The Browns beat the Steelers 21-7 on Thursday night football at First Energy Stadium in a game where Baker Mayfield accounted for all three of the Browns' touchdowns.
That has to sting a defense that had accelerated to have the second most forced turnovers in the NFL coming into week eleven, and had carried the team to four consecutive wins.
But each loss is an opportunity to learn, so let's take a closer look at what lessons the Steelers can apply to their rematch with the Browns at Heinz Field on December 1st:
The Steelers were familiar with Mayfield's playing style, as they beat him in 2018 and have studied plenty of tape. Keith Butler's plans for the game showed a structured approach to contain Mayfield in the pocket, rely on his improved coverage unit, and eventually force turnovers.
But Mayfield found ways to negate the Steelers' pass rush early in the game by dancing around the pocket, breaking contain and keeping his head up to find receivers for plays downfield. Watch this 20-yard connection to Kareem Hunt, where the Steelers have everything initially covered.
Their four man rush forces Mayfield off his launch spot, but he steps up in the pocket to get around T.J. Watt and then uses the space vacated by Watt to break outside and float a good pass to Hunt, just beating the arm of linebacker Mark Barron:
Mayfield also made a few solid, structured reads to beat the Steelers' defense. One of his most impressive was a 25-yard deep post to Jarvis Landry to beat a Cover 2 zone.
The Browns took a page out of the Patriots' playbook, lining up the running backs outside the numbers and their top receivers inside. This forced the Steelers to play zone or commit to having linebackers line up wide in unfamiliar territory.
Mayfield recognizes Terrell Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick as the safeties both covering deep halves. This means each must keep anyone from getting behind them while also covering half the field. That naturally creates an open space deep in the zone, which Landry finds with a post route:
But let's not pretend this was just a night where the Browns' success was without breakdowns by the Steelers' defense. The Browns' second touchdown came on a botched goal line defense where Landry's shallow cross goes unguarded.
Notice how most of the defense runs man, following their receivers around the field, but Joe Haden jumps on Pharaoh Brown running to the flat out of the backfield along with Edmunds. This opens up both options on the Browns' drive concept, Landry underneath and Demetrius Harris on the deeper in-route:
Despite these mistakes, the defense didn't buckle. Mayfield finished the game completing 17 of 32 passes for 193 yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. But the Steelers' defense had a strong second half, only allowing 42 passing yards and a single touchdown off a short field.
Part of what switched was their gap integrity to not allow Mayfield escape their pass rush. It only created one sack, but it prevented Mayfield from creating opportunities with his feet. Watch how Mayfield has nowhere to step up to evade Watt's rush thanks to Vince Williams and Tyson Alualu:
The Steelers solved the matchup problems posed by the Browns and began taking away Mayfield's reads with the solid coverage that had built their run of five wins in their six previous games.
Watch this third down stop where they use a four man rush to collapse the pocket on Mayfield, but how Bud Dupree is mindful to jump back to his inside gap to give Mayfield no easy escape route. Steven Nelson blankets Landry on a comeback route, almost intercepting the pass:
If the Steelers' defense can perform for an entire game the way they did in the second half last night, they can put Mayfield in a lot more difficult situations that force bad decisions and turnover opportunities.
But it takes two to tango, and that means the Steelers' offense has to deliver at some point to put pressure on the Browns to score. We'll be getting into their follies from this game when Classroom returns on Monday.
Carter’s Classroom needs your help! We are seeking sponsors for the 2019 NFL season that would be willing to see their brand grow through advertising with us. All interested parties should contact me at christopher@dkpittsburghsports.com.
MORE CLASSROOM
Nov. 14: Banner's strong edge seals
Nov. 13: Shouldn’t be surprised by Haden
Nov. 12: Steelers’ receivers face fixable problems
Nov. 10: Put respect on the Edmunds name
