It's third down: Browns having offensive, defensive success on football's 'money down'

BEREA − The secret to the Browns' success against the Pittsburgh Steelers can be summed up in the frustration of the Steelers' veteran defensive leader.

"Three-and-outs," Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said after the Browns' win last Thursday night. "If you do that, you are on the sideline. As a defense, we did not get off the field. They had an abnormal drive in the second half that they were able to sustain the clock.”

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The secret to the Browns' success in that Week 3 win is really a secret to the successes they've had all three weeks so far. Coaches will talk until they're blue in the face about winning third down.

Through three games, the Browns have been doing just that. Not surprisingly, its has won two of its first three games heading into Sunday's game at the Atlanta Falcons (1-2).

The Browns have converted 22 of 46 third-down opportunities, that checks out to 47.8%. That ranks sixth in the NFL and third in the AFC, behind only the top two teams in the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills (league-best 60.98%) and Miami Dolphins (fourth-best 48.48%).

“Offensively, it helps to be in shorter distances," coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday. "I think that really has been a thing to look at, especially in this last game. Then it just comes down to I think the guys are operating really well. I don’t want to jinx it, but I don’t think we had any operational penalties on offense in that game. I think that is important and is even more important when you go on the road like we are this week.”

The win over the Steelers was actually the worst the Browns have been on third down through three games, converting 6-of-16 for 37.5%. The best for the season was the 66.7% (8-of-12) conversion rate against the New York Jets, and they converted 44.4% (8-of-18) in the opener against the Carolina Panthers.

However, it was on third down where the Browns' defining offensive drive found legs. Their 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended on Nick Chubb's 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter featured three third-down opportunities, and they converted two of them.

The first one was a third-and-1 from their own 29 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Jacoby Brissett hit Amari Cooper for a 32-yard completion to the Steelers 39.

The second one was a third-and-1 from the Steelers 14. This time, Brissett kept it himself for a 6-yard run that charged up the crowd and elicited a uncharacteristic fist pump from the quarterback.

“I was thinking about that on the sideline because I have never been able to do that in a game," Brissett said after the game. "and every time I see a quarterback do that in a game, I am like, ‘Dang, that is so sick. I want to do that one time.’ I told myself if I get a sneak, I am doing it. I almost blacked out. The flow of the game, just being excited, letting my emotions show and not holding things in, just being present.”

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The only time the Browns didn't convert on third down, a third-and-goal from the Steelers 1, they converted the fourth down on Chubb's touchdown leap. They converted on 3-of-4 fourth-down conversions against the Steelers, and are 4-of-6 on that down for the season.

The offense's ability to stay on the field on third down was only half the story of the win over the Steelers. There was also the defense's ability to get off the field on that down.

The Browns limited Pittsburgh to just 1-of-9 (11.1%) on third down in the game. The Steelers' lone third-down conversion came on their first drive of the third quarter, when Mitch Trubisky hit Chase Claypool for a 14-yard gain to turn a third-and-9 into a first down at their own 31.

"I think it’s coach in the offseason making all the plays easily … like we ran a lot of the plays a lot of the times," linebacker Jacob Phillips said Monday, "we got a lot of reps it just felt, so now when it comes to the season when he puts it in week by week, we know it’s not new, he’s not teaching us new things, it’s stuff we’ve already ran.

"So when you’ve got that part and then you’ve got just the chemistry of the defense, that’s what third down is, a big trust factor, playing high-low, passing stuff off, so I think when you’ve got all those components working together and obviously the pass rushers that we have, you’re going to be successful."

Phillips was involved in two of the biggest third-down stops of the game against the Steelers. He had a sack of Trubisky on third-and-3 from the Steelers 13 with 5:04 remaining to force a punt, then broke up a pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth on third-and-5 from the Browns 21 with 1:51 left to force a field goal.

The Browns defense has allowed its opponents to covert 13-of-35 (37.1%) third downs this season, which is 16th in the league. It's not a surprise the Jets had the best third-down conversion rate against the Browns, at 53.3% (8-of-16), and the Panthers were at 36.4% (4-of-11).

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns having success on third down, football's 'money down'