Browns have bigger problems on offense than running back
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Second thoughts on Browns 26-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers …
1. The season-ending knee injury to Nick Chubb is devastating to him, to his teammates, to his fans and to a myriad of NFL players and coaches – shout out, Mike Tomlin – who view Mr. Chubb as the ultimate professional, competitor, sportsman and role model. But it shouldn’t be devastating to his team’s season. The fact is the Browns drafted Jerome Ford in 2022 to replace Kareem Hunt first and, ultimately, Chubb. That second promotion could have been in 2024 or beyond, but the time is now for Ford to ascend to RB1. His 66-yard run was the Browns’ only explosive offensive play in Pittsburgh and resulted in the offense’s second touchdown – a 1-yard run by Pierre Strong who gave Ford a breather. Ford also caught the 3-yard pass in the end zone from Deshaun Watson after the Chubb injury. In three quarters after the Chubb injury, Ford accounted for 106 yards rushing and 25 passing on 19 touches.
2. Coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed GM Andrew Berry is “working through options” to add another back. My guess is the options would be either an RB2 or RB3 but not an RB1. “I don’t know that there’s one specific thing that we’re looking for,” Stefanski said. I’d imagine experience should be the No. 1 requirement. This summer, the Browns repeatedly avoided Hunt when they came into the need of a back. They resisted bringing him back when Ford suffered a calf injury in training camp and again when first replacement Jordan Wilkins fumbled away his roster spot. Now the Browns finally are revisiting a reunion of Hunt. Per multiple reports, Hunt, who still resides in the area, visited the facility on Tuesday.
Could this be the right time the Browns finally reunite with Kareem Hunt?
3. Here’s one reason a reunion makes more sense now with Chubb, his best friend on the team, out for the year. After the game, Watson pointed out, “We're so used to seeing Chubb … he is the one outside of me rallying everybody, keeping everybody going. You can kind of feel that throughout the game, just kind of the ups and downs, but usually he is the one in the huddle talking to everyone. Having that piece gone, it was tough.” Hunt was like that, too, during his four years with the Browns – a good teammate who could energize the team with his passion and his play. Hunt looked a bit out of gas last season – he averaged a career-low 3.8 yards a rush – but he could provide some much-needed leadership as a reserve in a very young and inexperienced backfield.
4. The truth is, the Browns have more serious problems on offense than at running back. The offensive tackle positions – particularly left tackle – suddenly look very vulnerable. And that leads to an enlarging problem at quarterback.
5. Watson is not getting better each week, as hoped. On the contrary, he is getting worse. There are any number of metrics to support this. Through two weeks, Watson ranks 30th with a passer rating of 69.1, putting him in the company of Kenny Pickett, rookie Bryce Young and Zach Wilson. Equally damning is the metric cited by ESPN’s Jake Trotter, who reported Watson is 32nd among quarterbacks with a missed throw rate (overthrows and underthrows) of 27.6 percent. Aside from the metrics is the good ole eye test. Watson was responsible for 14 of Pittsburgh’s 26 points via a Pick 6 on a short pass off the hands of Harrison Bryant to begin the game and an absurd lost fumble caused by Alex Highsmith and returned for a touchdown by T.J. Watt to close the scoring. Watson also was sacked six times, threw at least six passes out of bounds and drew two costly personal fouls for face-masking. Perhaps worst of all, Watson had the ball two times with a chance to save the lost day. Those possessions resulted in a punt after five plays and a turnover on downs after he had taken the offense to the Pittsburgh 47 with 1:47 to play.
6. The season is only two games old and Stefanski is struggling to explain Watson’s shockingly destructive play at quarterback (four turnovers, resulting in 14 points). “Yeah, I think it’s never about one person,” Stefanski said. “I completely understand that the quarterback gets way too much of the credit, way too much of the blame. That’s just life of being a quarterback in the NFL. It’s the head coach. You get all the credit, you don’t deserve it. You get all the blame, it doesn’t matter. You own it. So, I know what he’s made of. I know how he works, and I expect him to come in here and ready to work tomorrow. That’s really where the focus is.” Considering Stefanski, coordinator Alex Van Pelt and Watson put in so much time in the offseason reinventing the offense to fit Watson’s specific skill-sets and desires, I asked the coach if he is concerned about – not just disappointed in – the results. He answered, “Yeah. My concern is we lost the game last night. We’re a 1-1 football team. We have a 1-1 football team coming to our place next week. We have to play better, particularly on offense. We have to play better. We have to take care of the ball, and we need to put our guys in a position to succeed. But in terms of [the] big picture, I really narrow my focus and just worry about what we can do better moving forward.”
7. There was some talk that Watson could have been ejected from the game after he lightly made contact with an official during a skirmish near the Steelers bench after he drew an unnecessary roughness penalty for pulling the facemask of linebacker Kwon Alexander as they ambled out of bounds. He wasn’t, but he isn’t necessarily out of the woods of some type of discipline (probably a fine). In an email response, Michael Signora of the NFL office wrote: “All situations of this type are reviewed for discipline, in the form of a potential fine.” Watson’s second infraction was an inadvertent face-mask when stiff-armed linebacker Nick Herbig during an escape from pass pressure. Stefanski said, “Obviously, you can’t grasp it. You can’t pull it. He knows that. I don’t see that as a problem going forward.”
8. Last season, the Browns’ epic meltdown against the New York Jets – losing a 13-point lead with 1:55 to play -- occurred in Game 2 and proved a defining game of the season. We shall see if the Game 2 loss to the Steelers follows suit. In any case, when the next schedule comes out in May, it will be interesting to see which opponent awaits the Browns in Game 2. Both of these harrowing losses came on the same day, September 18.
