The Cleveland Browns are a run-first team and have one of the best at it with Nick Chubb. The Steelers had the luxury of taking on the Browns sans Chubb in their first matchup in Week 6. He’s averaged 5.6 yards per attempt this season, the best of his three-year career. Clear the 47-yard touchdown, in which the Steelers had several missed tackles; Pittsburgh kept the Chubbs relatively in check with 200 feet to the ground.
But after Sunday’s game, the Steelers have a new wrinkle to the game plan: Quarterback Baker Mayfield escapes from the pocket and takes off. In his previous four games against Pittsburgh, Mayfield had a total of 4 rushes for 17 yards. This week he had six rushes for 44 yards – three to the left and one to the right.
Mayfield, who had more yards on the ground than Kareem Hunt, had a long 28-yard run in Steeler’s territory, eventually getting them a score. And, of course, the critical third-down conversion with a minute left in the game. His three-meter run allowed the Browns to stop the clock for victory.
“I thought we needed to keep Mayfield under better control,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said at his weekly press conference. “He hurt us a little with his legs. Not just the big run, like the big run in the last part of the third quarter that got a touchdown drive, but also conversion runs, third-down runs when he was scrambling and converting. We know he can do that. So our rush has to be better, not only in terms of putting pressure on it, but also keeping it in check and minimizing that part of the game. “