DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2021 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 14 Steelers 26 Beating Pittsburgh

What happened to the Browns team that took the field at the start of the season, and held a lead against the Chiefs, in Kansas City for most of the Game?
What happened to that team, because that team, had belief, that team was soo much better than the playoff team from a couple of months before.
That team, had an offense that nobody could stop.
If the Browns take the field, in these next two games, with the Power! and Belief that the Browns had going into game one of this year, then the Browns will Win!

They went to Lambeau field in week 16 and played the best team in the NFL down to the wire?

I get what you're saying, but I also get what THROW is mentioning, as well...

We haven't seen anything near that team which opened the season against KC, and I believe that's what has many Browns fans in a Doom & Gloom state of mind. I think they expected this year to be some combination of '85 Bears dominance on D, coupled with The Greatest Show on Turf on O. Unrealistic expectations often lead to irrational reactions, when those expectations are unmet.

Expected, in a fan base as large as ours.
"Fan" is short for fanatic... and it's our right to have all the feels we want.

Truth: this D has been steadily improving for the past month+. They held Aaron Rogers to pedestrian numbers even after he was spotted 3 turnovers, and only allowed 3 earned points after kick possession.
Truth: even with a banged-up OL, patched with back-ups and starters out-of-position, Browns put up 22 on a respectable D, and were still in it to win it in the last minute of game time.

So both things are true: Browns have shown grit, but not moxie.

Some years, we get something we couldn't have expected or predicted.

***

I just think back on 1-31, say to myself, "Self- Browns are still competing for a playoff spot after Christmas Day", and realize that this kind of Cleveland Browns football is a whole helluvalot more fun than "Quincy Morgan football." Or "Freddie Kitchens football." Or "Soldjah football." Or "Mike Holmgren football." Or... [insert 20 years of shameful examples here]-football. We are becoming that team we always wanted- relevant as a playoff contender at the end of every season. 2 years and counting. This is the base performance that forms a team that contends for 6-10 years... and that is what brings rings to football teams. In a way, I'm not really all that upset at this year, because it showed me a team that didn't fold at Halloween, when luck started to really turn for the worst. We've seen some ugly football, but it was just pretty enough to get us here. The Browns' total turnaround isn't happening 'microwave fast'... but that doesn't mean it's not happening. I'm actually okay with that. Ugly seasons are part of the growth curve, too.

I think this team will play Monday night's game with some of THROW's swagger regardless of Sunday's results. It's #7's last hurrah. At home. If you can't give everything you have to wring necks on his 'swan song,' you don't deserve the fans who root for you. I think Myles understands. I think enough team leaders understand what this means to us. They've been here long enough, and saw what last year looked/felt like at the end of the season. Trust me- none of this is lost on them.


CLE v PIT. At the end of the year. At the end on Ben.
Who can't get up for this?

" I think enough team leaders understand what this means to us. They've been here long enough, and saw what last year looked/felt like at the end of the season. Trust me- none of this is lost on them."

My fear is we get up early on them, and then the coaches go into their "prevent" mode. Then I see Ben just wing it for the hell of it and mounting a comeback that will once again have stiller fans praising him and laughing at us.

Say no more. It's January, we need to beat the steelers for a playoff spot. The kind of excitement we've been hoping for since the return.

Chubb - 21

Hunt - 14

D J - 7


Run game = 42



That's beating the Steelers !

Just an FYI, tonight on the NFL channel.....

2021 AFC wild card game.

Browns vs Steelers.....

.....from Jan. 10, 2021.

Also, Happy New Year Everybody!!!!!

We had Pitt in our house earlier in the year and held them to 15 points, yet our offense was not up for the game, Gotta hope they are this time.

Thanks for that info. Its on NFLN at 9PM Eastern.

To beat them, we got to run it down their throat. Control the TOP and make Ben miserable when he is on the field. They have been struggling against the run, time to exploit that. Put a TE on Hance's side and tell him to pound Watt's ribs. With Watt on the sidelines, their defense is putrid.

