Here comes next season

All season long, the Browns and their fans have bought into Kevin Stefanski football. And why not? Hauling an 11-5 record into the wild-card round of the National Football League playoffs 
Sunday night in Pittsburgh is a pretty impressive feat for this franchise..

A large part of that success is the manner in which they play the game when owning the football. Pound and ground is a significant part of the formula that has landed the Browns in the postseason for the first time since 2002. 

Stefanski arrived in Cleveland with the reputation of favoring the ground game heavily to the point where it was almost mandatory to make it somewhere near 50% of the offense. It also helped quarterback Baker Mayfield become a trusted game manager.

But with five games left in the regular season, Stefanski seemed to forget the major reason his men won eight of the first 11 games. It certainly wasn't the sieve-like defense. He surprisingly deemphasized the running game.

Before they erupted for 192 yards in the playoff-clinching victory a week ago against the Steelers, thanks in large part to Mayfield's 44 scrambling yards, the Cleveland infantry averaged only 102 yards a game in splitting those four games. 

When the Browns played -- and lost to the -- the New York Jets with their top four receivers idled by the coronavirus, the head coach/playcaller dialed up 60 pass plays to just 15 on the ground. Nick Chubb carried a season-low 11 times. 

Although COVID-19 will confine Stefanski to his home for the game, he is still be the major architect in crafting the game plan against the Steelers. Surely he had to notice Chubb's 108 yards in only 14 trips against them a week ago.

Other facets of that successful formula are designed rollouts, bootlegs, misdirection plays, play-action screens, a lot of pre-snap motion. Stefanski called a misdirection rollout against the Steelers last week and it was blown up mainly because the tight end on that side failed to block his man and Mayfield was sacked.

Just because it doesn't work once is not a reason to abandon it. Properly executed, the above kinds of plays should work against the Steelers' defense. Keeping Mayfield out of the pocket out is essential, especially with Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio back home with COVID-19.

Chubb needs to touch the football at least 25 times against a Steelers defense that will have linebacker T. J. Watt and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward back after resting last week. He is the money back. He is the one whose grinding style can wear down a defense.

Kareem Hunt has been terrific all season as a complement to Chubb in the backfield. But his value in this one could very well lie in the passing game with his ability to get open, rack up yards after contact and add his willingness to block. His talents need to be maximized.

Getting rookie tight end Hunter Bryant back from COVID-19 hell and fellow rookie wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones back from a concussion gives Mayfield two more reliable receivers in the passing game.

But going back to what got Stefanski and the Browns to the point this season where the offense was a legitimate threat no matter where they were on the field needs to be revisited. But if the game plan is as vanilla as it was last week, prepare for an early sayonara to the postseason.

The Browns need to keep the Steelers' defense off balance. Keep them guessing. They are a reactive defense that at times can be influenced by misdirection.

As for the Cleveland defense, the good news is safeties Andrew Sendejo and Ronnie Harrison Jr. and linebackers B. J,. Goodson and Malcolm Smith are back. The bad news is cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson are not. That means Robert Jackson, who was torched last week, makes his second start.

Mason Rudolph seemingly toyed with the Cleveland secondary a week ago in a meaningless game for the Steelers. So you can imagine what Ben Roethlisberger, he of the 23-2-1 record against the Browns, can do Sunday night against that secondary.

The Steelers' Achilles' heel is running the football, averaging just 85 yards a game. The offensive line, however, has permitted only 14 sacks this season probably because Roethlisberger has one of the quickest releases in the league.

The Steelers have had a strange season, winning their first 11 games before inexplicably losing the next three in a row, including their only home loss this season to Washington. They were on the verge of losing a fourth in a row, trailing 24-7 against Indianapolis midway through the third quarter before Roethlisberger's three touchdown passes pulled out a 28-24 victory.

Without a ground game, the future Hall of Famer has been outstanding with 33 scoring passes and just 10 interceptions. In JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson. rookie Chase Claypool and James Washington, he has arguably the best quartet of receivers in the NFL at his disposal. They have banked 277 receptions for 3,019 yards and 30 touchdowns.

The Cleveland secondary, which has redefined the term beleaguered all season, faces a long evening unless defensive coordinator Joe Woods somehow comes up with a pass rush that bothers the 38-year-old Pittsburgh quarterback. Right now, only Myles Garrett is a threat and he'll likely draw at least a double team.

Smith-Schuster added some fuel to the fire for the game midweek when asked about the Browns.  "I think they're still the same Browns team I play every year," he replied. "I think they're nameless gray faces. They have a couple of good players on their team, but at the end of the day, I don't know. The Browns is the Browns."

Did that make the Browns' (probably virtual) bulletin board? Undoubtedly. Will it make a difference in the outcome? Probably not. The Steelers have way too many advantages. Like home-field, where the Browns have won only once since Heinz Field opened. The Steelers are playoff-hardened. They're used to this. The Browns are just happy to finally be here.

There's more. The Browns have had only one practice this week because of the virus. (Had only one last week, too.) The Steelers with no concerns of that nature practiced all week. Mayfield didn't pick up a football until Friday. Roethlisberger practiced all week. Lack of practice with the passing game, where timing and rhythm are essential to its success, will be a factor.

And then there is the head coach, the man responsible for where this team is and who should be a part of this. Kevin Stefanski won't be there. A team without its leader is a little like like a hand without a thumb or a foot without a big toe.

The heart says the Browns will shock everyone and somehow pull this one out. The head, which has a much clearer picture of what will eventuate, begs to differ. In a case like this, it's always best to  go, albeit grudgingly, with the head. Make it:

Steelers 31, Browns 16