The Cleveland Browns had a clear strategy to protect rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson against the fierce Pittsburgh Steelers’ pass rush on Sunday. They wanted him to get the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible.
That’s partly why such a high percentage of his throws were within five yards of the line of scrimmage. It limits the risk of damaging plays such as interceptions or sacks and fumbles. But from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s perspective, it’s a double-edged sword.
“They’re not gonna score a lot of points operating like that as well”, he said during his pre-game press conference yesterday, via the team’s website, when asked about teams using a quick-release passing game to beat their rush. “We got no control over how people approach us schematically. We really don’t care. If they’re not stretching the field vertically then we’re not being challenged vertically. I’m okay with that”.
Now, granted, the Browns only managed 13 points throughout the game, and the Steelers did even get an interception, though that was off a deflection. By the second half, Pittsburgh was dominating the Browns on most plays, confident that they would be keeping things safe. And it worked, until the final drive. They should anticipate more of the same from Cincinnati Bengals emergency starting QB Jake Browning.
“Yeah, I’m not looking to pat the baby back there”, Browning told Geoff Hobson for the team’s website this week. “But part of that is mixing up when you’re going to take your shots. You don’t want to just sit there and quick game the whole game. You don’t want to let DBs just play downhill. You want to challenge them”.
“It’s just anytime you’re going against a good pass rush, whether it’s Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or basically this whole division, you want to pick and choose your spots”, he went on. “You still have to challenge people down the field”.
Unlike Thompson-Robinson, Browning is no rookie, though he’s never played a regular season game before this year. Originally a college free agent out of Washington, he’s been with the Bengals since 2021, having previously been with the Minnesota Vikings.
He beat out veteran Trevor Simian for the backup job behind Joe Burrow in training camp this year, and now the Bengals will have to find out just how good of a decision that was. He will be making his first career start against T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and the Steelers this Sunday.
