Key Takeaways From Browns Week 14 Loss To Pittsburgh Steelers

They can change the name of the stadium along the shores of the confluence of the three rivers in Pittsburgh. For the Cleveland Browns, it's simply a place they can't seem to win.

Cleveland's woes in Pittsburgh continued on Sunday in a 27-14 loss to their biggest rivals in Week 14. The loss dropped the Browns to 3-10 for the season, and officially eliminated any last twinkle of hope they had of a late season run to the playoffs.

Here are the takeaways from a forgettable day in Pittsburgh.

Jameis Winston Strikes Again

Per usual, Winston delivered some memorable moments in this game. His 35-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy was as good as it gets, after scrambling to buy some time and firing a perfect pass to his top target. who was positioned nicely between two defenders. It looked like a drive that was going to start getting the Browns some momentum, but that turned out to be fools gold.

The four drives that followed saw Cleveland go five plays for 12 yards and punt, three-and-out and punt, a Winston interception that set up a Steelers touchdown, and a three-and-out and punt. Winston waited to long to try and dump a screen pass down to Chubb and Pittsburgh had it snuffed out. DT Keeanu Benton slid right in front of the Browns star tailback to set the Steelers up with a short field, which the turned into a touchdown. On the bright side, it wasn't a pick six.

Winston led his best drive of the game around the 13:06 mark of the fourth quarter, taking the offense 84 yards, on 14 plays, and capping it of with a 15-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku to get within two possessions of Pittsburgh. The Browns even converted a sizeable fourth-and-six on the drive. It was too little too late, however as Winston would go on to throw a second interception late in the fourth quarter to essentially seal their fate. He finished the game 24-of-41, for 212 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Judge Jeudy

Browns fans continue to judge whether or not Jerry Jeudy can be a bonafide No. 1 wide receiver for the team next year, and beyond. The 25-year-old took another step toward proving he can be just that in the rematch with Pittsburgh. He finished with five receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown, marking his sixth straight game of 60-plus yards. And his third in the last four with a touchdown.

On Cleveland's second offensive series, Winston scrambled out of the pocket to his left and just before crossing the line of scrimmage, tossed a lob up to Jeudy streaking across the field on a post. Jeudy finished it off for a 35-yard TD. It was the latest explosive play between the quarterback-wide receiver duo and a testaments to the chemistry they've built over the course of the last six games.

Jerry was relatively quiet otherwise, in fact he didn't catch his second and third passes until late in the third quarter. Regardless, he continues to prove he's a reliable No. 1 option for Cleveland.

Positive Signs

Nick Chubb admitted this week that he had at least thought about what his return to Pittsburgh since suffering that gruesome season-ending knee injury at Acrisure Stadium last September. His first trip back didn't end up being the Hollywood story Browns fans hoped – he didn't score and the Browns lost – but there were some promising signs of progress from the four-time Pro Bowler. He only finished with 11 rushes, for 48 yards but averaged his second highest yards per carry this season at a clip of 4.4.

There were a few times in the second half where he showed some of that classic Nick Chubb burst. It's safe to say Chubb needs more time to get back to being even close to the player he once was, but there were some signs of that guy today.

The David Njoku Surge

Along with Jeudy, Winston has also developed quite a bit of chemistry with David Njoku as well. The 2023 Pro Bowler was targeted 13 times on Sunday, catching seven of them for 42 yards and a touchdown. That performance came just six days after he was targeted 17 times and made nine catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns against the Broncos on Monday Night Football.

Since Winston took over under center, Njoku has compiled 36 catches, for 274 yards, and three touchdowns. Those figures account for 48% of his receptions, nearly 70% of his yards and 80% of his touchdowns this season. It's the second consecutive season that a quarterback change has come with a noticeably uptick in production.

Would You Rather...

Have Dustin Hopkins or Justin Tucker right now? Both are pretty bad at the moment. But At least with Tucker there's this ceiling of greatest kicker of all-time. So I guess that's the answer?

Hopkins is in the midst of what is undoubtedly the worst season of his career. After missing two more field goals on Sunday in Pittsurgh, he's now made just 64% of his field goals this season. His Week 14 misses came from 38 and 43. All this, after having the best season of his career in 2023, including going eight-for-eight from 50-plus yards, and establishing his new career-long of 58 yards.

The Browns have seen the best of Hopkins, and rewarded him with a three-year contract extension this past offseason. Now they're seeing the worst of Hopkins, but it would be pretty surprising if he wasn't kicking for Cleveland next season.

The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same

The idea that Cleveland would get their first regular season win in Pittsburgh since 2003, and sweep the Steelers for the first time since 1988 were fun. When push came to shove, the Steelers kept both those droughts alive for at least another year. Maybe Winston will get a chance to try to pull that off as the Browns starting QB in 2025.