Three Matchups To Watch When The Cleveland Browns Play The Pittsburgh Steelers

With one regular season game remaining, the Browns control their playoff destiny. 

Beat the Steelers — sans Ben Roethlisberger and several other key starters — and Cleveland’s 17-year playoff drought is over. Sounds simple enough, right? 

If only. Just like last week against the Jets, the Browns will be missing several key starters against Pittsburgh due to the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols. Can the Browns overcome that adversity against their archrivals? Can Kevin Stefanski lead Cleveland back to the playoffs? 

Here are three matchups that could determine Cleveland’s football fate.

Browns defense vs. Attrition

Let’s get this out of the way. When Cleveland and Pittsburgh kickoff at 1 p.m. Sunday, the Browns will be without five defensive starters. Cornerback Kevin Johnson became the latest addition to Cleveland’s Reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday night, joining linebackers Malcolm Smith and B.J. Goodson and fellow defensive backs Denzel Ward and Andrew Sendejo. Safety Karl Joseph was activated from the list on Saturday.

That leaves the Browns defense vulnerable, even against Mason Rudolph. Rudolph may have been bad last year — only Mitch Trubisky finished with fewer yards per attempt (6.1 to Rudolph’s 6.2) among 32 qualified quarterbacks — but the Browns secondary is dangerously thin. 

After Terrance Mitchell, the Browns are left with M.J. Stewart Jr., Tavierre Thomas, Robert Jackson and A.J. Green at corner. Stewart Jr., Thomas and Jackson have nine combined starts between them. Green was activated off the practice squad Saturday. 

Sure, it’s Mason Rudolph, but it’s also ... those guys. The Browns are already 20th in the NFL in opponent passer rating. Player injuries have contributed to those struggles, but the Browns have never been more shorthanded.  Having Joseph and Ronnie Harrison Jr. at safety should help, but how much? 

Browns’ Pass rush vs. Steelers O-Line

No team has allowed fewer sacks per game this season than Pittsburgh (0.9), but that’s largely because no team throws the ball quicker, either. According to nfl.com’s Next Gen Stats, Ben Roethlisberger leads the NFL with the shortest average time to throw (2.3 seconds) in the league.

For that reason, this matchup might not be decided by either of these units. It might depend on Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner.

Fichtner has plenty of reasons to call more long-developing pass plays without Roethlisberger. For starters, the Steelers can still earn the AFC’s 2-seed with a win and a Buffalo loss. The Steelers also saw success during last week’s 28-24 win against the Colts throwing downfield, too. And beyond this season, the Steelers’ quarterback plan after Roethlisberger is murky. So it might behoove Fichtner to open the playbook for Rudolph. 

If he does, all eyes shift to Myles Garrett, Sheldon Richardson, Larry Ogunjobi and Olivier Vernon.

Garrett can roast anyone in front of him, and Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva allowed three quarterback hits and one sack against the Bengals two weeks ago. Richardson and Ogunjobi won’t have to deal with Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey, who is sitting Sunday’s game to rest for the playoffs. And Vernon will matchup with Chukwuma Okorafor, who started the season as a backup before Zach Banner tore his ACL. 

If Pittsburgh gives them time, the Browns pass-rushers could give their inexperienced secondary a major boost. 

Both teams vs. The clock 

Both the Browns and Steelers are top-12 teams when it comes to time of possession. Pittsburgh ranks 10th (31-minute average), Cleveland 12th (30:48 average). 

Ball-hogging is another avenue the Browns could use to support their secondary. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt could get right guard Wyatt Teller (ankle) back from injury, and Pittsburgh will miss both defensive tackle Cameron Hayward and T.J. Watt to rest on Sunday. 

Those absences will further highlight how much Pittsburgh has missed linebackers Bud Dupree and Devin Bush the last few weeks. Since Dupree tore his ACL against the Ravens in Week 12, the Steelers have allowed over 100 rushing yards in three of four games. Against Washington, the one team they held under 100, they allowed J.D McKissic to catch 10 passes for 70 yards. 

With Cleveland’s receiving core back from the Reserve/COVID-19 list, Pittsburgh can’t stack the box like the Jets. Sometimes, the best defense is a patient offense.