The offense needs to score a lot, because if it is close, the refs will make sure Ben goes out a winner.

Ill check it out

Ding ding ding.

Pittsburgh is a playoff game. Bengals will be a playoff game if we beat Pit ... Exciting times.

Spread them out and run the ball. It is how you exploit their D.

Meaningful games at the end of the season. Two years in a row.
For twenty years, Browns fans envied fans of other teams who took such a thing for granted, while this team flailed around somewhere between 3-13 and 7-9.
Oh, and lest we forget: 1-31 just before our present team was built.

I'll take this version of the Cleveland Browns over any other since The Return. I'm watching games that I actually care about. In January.

And for those that want to hate, Baker was a huge part of turning this team around.

As was Stefanski.

Time to sit starters and start evaluating next year's depth. Treat tomorrow and next week like preseason games.

This is what they should do. But they'll make some big speech about how it still matters. The players will celebrate TDs like their playoff hopes are still alive. As a fan it will make you question if these guys really give a damn or not. We don't have a single winner on this team.

What a colossal letdown/disaster.

you should go root for the raiders

Purp ! I know your pissed and it shows your a great fan ! Because of you we can all come here and put up our feelings ! thank you so much !

I want to see the Browns put Ben in the basement tomorrow ! always a lil sunshine to a dark moment..

Giving up will never get this team a Championship, especially against a rival !

I'm very sorry it didn't work out how we all wanted it to..

GO Browns !!

They can treat 365 days a year like pre season games.
That's all we heard all year is how these players needed to get rest, rest days, spelled downs.

-------------

Did the Browns Running game mail it in in the first matchup earlier this year, in Cleveland. Chubb and the OL?

Woot! Cleveland. at least we have April !!!

I should probably do a lot of things.

When the Browns left Cleveland in 1995, I was destroyed. I was in my second year in college and although I lived in Georgia, I found a Browns backer bar that played every game. Drove 30 minutes every Sunday to watch the Browns. After they left, I gave up football until 2003. I did not follow the team when they came back. I swore off the NFL after the Browns left. I only came back because I was in Cleveland for the holidays and happened to be watching the 'run William run' game with some family. All those familiar feelings came back and haven't missed a game since.

That 8 year period from 1995 to 2003, I never had this team to bring me down. It was more blissful for sure. My Sundays were spent doing things, not watching things.

That seems appealing right now.

No way. End the Steelers playoff hunt and beat our most hated rival in their house. The icing on the cake would be to send Ben home losing his last game in Heinz field. Why sit starters? They will have a whole offseason to evaluate the team. Plus, we have seen the "depth" play for the last few weeks already.

The stoolers are going to embarrass us on national tv tomorrow to end this crap weekend. F u browns.

What are the Browns really good at? Folding.

With nothing to play for.you are going to see a major lay down job.

I don't think the team plays for Stefanski either. I think Stefanski coaches like a robot. I don't see the guys running through walls for him. If they did we'd have seen that this year.

I really hope your just pissed and don't really believe that.. Browns have to win this game and I trust they will try and will win !

Seems like many in this thread wouldn't care. I want them to finish above .500. I've seen enough losing seasons. If the players on this team don't care if they win the next two, I don't want them on the team next year. Ending the season by giving up, is what I have endured for decades now, man up and show some pride. Play the next two like they are the most important games of the year, the fans deserve at least that much.

J/C

I agree with PurpleP. There is no moral victory to be had by winning now. Any way we slice it, we’ve regressed and need to reflect on what we can do to improve. - One way is to get as high of a draft pick as possible. It makes zero sense to win these two games and lose draft position/trade value in every round. Additionally, Why risk having one of our key players injured? - It could hurt their off-season conditioning and lessen their impact on meaningful games next year. An injury could also keep them out for all of next year. Last season, the Steelers lost Devin Bush and Bud Dupree on account of torn acl’s. - Due in large part to the overused surface at Heinz field. Zero reason to risk losing Myles or Wyatt Teller for next season for a game that means nothing.

