place in the AFC North when their offense failed them from beginning to end and they bowed to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 15-10. Baker Mayfield’s frantic attempt to pull out the game was derailed by two key drops by Jarvis Landry – the first at the Steelers’ 20-yard line with 2:57 to go, and the second at the 10 on fourth down with 1:53 left. Odell Beckham Jr. also short-armed a Mayfield pass down the middle on the drive, but Mayfield was roughed on the play. The Steelers (4-3) were able to send home Ben Roethlisberger a victor in probably his last game in Cleveland even though they played the entire second half without a place-kicker. Roethlisberger was 22 of 34 for 266 yards and 1 touchdown. Nick Chubb rushed 16 times for 66 yards for the Browns, who fell to 4-4. They play in Cincinnati Sunday against the Bengals (5-3), who dropped into second place with a loss to the Jets. Idle Baltimore is 5-2.

2. Say it ain’t so, Joe: Former Browns linebacker Joe Schobert made the defensive play of the game for the Steelers, forcing a fumble of Landry after a catch at the Steelers’ 20 with 6:04 to go. T.J. Watt recovered. Mayfield had kept the drive alive with a clutch keeper run for 5 yards and a first down. Mayfield was pushed to the ground at the Browns’ sideline and jumped up and threw his fist to the air to pump up the crowd. Schobert’s takeaway – the only turnover of the game – came two plays later. The Browns forced a three-and-out, however, in less than 2 minutes as cornerback Greg Newsome made a great pursuit and tackle of Diontae Johnson 2 yards short of a first down after a short pass.

3. Where’s the D?: Pittsburgh took its first lead, 15-10, on an acrobatic catch by rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth on fourth-and-goal from the 2. Safety Ronnie Harrison was there to defend and Freiermuth juggled the ball before securing possession and getting both feet in and crashing to ground in front of the Dawg Pound. Ben’s 2-point pass failed. The Steelers needed to convert only one third down on the 13-play drive as they kept the Browns’ defense on its heels with quick completions.

4. No kicks for you: With kicker Chris Boswell out of the game with a concussion, the Steelers tried for 2 after a Najee Harris 8-yard touchdown run-and-launch over the goal line in the third quarter. Big Ben slammed it home on a QB draw, but a holding penalty moved the Steelers 10 yards back to the 12. Ben barely got the ball out of his hands before being hit by Myles Garrett, preserving a 10-9 Browns lead.

5. Stage fright: During the week, D’Ernest Johnson promised a phantom reel-in-a-fish celebration for his next touchdown. But when he scored on a 10-yard run in the third quarter, Johnson forgot about it and just barked at the Dawg Pound denizens. No matter. His TD capped the Browns’ best drive of the game – 86 yards on 8 plays – and put the Browns ahead, 10-3.

6. Knotted: The first half ended in a 3-3 tie when both teams’ offenses had poor exits to the locker room. The Steelers moved to the Browns’ 10 with 1:38 to play. But on fourth-and-9, Mike Tomlin eschewed a 28-yard field goal try for, get this, a fake. Kicker Chris Boswell took the direct long snap, rolled to his right and panicked a throw into the end zone for a tight end surrounded by Browns defenders. Worse for the Steelers, Boswell was shaken up when he was blasted to the neck area by Jordan Elliott at the sideline. No flag was thrown, but Elliott could be receiving a fine for the high hit. Bowell was lost with a concussion, pressing rookie punter Pressley Harvin into emergency kicking duties the second half. The Browns did nothing with a final possession beginning at their 10-yard line with 1:38 to goal. Mayfield suffered his fourth sack and was almost intercepted before the Browns punted.

7. It never stops: The Browns lost right tackle Jack Conklin with an elbow injury with 9:07 left in the second quarter. Conklin was making his first appearance after a knee injury cost him two games. He was replaced by Blake Hance.

8. Oops: A very good scripted, first offensive drive was stymied by a drop by Austin Hooper on first-and-goal from the 8. Throw was high, but it should’ve been caught at the 5 and it would’ve been a TD with nothing but grass in front of Hooper. A sack of Mayfield on third down set up fourth-and-goal from the 12. Stefanski settled for a short field goal.

9. Yikes: The only other good offense series by the Browns in the first half resulted in no points. Mayfield moved the Browns from their 15 to the Steelers’ 39. On fourth-and-1, Stefanski loaded up three tight ends and Hance as a tackle-eligible extra blocker. The play-call was dubious – a deep handoff to Chubb on a stretch play. He was smothered for a loss of 1 by Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt. It was the 10^th time the Browns have turned the ball over on a failed fourth-down play, matching the Detroit Lions for futility.

10. Naughty naughty: Another miscue by the Browns didn’t really hurt them, but could have. Steelers had second-and-10 at the Browns’ 18. Najee Harris ran a sweep to the left side and was forced out of bounds for little gain. Out of nowhere, safety Ronnie Harrison delivered a blow to Harris’ helmet. He was flagged for unnecessary roughness. Fortunately for the Browns, Steelers center Kendrick Green was also flagged for holding, so the penalties offset. After a Malik McDowell sack of Big Ben on third down, the Steelers kicked a short field goal to tied the game, 3-3.

11. Pre-game notes: The only major player who was questionable during the week made inactive was defensive end Takk McKinley (groin). He did not pass a workout test on the field prior to the game. Defensive end Jadeveon McKinley did pass his test and was active. With cornerbacks Denzel Ward (hamstring) and A.J. Green (groin) out, the Browns activated practice squad defensive backs Herb Miller and Tim Harris.