THREE-POINT STANCE
(Three points of interest in Thursday night’s game)
ALONG THE LINES
Priority No. 1 when facing the Steelers is to not let edge rusher T.J. Watt wreck the game. The Browns have failed in this mission too many times.
“I think it’s about time that he retires,” Browns coach Todd Monken said.
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Watt isn’t the only threat in the Steelers’ front seven but he’s the biggest. He’s the only player in NFL history with at least 118.5 sacks, 140 tackles for loss, 249 quarterback hits, 36 forced fumbles, 25 strip-sacks and 14 fumble recoveries. It shows his ability to change the game in a variety of ways — none of them good for the offense.
“He’s a high-effort guy, plays to the whistle. He plays at a different pace than a lot of guys,” said Browns right tackle Tytus Howard, who will be assigned to block Watt on the majority of the snaps. “He plays freely. He’s able to do stuff that a lot of other D-ends can’t do.”
Howard is coming off a game in which he was penalized three times for false starts. He’s in his eighth year and has experience facing Watt, a four-time first-team All-Pro and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The Steelers have a new coaching staff, with Patrick Graham at defensive coordinator, but still run a 3-4 scheme.
“T.J.’s typically a guy that’s always on the right side,” Howard said. “Now he’s getting a chance to move around a little bit more.”
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Watt has 3.5 sacks and an interception return for a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 2-1 start. He’s joined by Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig on the other side and Cameron Heyward on the interior.
“Very experienced. The upfront guys, they’ve been there for years, very active,” quarterback Deshaun Watson said.
The Browns will have two rookies (left tackle Spencer Fano and right guard Austin Barber) and a backup (center Luke Wypler) in the starting offensive line. Wypler replaces Elgton Jenkins, who’s in the concussion protocol. The line must be on point communicating against the different pressure looks of the Steelers, or Watson will be in for a difficult night.
“They’re just really good at getting off the ball and being physical,” Fano said. “They have a bunch of really good players on that line.”
He’ll see mostly Highsmith (three sacks) and Herbig.
“I feel like the biggest thing that jumps off tape is just how fast they get off the ball and how many different moves they have in their bag,” Fano said.
CONNECT THE DOTS
Monken and Watson are trying to feed the ball to rookie first-round receiver KC Concepcion, but they’re not getting the desired results. Concepcion has 12 catches for only 80 yards and no touchdowns. He’s rushed four times for 9 yards. He’s one of nine receivers since 2000 to be targeted at least 20 times through three games and have less than 81 yards, according to ESPN. Cleveland’s Greg Little (2013), Braylon Edwards (2008) and Dennis Northcutt (2004) are also on the list.
“There’s different looks. Playing in the slot in the NFL is a lot,” Watson said. “It’s a lot of different moving parts, a lot of different coverages. They can match, they can zone off. So it takes some time to be able to recognize and see all the different coverages and things that defenses can do. And it’s week to week, every team is different. You’re not going to get the same that you did in Tampa versus Carolina. Same thing moving forward on Thursday night. So the more reps, the more experiences that we get playing with each other and seeing the same thing, it’ll get better for sure.”
Concepcion had four catches for 43 yards on five targets in the opening loss to Jacksonville, then six catches for 28 yards on six targets vs. Tampa Bay before only two catches for 9 yards on nine targets Sunday vs. the Panthers. Watson pulled aside Concepcion after one of the incompletions that was almost an interception.
“It was just a return route. So, again, it’s just the different looks,” Watson said. “I’m expecting him to return underneath that DB and kind of catch it and run, but he kind of sat and I threw it inside and the guy made a good play. So it’s learning, you watch the tape, you correct it and the next time we’ll be on the same page.”
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Monken said the growing pains are to be expected when starting two rookie receivers. Denzel Boston, a second-round pick, is more of a downfield threat and has nine catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
“You talk about two young men that are diligent, highly intelligent, it’s important to them to get it right,” Monken said. “And at times we forget that they’ve played three games in the NFL, because we want to move them around, we want to find different spots we can play them. And at times it’s counterproductive, because we just haven’t gotten through all of the nuances that go with each spot, whether you’re inside or you’re outside, or whether you’re in the boundary or to the field, what looks you get on a given week. And that’s some of the struggles we’re having offensively with so many young players, whether it’s a tight end or running back or O-line, you’ve got so many things that come up where you’re like, ‘OK, there’s not as much to really refer back to from an experience standpoint.’ And those aren’t excuses, we got to be cleaner, we got to play a lot better, got to coach it better. But those guys are constantly on top of their stuff, and you can see it, and that’s a real credit to them at a young age. And they’ve got a lot of reps doing it, but they’re only going to continue to get better and better and better once they play extended plays and extended games.”
TOUGH DUO
The Browns have shored up their tackling since an ugly opener, part of the defense’s overall improvement in the two-game winning streak.
“We’ve definitely done a great job of tackling guys, getting guys down and just swarming to the ball,” cornerback Denzel Ward said.
That will be tested by Steelers running back Jaylen Warren and tight end Darnell Washington. They present different challenges but are both difficult to bring down.
Warren moved into the featured back role last week against the Bengals with Rico Dowdle sidelined by a toe injury, and capitalized on the increase in opportunities, despite playing with a shoulder injury. Warren rushed 17 times for 127 yards, a 7.5 average, and caught three passes for 49 yards. Dowdle is out again this week, so the Browns will get a heavy dose of Warren, who can run through a defender or make him miss.
“He’s unbelievable, contact balance, fearless, a really, really good player,” Monken said. “I’ve always had a ton of respect for Jaylen Warren all the way back to when he transferred to Oklahoma State, and you could see it then, and then what he’s done at Pittsburgh. And he’s a hard guy to get to the ground, you need to swarm tackle him and you have to put multiple hats on him.”
Washington is one of a kind in the NFL. He’s listed at 6-foot-7, 264 pounds but looks even bigger. He had three catches for 67 yards against the Bengals and continues to become a bigger part of the offense. Monken was his offensive coordinator at the University of Georgia.
“Darnell’s unbelievably athletic, tough, physical, and you get the ball in his hands, he’s hard to bring down,” Monken said. “But having him on the edge helps you block the C-gap, helps you be able to run the ball. And he’s got such great range and power, he is hard to get, you got to go low. You won’t bring a big man like that down at his size if you don’t gang tackle and get him low.”
“Run as fast as you can and hit him low. Hit him low and hard,” Ward said.
NUMBERS GAME
48
Consecutive games in which the Browns defense has not allowed a 300-yard passer — the longest active streak in the NFL.
11
Combined touchdowns scored by the Browns and their opponents through three games — all passing.
2
Catches for Jerry Jeudy, for 26 yards, through three games.
THE PICK
A short week, at home, with a crowd energized by two straight wins looks like the recipe for another Thursday night win. Browns 21, Steelers 20.
