Browns 27, Stillers 24 ...... Oct 1, 2026 …………Game # 4
Stillers – Browns Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 2-1 Stillers mosied up the highway to face the hated 2-1 Browns on Thur nite football. The Stillers struck for a 7-0 lead, but Cleve stormed back with 3 TDs to take a 21-10 lead into the locker room. After a scoreless 3Q, the Stillers stormed back with 2 4th quarter TDs to tie the game, only for Clev to march in the final minute for a GW FG.
Grades:
QB: Rodgers got the start.
Rotten INT, 2nd series, early 2Q, although the DE for Cleve nipped his arm as he threw.
Moved slow as molasses on a scramble, 9:15 3Q, and got sacked. Clutch throw on the run for the TD to Darnell, 4Q. Took a DOG penalty just before 2MW, 4Q.
Overall, AR threw the ball well. The 2nd INT was basically a Hail Mary type pass with 10 secs left. Decent game from the old fella. B-
RB:
Warren – Good running and RAC work, first series. Got brutalized by Collins for a sack, 1sts series. Had a strong overall game, rushing for 93 on only 17 carries, and grabbing 3 passes for 33. A-
Dowdle – out again with injured foot.
Lew Nichols – no involvement
Travis Homer – ran 2 plunges for minimal yardage.
Heidenreich – inactive
FB:
WR:
Metcalf – good RAC, 3d & 11 first series, on WR screen. A few plays later, after a short grab, was flagged for taunting after the play. How foolish, and stupid. Snared a deep ball, early 4Q, on a nice hands-catch. Big grab along the sideline, late in game, for 22 yards. Then snared a deep lob 2 plays later. 5 grabs for 115 is def what this offense needs from him, but the needless flag highly annoyed me. B+
Pittman – flagged for false start, 1st series. Flagged for illegal shift, early 4Q. 2 grabs for 15 ain’t nowhere near enough for a WR2 in the NFL. C
Wilson – ran untouched on a shovel pass for a 12 -yard TD, 1Q. Big catch and run for 49 yards on a seam route, late 2Q. Had 3 grabs for 74. Perhaps he may be eking by Pittman for the WR2 duties, at least figuratively. B+
Bernard – Grabbed short pass, late in game. 2 grabs for 11.
Skowronek – grabbed 6 yard out, 3Q.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – good block on Wilson’s TD, first drive. Grabbed short TD, late 4Q. 3 grabs for 17 yards is underwhelming for a TE of his talent and salary. C
Darnell – Superb catch on a tough throw in the EZ for a big TD, 4Q. Was thrown to in the EZ on 3 consecutive plays late in the 4Q; apparently he is now considered the #1 target in the RZ. I’m far from convinced of that, but overall he had a solid game. B+
OL: Overall, the line (Fautanu, McCormick, Frazier, Hoffman, Iheanachor) had a subpar game. They allowed far too much pressure an harassment on the QB. The run blocking was pretty good, I’ll admit.
Ichean allowed his man to nip Rodgers in the arm, 2d series, which caused the ball to be a bit short and off the mark for an INT. Allowed another sack when he stopped working at the top of the rush, and the DE tracked back and nabbed Rodgers from behind. Flagged for false start, late 3Q. Got whipped for a sack, 12:20 4Q.
McCormick got completely whipped for a sack, late 3Q, knocking the team out of FG range and forcing a punt.
.
This won’t be a game this unit will be proud of. C+
DL:
Heyward – got credit for a solo (should have been assist) on a WR screen that gained 7 yards, 5:20 2Q.
Got a slop assist: 2:24 - 2nd Qtr - Q.Judkins left end to PIT 23 for 1 yard (C.Heyward; P.Queen).
On a 9-yard run by Judkins at 6:46 3Q, Scam got mauled at the POA (point of attack).
Got a solo on plunge, late 3Q. Poked ball from a scrambling Watson, but Waston recovered, 4Q. Had a good “paper game” with 3 solos and 4 As, but in reality, did jak fuq as the D got rolled on for 27 points. Make more, do more. C-
Benton – the guy lavished with that huge, fatty extension this past summer, did exactly nothing all game long. 2 solos, 1 A, and zero impact. D
Harmon – injured a foot.
YaYa Black – pretty much did little.
