Steelers Decisive Advantage, How Browns Fight Back
Especially with injuries to Cameron Heyward and Diontae Johnson, the Cleveland Browns have advantages in a number of areas against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the one matchup where the Steelers enjoy a decisive edge is their outside linebackers against the Browns offensive tackles. The Browns must now allow the Steelers to exploit that matchup and wrest control of the game.
The Browns would prefer to utilize just their offensive line in pass protection. The more receiving threats Deshaun Watson has, the better. That's especially true in the backfield due to the fact Watson's ability to extend plays can end up with a back being in his way.
Nevertheless, the Browns did keep extra help in pass protection at various points in the game, which will likely continue against the Steelers.
Rookie offensive tackle Dawand Jones did an admirable job stepping in for Jack Conklin after he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Jones was able to find his sea legs quickly in pass protection against the Bengals defensive ends, but he had a difficult time run blocking.
If it's a choice between one or the other, the Browns are always going to favor pass protection. T.J. Watt is one of the best in the league and has the potential to exploit vulnerabilities Jones has, the most notable of which is his speed and ability to bend off the edge.
Jones can get away with being at a slight disadvantage and simply using his overwhelming size and ballast to make up ground and win reps, which helps him. Further, Jones is largely going to be able to focus on Watt's speed as opposed to his power since Jones is simply difficult to move. The concern for Jones is what will happen if Watt is able to slap his hands down or effectively utilizes a counter move. If Jones over sets or Watson extends the play in a way that Jones can't see, that could enable Watt to get a line on the quarterback and pursue.
The easiest way to supplement Jones as a run blocker and at least give him a chip in the passing game is to line up David Njoku as an inline Y next to him. If Watt opts to line up outside of Njoku, it gives Jones an extra beat to get a bearing on Watt in pass protection. Head up and Njoku can at least chip him before continuing on his route. The Browns may simply want to keep Njoku in to help pass protect at times as well.
Whether utilizing Jordan Akins and Harrison Bryant as an F or their running backs to help on Watt, they need to close the distance to Watt as quickly as possible for three reasons.
First is in an effort to get to Watt before he can gain a head of steam and try to force him to engage as quickly as possible.
Second, if the intent is to get a quick chip and then release into a route, it allows them to get into the route quickly so if Watson needs to dump the ball to them, he can. If the Steelers defense is focused on all of the other receiving threats, a chip and release could be an efficient way to get the ball out quickly while being able to gain yardage.
It may also put Watt in conflict and have him drop to cover the releasing back and try to bait Watson into making a mistake. Every rep Watt isn't rushing the passer is ultimately something the Browns will happily accept. This could provide an easy way to get Nick Chubb going in the passing game potentially with some space to run.
Third, it prevents them from crowding Watson in the backfield, so he has room to operate or escape as he deems fit.
Jedrick Wills is coming off a difficult performance where he was often asked to block Trey Hendrickson on an island. Now, he will be tasked with blocking Alex Highsmith, who is coming off of a 14.5 sack season. Along with Watt, should be a priority for the protection on every play.
The Browns are also likely to utilize condensed formations to help in the pass protection. Wide receivers can chip edge rushers, but it's also a way to present a consistent threat to crack block the edge defenders on running plays. If the Browns can get their perimeter run game going, it's one more variable for Watt and Highsmith to consider.
The best way for the Browns to neutralize the Steelers pass rush is to get the ball out of Deshaun Watson's hands quickly, especially with the amount of wide and empty formations Kevin Stefanski likes to use.
This was done at a high level when the Browns defeated the Steelers in the playoffs in 2020. The Browns rarely utilized more than five blockers, but the ball came out of the quarterback's hands quickly which took the pass rush out of the game. Effectively diagnosing the right matchup to beat the Steelers man coverage, especially against their linebackers enabled them to move the ball down the field while also creating some running lanes for Nick Chubb.
The Browns should take some shots and test the Steelers defense deep just as they did against the Bengals, but that requires the protection to hold up longer. For the most part, Watson needs to make quick decisions. T.J. Watt had three sacks and two forced fumbles in the opener, but much of that was caused by 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy holding onto the ball too long.
Watson needs to make smart decisions, either making the right diagnosis as to where to attack the defense, throw it away or run (and preferably not get drilled in the process). If Watson makes the same mistake Purdy did, it could enable the Steelers the ability to put hits on him, end drives and potentially cause turnovers, which is the quickest way for the Browns lose this game.
