They have a lot of big names on offense, a loaded tight end room, and a run game that should be pretty darn good with a running back that fits the play-caller’s scheme perfectly, so can the Pittsburgh Steelers play like the 2020 Cleveland Browns’ offense?
The Athletic analyst Robert Mays believes that’s the best path forward for the Steelers this season under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Appearing on The Mina Kimes Podcast earlier in the week, Mays stated that based on personnel and philosophy under Smith, the Steelers should be trying to play similar to how the Browns did during the 2020 season, which ultimately led to an upset of the Steelers in that AFC Wild Card matchup at then-Heinz Field.
“If I’m trying to figure out the best parallel for this offense, the best comparison, if this works out, this is what it would look like, I go back to like the 2020 Browns,” Mays said of the Steelers offense, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “Think about the construction of those teams when they had Harrison Bryant and David Njoku and Austin Hooper, they were running a lot of 12 and 13 personnel and the best thing they did in the passing game was throw play-action screens to those guys.
“If I were Arthur Smith and Tom Arth and all those guys on offensive coaching staff, I would be just watching old Kevin Stefanski tapes from those offenses, because relying on the tight ends in the passing game, the screen game and just being dynamic and dominant on the ground, that is the best path forward for this team no matter who’s playing quarterback.”
You don’t often hear the Steelers being compared to the Browns, especially on offense, but Mays makes a great point here when it comes to how the Steelers are built offensively ahead of the 2025 season.
Though they have the big-name wide receiver in DK Metcalf, a true No. 1 option, there are concerns about depth and talent behind him at the receiver position. Robert Woods, Ben Skowronek and Scotty Miller bring NFL experience with big-name receivers, and Calvin Austin III appears poised for a big season. But Roman Wilson is unproven, and more is needed on paper.
Yet, despite that need at receiver, the Steelers have loaded up at tight end, landing Jonnu Smith in a trade with the Miami Dolphins to reunite him with Arthur Smith, who coached in him Tennessee and Atlanta, having some good success with the tight end in the passing game.
Jonnu Smith can serve as that hybrid pass-catching weapon, one that can move all over the offense. He’s dangerous after the catch, too. But he doesn’t exactly answer the WR question for the Steelers, so Pittsburgh could be relying on a lot of quick passing work for the tight ends featuring screens, quick hitters over the middle and other routes designed to get the ball out quick and let them work after the catch.
The run game with rookie Kaleb Johnson, Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell behind a young offensive line poised to make a significant leap forward in 2025 should be good, too, giving the Steelers plenty of balance offensively.
That matches up with how the Browns played in 2020 under head coach Kevin Stefanski, who won the NFL’s Coach of the Year award that season.
During that 2020 season, Baker Mayfield threw for more than 3,500 yards and had 26 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, taking care of the football and avoiding the mistakes.
The Browns had a 1,000-yard rusher in Nick Chubb and saw Kareem Hunt come just short of reaching the 1K mark on the season, too, as the Browns had a dynamic 1-2 punch in the backfield.
In the passing game, Jarvis Landry was the leading receiver with 72 receptions for 840 yards and three touchdowns, while Hooper was the second-leading receiver for Cleveland with 46 receptions for 435 yards and four touchdowns.
It’s possible we could see similar marks for guys like Metcalf, Freiermuth and Smith offensively this season for the Steelers.
Playing that way led the Browns to great success as they averaged 25.5 points per game (14th in the NFL) and went 11-5 on the season, finishing third in the AFC North. They then went on to stun the Steelers in the Wild Card Round, 48-37, before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round, 22-17.
You won’t hear it often, and if you do it typically doesn’t make sense. But in this case, playing like the 2020 Browns this season could be the recipe for success offensively for the Steelers.
Related Items:Aaron Rodgers, Arthur Smith, Austin Hooper, Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns, Darnell Washington, David Njoku, Jonnu Smith, Nick Chubb, Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers, Robert Mays, The Mina Kimes Podcast featuring Lenny, Trending
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