Joseph-Day – not much
LB:
Queen – whiffed on Judkins after a short dumpoff, early 2Q, allowing an extra 7 yards. Flagged for a hold, late 2Q. Overall played subpar; not nearly involved enough in stuffing the Cle running game or stopping short dumpoffs. D+
Pey Wilson – got pancaked on 3d & short, 1st play of 4Q. Had 7 solos, but too many of them were 4, 5, 6 yards off the LOS. Nowhere near good enough. C
Watt – got a paw on the ball on a 3rd down RB pass, 10:20 3Q. Poked ball from Watson on a zone read, and then recovered the ball, 3Q. Big play. Decent game, although the pass pressure was minimal. B
Highsmith – got duped on a waggle play, 9:45 2Q, for an easy 5-yard completion. Whiffed on a sack, late 2Q, which allowed Watson to scoot away and complete a 9 yard pass. Next play, got juked Back in the pocket by Watson, who easily completed a short pass for 4 yards to the PIT 1.
Pre the stat sheet at NFL.com, he had 1 solo and 0 assist. However, when you review the play by play, here is the lone play he was involved in:
(1:29) Q.Judkins right tackle to PIT 2 for -1 yards (A.Highsmith, C.Heyward)
This is obviously an assist, not a solo.
So, Big Alex Fraudsmith had a whopping ONE assist and ZERO solos all game long, while doing jak fuq nothing. A complete fraud. F
Holcombe – whiffed on the TD run by McLaughlin. Complete manure. WHY is this pudd puller out on the field on defense in the first place? D-
Herbig – Got nicked up, 2Q, when Spears smacked into him on a scrum. Had 1 solo, 2 As in a platoon role. Didn’t do much. C+
Sawyer – got sucked inside on the McLaughlin TD run. Finger-nipped a pass on his pass rush, early 4Q, on the INT by Spears-Jennings. These offset each other, so to speak; in fact, the lapse was far, far more costly that the good that the INT produced. Everyone will rave about the nipped pass, and very few will have notice how Big Jack got sucked in like a Hoover vacuum on a wide run that went for 6. Had 0 solos. C+
DB
Joey Porter Jr. - traded.last nite at midnite. ☹
Samuel Jr. – should have been flagged for PI on a deep bomb, 2d series, near the PIT 5 yard line. Flagged for a hold, 4Q. Not holding up well enough. C+
Brisker – whiffed on a scrambling Watson near the LOS, 4Q, allowing a big gain.
DeShon Elliot – IR
Jalen Ramsey - played with broken wrist. Good 3rd D tackle of WR short of sticks, first series. Overall, played a meek brand of football, obviously shielding his injury as much as he could. During the long RACs Clev had, he was nowhere to be found near the ball. Had ONE solo all game long. Ain’t nowhere near good enough. C-
Jamel Dean – got nicked up, 5:00 2Q. Did not return.
Everette – got abused on a deep ball to Boston, 10:00 2Q. He may have thought he had safety help, when he clearly did not. Flagged for PI, early 4Q, negating the Spears INT. But the play was reviewed and Sawyer had nipped the pass, which negated PI. Gonna be a long season of schooling for this fellow.
Spears-Jennings – stupidly took out Herbig in a scrum, 2Q. Busted up a pass, 2 plays later. INT’d a deep pass, early 4Q, but negated by the Everette DPI. . But the play was reviewed and Sawyer had nipped the pass, which negated PI.
Spec teams:
Johnston – Outstanding punt, late 4Q, pinning Cleve down inside their 1. Booted well. A
Boswell – missed 48-yard FG, 2Q. Barely made a 31-yard FG, late 1H, just inside the right upright. Three misses already this season; not good. C+
Kejan Wetbed – tackled at the 23 on a 2Q KO, which was awful.
OC: Angelichio had a nice start, and then hit a wall.
Superb 17-play opening drive for a TD, chewing up gobs of clock and taking the Cleve crowd out of the game. The O completely petered out after that, and didn’t awaken until the 4Q. Pass pro was putrid, and there were simply too many plays where AR had no receiver to throw to. C-
DC: Graham – once again, the NFL’s highest paid D was softer than baby stool. After the Stillers took a 7-0 lead in the 1Q, this vaunted defense proceeded to get gashed for 3 TD marches of 56, 74, and 62 yards. Complete vomit. Yeah, they “stiffened up” after halftime, only to allow a FG drive in the 4Q, and then a game-losing drive of 36 yards for a FG. Poor tackling, lousy coverage, blown coverage, and more….ain’t nowhere near good enough. D-
HC: McCarthy seemed to have his team prepared and ready. The first drive was a thing of beaty. Defensively, as noted, it was unacceptable, esp in the 1H. Tackling was atrocious. Lotta details on both sides of the ball need to be addressed. C-
Synopsis: What’s become typical is a road loss to Clev. Can’t say I was stunned or surprised. After a 10-day break, the Stillers host the capable Indy Colts.
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