Not surprising

Deshaun Watson, probably still a little hungover on the good feeling that emerged from the Browns' decisive season-opening victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, eagerly looked forward to Monday night's visit to Pittsburgh on national television.

"It's an awesome opportunity for us to show the world what we've got and what we can be," he said boastfully. "It's definitely going to be a tough task and I think we have the team that can go in there and do it."

Bulletin: No they don't. Not yet. Not by a long shot. Not after a 26-22 beating led by a Steelers defense that showed the Browns what relentless down-and-dirty football mixed with opportunism really is. 

Adding to the misery of the evening was the probable loss of running back Nick Chubb for the season with a significant knee injury on the second play of the second quarter. Apparently it was so repulsive, ABC refused to show a replay. Chubb had gained 64 yards on 10 carries up to that point.

Jerome Ford, who caught a three-yard scoring pass from Watson shortly after the injury, gained 106 yards on 16 carries after taking over for Chubb. It included a 69-yard sprint down the left sideline to the Pittsburgh one after being trapped by Steelers linebacker T. J. Watt during a sweep right.

Pierre Strong Jr. needed two cracks for the touchdown and added a two-pointer to give the Browns a 22-19 lead early in the third quarter while Ford caught his breath.

Not only did the Steelers beat up on Watson all evening (six sacks, 11 hits and too numerous to count hurries), it produced more points than their offense, scoring touchdowns on two of their four takeaways. 

Watson might think his defense is good, but after the beating he took, he should have a different idea following the game. He found out in a hurry an intensity level that not only rivals the Browns' on that side of the ball, it exceeds it.

The Browns came up with two takeaways of their own, but produced just a Dustin Hopkins field goal from the 43. He later missed another 43-yarder, but was successful on one from 55 yards in the late stages of the first half.

The Pittsburgh offense never got untracked against the aggressive Cleveland defense. The Steelers' running game was basically shut down and quarterback Kenny Pickett had trouble finding open receivers. They recorded just nine first downs and ran only 53 plays to the Browns' 81.

Pickett finally broke through for the only time all evening after defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for one of the few times dialed up a zone defense early in the second quarter. It was the perfect play call for that look.

Pickett took full advantage, hitting George Pickens in stride at about the Pittsburgh 45 in the middle of the zone -- there wasn't a Browns defender within 20 yards -- and the wide receiver sprinted untouched the rest of the way. The play covered 71 yards and gave the Steelers their first lead of the game at 16-11. It was not a blown coverage, Just a well-executed play.

The evening began with defensive end Alex Highsmith's pick 6 on a deflected pass by Harrison Bryant on the very first play of the game, and concluded with linebacker T. J. Watt scooping up the second of two Watson fumbles, caused by a Highsmith strip sack, and sprinting 17 yards to take the lead for good with seven minutes left in regulation.

Watson for the second week in a row looked ordinary. Some of it was due to a unrelenting pass rush by the Steelers' defensive line as well as a performance by the offensive line that fell well short of being a factor and needs to be reassessed. 

This isn't what the Browns expected when they lured (bribed?) him with a $230 million fully-guaranteed contract. Last season's poor showing was blamed on rust after a 700-day absence from the National Football League wars. If this continues, excuses should not be tolerated.

The Cleveland quarterback also clearly is not familiar with the Browns' nightmarish history in Pittsburgh, where strange things in this rivalry occur. He should be now.

For example, the Steelers entered the fourth quarter on the short end of a 22-19 score and manufactured negative seven yards of offense. And won the game on Watt's first touchdown as a pro.

Finally, a lot of Browns fans will carp about the non-call on Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. who was clearly tugging at Donovan Jones-Peoples' jersey as the the Cleveland wide receiver failed to make a catch on a fourth-down prayer in the final minute. No flag was thrown. 

And if one had been heaved, the outcome quite probably would have been the same. No, this game was lost because the offense could not take care of the football. It was lost because the offensive line could not take care of its quarterback. It was lost because it could not make a play when one was needed.

So what have the Browns got? A very good team that should win a lot of games this season. What they need and seem to be missing this early in the season is someone to lead this defense like Watt leads the Steelers'.

What they need is a player like Watt. That would have made a difference Monday night.