The Browns are 2-1, but the conversation around their offensive line hasn’t gotten any prettier heading into Thursday night’s matchup with the Steelers.
Cleveland enters Week 4 as the home underdog, and the pressure is on the line to hold up against a Pittsburgh defense that can make life miserable fast. The early record has the Browns in the playoff mix, but the front five has not looked like a strength. However you want to measure it - PFF grades, Frownies, or just the film itself - there hasn’t been much praise for the unit up front.
That skepticism hasn’t exactly been part of the public explanation for why Cleveland is sitting at 2-1, either. Fans have been looking elsewhere for the reasons behind the fast start, not pointing to the offensive line as the driving force.
The concern gets even sharper if center Elgton Jenkins can’t go on Thursday.
A major piece of the offseason optimism was Spencer Fano, the first offensive lineman taken in the 2026 NFL draft, who was viewed as the capstone of the Browns’ upgraded line. Fano has not been bad, but the offense has put him in tough spots.
As one Week 3 takeaway put it, he was left on an island and looked like a rookie for much of the game. Carolina kept attacking him inside, because that’s where the first two games suggested he could be beaten.
Former Browns and Ohio State star LeCharles Bentley echoed that point a day later, writing, "I wish the Browns spread the help in pass protection a bit better. It’s a tall ask for a rookie left tackle to be on an island."
Bentley backed that up with a clip showing Cleveland sliding protection to the right, leaving five blockers for only three Panthers defenders. The result was Fano isolated one-on-one, with a much bigger space for his man to work. Instead of having support from a left guard and another defender directly to Fano’s right, Zion Johnson ended up blocking no one between the center and right guard.
That wasn’t Johnson freelancing. It was the protection call.
Now the Browns have to deal with a Steelers defense described as aggressive, veteran, and versatile, and the lesson is pretty clear: Cleveland needs to “spread the help in pass protection” this week. If it doesn’t, Deshaun Watson could be left with little room to get the offense moving.
In Other News...
Pat Freiermuth Just Reopened An Ugly Browns Fan Reputation
Pat Freiermuth brought an old scar back into view this week when he revisited a rookie-season memory that stuck with him far beyond the final whistle. Ahead of the Steelers upcoming game against the Browns, the tight end described the scene around his game-winning touchdown in Cleveland, a moment that should have been about the play itself but instead turned into something far uglier in the stands.
Freiermuth said his mother was the one caught in the middle of it, and the memory has been enough to change her routine when the Steelers head to Cleveland. Even so, he made clear there are no lingering hard feelings, just a reminder of how quickly a night in the AFC North can turn personal and why certain road games still carry an edge no scoreboard can erase. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Keep Winning But One Problem Is Starting To Look Dangerous
The Browns have done enough through three games to sit at 2-1, but the way they have gotten there has left a growing concern hanging over an otherwise encouraging start. Cleveland has been flagged 34 times already, the second-highest total in the NFL, and the issue has become hard to ignore even as head coach Todd Monken and his staff continue to stress the need to clean it up.
The bigger worry is that the problem has not settled down, even with key players drawing repeated flags, including right tackle Tytus Howard. The Browns have been able to survive it by winning tight games and leaning on late scoring drives from Deshaun Watson, but the margin for error shrinks quickly when a team keeps putting itself behind the chains and giving away yards it cannot afford to lose. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Rookie Is Pushing Veterans In A Troubling Position Battle
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren arrived in Cleveland as a second-round pick with the usual rookie expectations, but his first three weeks have started to look more like a challenge to the veterans in front of him than a slow apprenticeship. His defensive snaps have been limited so far, yet when he has been on the field, he has made the most of it and drawn strong grades from PFF relative to other Browns defenders.
That kind of early efficiency can change a depth chart quickly, especially for a team trying to sort out its safety mix and steady itself against the run. Cleveland has reason to consider expanding McNeil-Warrens role if the current personnel at the position keeps leaving openings, and the next stretch could show whether the rookie is merely earning more trust or forcing a tougher conversation about who should be playing more. [Read more 🡒]