Labriola on the loss to the Browns

They simply didn’t get enough.

Not enough points or third-down conversions or splash plays from the offense. Not enough sacks or takeaways or negative plays created by the defense. Not enough of anything from special teams to really make a difference, and over the course of three hours and 10 minutes worth of all of that on Thursday night, an air of inevitability rolled in off Lake Erie and engulfed the Steelers during what ended up being a 29-17 loss to the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Steelers carted a 1-1 record across the Ohio line needing both a victory and improvement in a couple of critical areas if they were going to be able to continue developing into the kind of team that would be capable of staying relevant through the next couple of months of this regular season.

One of those critical areas was the overall performance of an offense that simply wasn’t NFL caliber during the games in Cincinnati or the one the following week vs. the Patriots in Acrisure Stadium. The other area was a softening run defense that had allowed New England to burn the final 6:33 off the clock by running the ball on 10 of 11 plays and then to rub salt into the wound by taking a knee three times to clinch a three-point win.

Through the first half on Thursday night, the Steelers looked to be handling their to-do list quite nicely, and the play of the offense was leading the parade by being both aesthetically pleasing and more effective than it had been so far at any point of this season.

The Steelers had five offensive possessions in the first half, and none ended as three-and-outs. They ran 30 total plays, and because they faced only three third-down situations that showed they were efficient on first and second downs in gaining sufficient yardage to move the sticks. They averaged 5.5 yards per rushing attempt and scored two rushing touchdowns – on a 5-yard run by Najee Harris and on a 1-yard designed run around right end by Mitch Trubisky. They were 2-for-2 in the red zone,…