Monday leftovers

There must have been an ulterior motive that caused Kevin Stefanski to unveil what can loosely be called a vanilla game plan in Sunday's playoff-clinching victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Did he reason the Steelers would be just a little easier to beat with Ben Roethlisberger, J. J. Watt, Maurkice Pouncey and Cameron Heyward given the afternoon off? And then projected that reasoning thinking the Steelers might be their first playoff opponent? So why show too much?

Where were the rollouts for Baker Mayfield? Where were the bootlegs? And the misdirection? All parts of a Cleveland offense that ranks as one of the best in the National Football League this season. Where were they?

For Sunday's game, the correct answer is buried deep in the playbook. Most everything was generated from the pocket, a residence Mayfield often finds stressful. He is a much better quarterback when moving. Stats back up that contention.

This might be concluded as a stretch. But think about it. It has been a few weeks since the Browns have played the kind of football on offense that played such a huge part in the 11-5 record. Since scoring 42 points in a losing effort against Baltimore three weeks ago, the Cleveland offense has gone soft.

It has produced just 60 points in the last three games. Only eight touchdowns in those games. In the previous three games, it produced 14 touchdowns. Granted the offense was strapped by the virus in the penultimate game against the New York Jets, but that side of the football has not been a big threat lately.

And with a defense that poses no threat whatsoever, that's not a good combination when preparing for the first playoff game since 2002.  Throughout the season, the offense rescued the defense time and again by simply outscoring the opposition. 

When you get to the postseason, though, everything tightens up, especially on defense. As the old saying goes, offense wins games; defense wins championships. 

It is entirely possible the Cleveland offense has shot its wad. There is nothing left in the tank. Nick Chubb  limited to just 14 carries -- yes, he gained 108 yards and scored a touchdown -- against the Steelers is more than a little puzzling.

Chubb is Stefanski's lead back. With, say, 20 or 25 carries, who's to say he wouldn't have gained 160 yards, scored two touchdowns, kept the chains moving and prevented the Steelers' comeback? That's Stefanski's brand of football. Put the ball in the hands of playmakers and Chubb is one of the best.

He spent way too much time on the bench against the Steelers. What was Stefanski saving him for? Oh, that's right. This Sunday night's playoff game. 

Having Chubb and Kareem Hunt is a luxury. Both have played well this season. But the dynamic for this playoff game strongly suggests Chubb is the grinder this attack needs to succeed and the more versatile Hunt can pay bigger dividends when involved in the passing game.

So no matter what the Steelers' defense dictates on a given play, a return to a more wide open offense appears to be the Browns' best weapon -- maybe their only weapon -- if they harbor any notion of beating the Steelers twice this season. Vanilla football on offense won't cut it this time.

***

Maybe the grind of the season is getting to Stefanski. He yanked another brain cramp out of the brain cramp hat in the late stages of the game Sunday, setting the stage for some late-game drama that nearly cost his club the lead.

The Browns were nursing a 24-16 lead and methodically driving, taking six and a half minutes off the clock, reaching the Pittsburgh 31 with 4:30 left in regulation. The ball was within Cody Parkey's field-goal range and a possible 11-point lead. Instead of running the ball and keeping the clock moving, Stefanski called for a Mayfield pass on third and three.

The Steelers, who had sacked Mayfield three times earlier, added number four, a four-yard loss that took the Browns out of field-goal range. So instead of a Parkey field goal that would have given the Browns an insurmountable lead, Stefanski disdained a punt on fourth down to pin the Steelers deep in their territory.

He dialed up another pass for Mayfield, who delivered a pass that in baseball would be called low and away that Rashard Higgins could not handle. The gift turned into a seven-play, 65-yard touchdown drive by the Steelers in two minutes that added unnecessary drama to the game.

Coaching decisions like that stick out more in losses than victories. Fortunately for the rookie head coach, this one turned out all right. And perhaps it was a lesson learned from strategic and tactical standpoints. 

***

Jacob Phillips gave the Browns something to think about for next season from a defensive standpoint with his performance against the Steelers. The rookie seemed to be everywhere, racking up 10 tackles from his middle linebacker slot, eight of them solo.

Knee and COVID-19 problems limited him early in the season, but he was eventually inserted in the starting lineup when B..J. Goodson encountered coronavirus problems. He played about half the snaps in the Jets loss, but was a full-time participant in the Pittsburgh victory, logging all 67 snaps. 

The third-round pick was a middle linebacker at Louisiana State, where he piled up 113 tackles in his junior season before declaring for the draft. Even if Goodson is green-lighted to return for the playoff game, Phillips' coming-out game should merit more action.

***

It will be interesting to see how the Browns maneuver their roster in the wake of Olivier Vernon's ruptured Achilles' heel in the big victory. The defensive end played well this season, compiling nine sacks and countless quarterback hits. 

Right now, the club is down to four edge rushers -- Myles Garrett, Adrian Clayborn, Porter Gustin and Joe Jackson. Clayborn is a 10-year veteran who is more of a situational rusher. Gustin and Jackson are second-year men.

The Browns will need as many reinforcements against Roethlisberger as possible Sunday night. Cameron Malveaux, who appeared in earlier victories over Jacksonville and Philadelphia, is a possibility to be brought up from the practice squad.

***

Finally . . . Mayfield has clearly cleaned up his interception-a-game act. He has thrown just one pick (against Baltimore) in the last nine games after throwing seven in the first seven games. Alarmingly, though, he has been sacked eight times in the last two games after being dropped just seven teimes in the previous eight. . . . With the assumed return of Denzel Ward from COVID-19, Robert Jackson will be back on the bench. The Steelers picked on the second-year man unmercifully Sunday. . . . The Browns never lost two games in a row this season, a product of Stefanski's one-game-at-a-time resilience credo. . . . In keeping with the Stefanski run/pass ratio mantra, the Browns ran the football 48.5% of the time this season and threw it 51.5%. . . . At least the Browns are consistent when it comes to sacking quarterbacks. They recorded 37 in 2018, 38 in 2019 and another 38 this season.