CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Browns called the sweetest timeout the game of football will allow. Eleven seconds left. Twenty-one point lead. And a defense that somehow turned Ben Roethlisberger into a lifelong backup for a day.
Defensive coordinator Jim O’Neill bear-hugged coach Mike Pettine, then fist-pumped everyone on the sideline in a row.
Call this a collective exhale from a defense that spent all week searching for answers, scrambling to identify why a 3-4 scheme – with the head coach as the architect – wasn’t stopping teams for a full game the way it’s supposed to.
The answer was resounding: 31-10. Against the Steelers. With seven of those points coming in garbage time.
Let that shock the Dawg Pound like an electric fence.
“I can’t understate how important this win was for us,” coach Mike Pettine said.
In the broader context, the Browns hadn’t trampled the Steelers like this since a 51-0 victory in 1989. In the immediate context, the defense needed a reliable performance to cleanse itself of the first-half stench from games in Pittsburgh and Nashville, where the Browns allowed a collective 56 points.
In the last six quarters, however, the Browns have outscored opponents 50-10.
Roethlisberger (21-of-42 for 228 yards, one touchdown, one interception) – who played terribly, by the way, so Cleveland’s defense doesn’t deserve all the credit – was 19-1 against Cleveland before Sunday. During that span, his offenses averaged 25.5 points per game, including seven games of 30 points or more.
Surprisingly, the Steelers had 22 first downs to the Browns’ 19, but the yardage chunks were full of empty calories.
The Browns' secret answer from the coaches’ early-week brainstorm session? Bring less pressure, Pettine said. The defense was leaving the secondary exposed with its blitz packages, so the Browns decided to eliminate the deep gains and stop the run with the front seven. That required Cleveland to place a lot of faith in the defensive line depth with Ahtyba Rubin, Phil Taylor and Billy Winn out with injuries.
The Steelers tested that method with 11 runs on its first 12 offensive plays, including three straight in the red zone. The Browns held Pittsburgh to a field goal and the momentum officially shifted.
“Once we were up, we felt it didn’t have to be close … we just put our foot down,” said cornerback Joe Haden, who played well despite a hip injury. “We finally played an entire game.”
The Browns’ defense doesn’t have a dominant pass rush. It needs more from recent first-round picks Justin Gilbert and Barkevious Mingo.
But Sunday's result injected serious confidence in a team that needed it. And it can stop the run in big games. (Pittsburgh's 138 rushing yards Sunday are deceiving; Steelers were 6-of-16 on third down.)
Sunday's formula should work for the next few weeks – keep the running gains and passing gains manageable and dare a quarterback to break you down methodically. Perhaps the great ones can, but the Browns won’t see them for a while. These are the next five quarterbacks awaiting Cleveland's defense – Blake Bortles, Derek Carr, Mike Glennon, Andy Dalton and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Defensive end Paul Kruger, who needed a shot to play through back pain this week, doesn’t pass the blame when addressing what went wrong for the defense through the first month.
“I think it’s really just been on us as players,” said Kruger, who has 15 tackles and two sacks this season. “The coaches have been consistent throughout the whole season. That’s on us to establish our identity. Find a way to get ready for each game.”
Done.
“Something’s happening here,” Haden said.
