Attempting to be aggressive and confident in their ability to gain a yard or two, Mike Tomlin pushed the envelope Thursday night against the Cleveland Browns. The problem is the envelope pushed back. Not only were the Cleveland Browns the more physical team at the point of attack in their 24-19 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, there were moments where the Steelers wasn’t sure what they were doing offensively. Staying or coming off the field?
Speaking to reporters about the first failed fourth-down play, QB Justin Fields says there appeared to be initial confusion.
“I think Zach [Frazier] and a few other o-linemen were going off the field,” Fields said via video provided by the Steelers Live Twitter/X account. “I don’t know if there was a communication where they thought we were going to punt.”
Short yardage was another series of misadventures for a Steelers offense that continues to struggle down low and in tight. Similar to last week, Pittsburgh broke the huddle with the play clock winding down, leading to a hurried snap. Cleveland figured it out, stopping Fields behind the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs.
Here’s a look at the sequence. You can see C Zach Frazier, LG Isaac Seumalo, and OT Dan Moore Jr. (though less so than the others) begin to jog off the field, following Wilson. Fields then has to look at the sideline, put his hands up, and hurry them back over. They don’t break the huddle until there’s about nine seconds left, have to motion RB Cordarrelle Patterson out with two seconds remaining, and just get the play off in time.
While the mechanics of getting ready for the play weren’t ideal, Fields says it didn’t impact the failure.
“Not really. I feel like we got the play call in when we were in the huddle and got the ball snapped in time.”
At one point during this game and dating back to their Sunday win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers were just 2-of-7 on third/fourth down and 1-2 yards. They failed to convert their first two Thursday against Cleveland and had a 3rd and 1 pushed back five yards due to a false start. Pittsburgh would hit a fourth and short later in the game but even that was difficult, QB Russell Wilson scrambling and finding TE Pat Freiermuth in an ab-libbed moment.
It’s the second time in as many games that Pittsburgh rushed to the line, doing similar against Baltimore, which led to another failed conversion. In that instance, QB Russell Wilson remained in the game. On Tuesday, OC Arthur Smith pointed to the rushed nature as an issue on the play. So while Fields may not think it was a contributing factor, Smith may disagree.
Bringing Fields in for those moments requires clean organization. A quick decision on going for it or not and deciding if Fields is going to enter the game. There also must be good communication to everyone else. Perhaps the offensive linemen began leaving when they saw Wilson subbing out, believing the whole offense was coming off the field. Pittsburgh will have 10 days to figure out its mistakes before facing a potent Cincinnati Bengals’ offense next Sunday.