I wonder what the analytics guys would say on this topic though. I’m sure some of you will disagree with my stance but I seriously wonder if there would be anything advantageous about winning at this point according to statistical data.

You play to win the game. Anyone suggesting otherwise can F-off.

I’m not suggesting that they won’t play to win. I’m suggesting that they won’t win, despite trying to win.

These clowns are done.

If this happens Stefanski should be on the chopping block.

I don't want Mayfield back, he hasn't proved he can play the position.

I feel like the one thing we needed to accomplish this year was to figure out whether Baker is the guy.

If we’re being honest, he did not prove that to be the case. Now add in all the mitigating circumstances- his injuries, team injuries, covid, a lack of a consistent roster to build chemistry etc. it’s tough.

So we are in the same place we were when we started the season. We still need to figure out if Baker is the guy. Going forward, we could be in a worse position. We have a year to figure out baker. There is literally no other option for this team. No FA QB out there makes sense. They’re either too expensive, too old, not good enough. The draft doesn’t look any better. So we have a guy who COULD be the guy. In years past, we’d have paid a lot for a guy that COULD be the guy. The trick is to not alienate him so much that HE decides to walk.

This sucks and feels very Browns-y. But it could be worse.

Bone I don't think we should get rid of KS or Baker but I do think some serious adjustments have to be made by KS and his coaches on O as well as some WR additions. If a change at HC for us was to be made I would like to see Eric Bienemy from KC get hired here but I'm certainly not advocating a move. Just speculating on the subject.

Wait a minute,get better receivers?
You spent the entire summer telling us we had one of the best receiver rooms in the entire NFL.Our TEs were top flight,the o-line was great and the RB tandem was the number one.
What a difference a season can make.

j/c...

The line on this game has moved from:

Browns -3 yesterday before being eliminated to Browns +3 as of today.

Again, for those that have not paid attention: that was when OBJ was our #1 (and we all thought he was a #1) and DPJ was, at most, our #3, and we expected them to be able to play to their potential. We thought Higgins and his history would be a solid #4 and would get to see plenty of opportunities.

What we had then is NOT what we have now. Not even close.
DPJ is NOT a #1 WR, yet he is getting that role right now.
Landry, God love him, has not been his normally reliable self.
Higgins never showed up, or was never allowed to show up.
There is nobody else after that... just a bunch of JAGs.

OLine was blown apart by injuries. Wills wasn't the stud this year that he looked like he was going to develop into last year. We have basically had no Tackles all season - in case anyone missed it.

These TE's couldn't be more Hit & Miss.

Absolutely NONE of those groups lived up to what they SHOULD have been.
Collectively, at best, they are a disjointed mess.... and that has shown up on the field.

j/c

I have to agree with Hammer that you play to win the game. If you're going to sit the starters and or mail it in, you may as well just forfeit the game and admit you no longer give a damn. That's just a terrible message to send to your fan base and the actual team itself. I understand that it makes no difference as it pertains to the playoffs. I don't see how that makes any difference as it pertains to sending the message that it's okay to be a quitter. Maybe I was just raised differently. I don't know.

We will be drafting somewhere in the middle of the pack either way. It's not like we have a top 5 or ten pick. The impact on the draft will be minimal win or lose. In my world there's a difference between fighting to the bitter end and giving up.

We are playing the Steelers. This will most likely be Ben's last home game. If that doesn't make a difference to Browns fans, this season has really sucked the life out of you.

Win the last 2 games go 9-8 and have our first back to back winning seasons since 88-89 ... GO BROWNS!!!

If Rishuz, wants to say the sky is green and the grass is white, then so be it. He doesn't owe you or me anything.

I couldn't give 2 sh÷==ts about The Rish and his thoughts.

Rish
Riz
The Rish ... this is definitely my favorite.

If you smell what The Rish is cooking!

What you cooking the Rish ?

How about trying, it can't hurt.

I think they are, pretty close game

Maybe this was actually the game plan??

It sure would explain a lot.