Coming off a dominant Week 1 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the "Battle of Ohio," the Cleveland Browns entered their Week 2 Monday Night Football matchup with the rival Pittsburgh Steelers hoping to start a season 2-0 for the first time in three decades.
No, seriously. The last time the Browns were 2-0 was 1993, all the way back when Bill Belichick was still the head coach and Nick Saban was the defensive coordinator.
Sadly for the Cleveland faithful, however, the Browns failed to end their historic drought as they took a 26-22 defeat. But the final score wasn't even the team's biggest loss of the night, as Cleveland also lost four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb to a gruesome season-ending knee injury.
And just how gruesome was it? ABC wouldn't even show the replay. Yeah, that's how nasty it was.
But losing Chubb early in the second quarter certainly wasn't why the Browns lost this football game. Truth be told, backup Jerome Ford stepped up and had a phenomenal game, rushing for 106 yards on just 16 carries.
You can't really blame the Browns' defense either, as Jim Schwartz's unit held the Pittsburgh offense in check most of the night, minus that 71-yard connection between Kenny Pickett and George Pickens, of course.
So, who should Cleveland fans blame? Let's take a look.
David Njoku
I almost feel bad for including David Njoku on this list, but we have to start somewhere, right? And let's not pretend his fourth-quarter fumble didn't change the momentum of the game.
Heading into the final frame, the Browns had easily been the better team in the second half. They'd retaken the lead in the third on a 75-yard touchdown drive and were once again marching down the field as the final frame began.
Starting from its own five-yard line, the Cleveland offense had gained close to 50 yards and knocked five minutes off the clock in an attempt to put the game out of reach. But with 10:35 remaining, Njoku was stripped of the football after taking a 13-yard pass from Deshaun Watson, giving the Steelers great field position.
Now, I know what you're thinking. On the ensuing possession, Pittsburgh went three-and-out and punted. But up to that point, the Steelers were flat and had nothing to get overly excited about in the second half. That fumble changed things.
In addition, without Njoku's error, which came on a lengthy third-down attempt, the Browns wouldn't have started their next drive deep in their own territory. And it was that field position that allowed T.J. Watt to score the go-ahead touchdown as he was so close to the end zone.
So, again, Njoku's fumble mattered. Moving on.
Jedrick Wills Jr.
You almost hate to single out a lone player on the offensive line. But if the Steelers can make a point of targeting Jedrick Wills Jr., why can't I?
Look, it's not as if Wills was the only offensive lineman for the Browns who had a little trouble handling the Pittsburgh defensive front on Monday night. And let's get real here. That's not an easy job for anyone. And Wills certainly didn't allow all six sacks on Monday night.
But it was clear to see the Steelers singling out the fourth-year left tackle as a guy they could beat. And Wills certainly got beat on the fourth-quarter strip-sack on Deshaun Watson by Alex Highsmith, which led to T.J. Watt's scoop-and-score touchdown that gave Pittsburgh its 20th straight regular-season home win over Cleveland.
To his credit, Wills, who was an All-American and a national champion at Alabama, offered up zero excuses about the game-deciding play. "It was just full blame on me," he said afterward. "I had trouble with the snap count on that play. ... "I got to be better than that aspect."
Overall, however, neither David Njoku nor Jedrick Wills Jr. was the biggest culprit in this Browns loss. I'll give you 10 guesses on who's next on the list, but you'll likely need just one.
Deshaun Watson
While others undoubtedly contributed to the Browns' 26-22 loss, Deshaun Watson easily deserves the lion's share of the blame here.
Were there bright spots for Cleveland's $230 million man? Sure. After all, he threw for 235 yards and a touchdown and added 22 rushing yards. But the bad easily outweighed the good.
For starters, Watson threw a pick-six on the game's very first play from scrimmage. However, he can't take all the blame for that, as Harrison Bryant could've caught that pass. Nevertheless, Alex Highsmith's first big play of the night gave the Steelers early momentum.
And while Watson can't take all the blame for that pass, he can take the blame for two lost fumbles. He also racked up a pair of facemask penalties when running the football, the second of which put the Browns in 3rd-and-26 situation that led to the David Njoku fumble that gave the momentum back to Pittsburgh.
And let's be honest here. Watson made some atrocious throws throughout the game, not just on the run but from the pocket as well, which is why he completed just 55% of his 40 pass attempts. I mean, on some of these things, he made Justin Fields look like Peyton Manning.
Simply put, Watson has to be better. But at least he's aware of it.
Like Wills, Watson acknowledged his mistakes and showed some leadership afterward, saying he "can take the full blame" and telling the media, "You're not going to put it on anyone else." So, at least he owned it.
Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns get their next shot at a victory in Week 3 at home against the Tennessee Titans.
