Arthur Smith, Broderick Jones vs. Browns Defense (Oct. 12, 2025)
For the record, this is my favorite kinda post to write. The kind where I take a guy that I (along with the rest of Steelers Nation) have criticized openly, and give him his flowers for his performance against one of the best football defenses in the world. In this case, the subject is Steelers LT Broderick Jones, who isn’t playing perfect football, but certainly looks more comfortable than he did week one against the Jets.
Q1 12:36 - 3rd & 4 from CLE 30
On our very first drive of the game, we found ourselves in a third and manageable (above). As you can see, the Browns bring Maliek Collins and Myles Garrett on a stunt, but it’s picked up beautifully by Broderick Jones (#77) and Isaac Seumalo (#73). That’s a pretty clean operation against two of the best in the world, and it allows Aaron Rodgers to get the ball out to his tight end and move the chains. That left side has struggled to pick up stunts at times this season, but it’s reasonable to expect their communication to continue to improve as this offensive line builds continuity with one another. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
Q2 11:10 - 3rd & 10 from CLE 32
Ya know, I did say that he wasn’t playing perfect football. On this play (above), he gives up a QB hit to Maliek Collins on third down, resulting in a 50-yard FG try on the next play. I’ll let yinz decide if Collins impacted Rodgers’ throw to DK here, but either way, Rodgers was able to get the ball out in less than three seconds, and he still had to pick himself up off the turf. Not ideal.
Q2 7:41 - 3rd & 3 from PIT 28
This is a third and short with the lead, so I don’t wanna say the Steelers needed this first down, but it would’ve been three-and-out if we didn’t get it, and nobody loves that. I know a lot of yinz were really gushing over this play, and rightfully so; even at 41-years-old, #8 can still do some crafty things out of structure. But, how ‘bout big #77 cutting off Myles Garrett’s pursuit of Aaron Rodgers? It may not look like much, but that is a former DPOY on that side of the ball, and you gotta keep eyes on him and keep him from impacting the play. Broderick Jones does just that, and if he doesn’t do it, Rodgers might not have been able to get this little shovel pass off, and then we would’ve been punting.
Q3 7:54 - 2nd & 10 from CLE 12
You’ll notice I included Arthur Smith’s name in the title of this post, and I did that, because I think he deserves a ton of credit for making things as easy as possible for Broderick Jones, given the circumstances. 77 came into this season as a struggling left tackle, and Myles Garrett is a perennial DPOY candidate that primarily lines up on the right end (left side of the o-line). So what can Arthur Smith do to make that kid’s life a little easier? We’re chipping, we’re double teaming. We’re moving the launch point. We’re rolling plays right (away from Garrett). We’re getting the ball out quick. Check out the play above. Two offensive linemen on Myles Garrett, play action rolling to the right, and the perennial DPOY candidate has no hope of affecting the play at all. Touchdown Steelers. I know this is just one play, but this was really happening all game long. Thanks Arty Smith.
Q3 4:02 - 1st & 10 from PIT 27
Everything I just talked about in that last paragraph is for naught if the Steelers hadn’t effectively established the run in this game. The rushing numbers aren’t fantastic; 100 yards rushing as a team on 3.6 ypc, but we were able to break enough chunk runs (8-10 ish yards) that kept us on schedule and forced the Browns to respect it. Plus, when you play offense like we do, a lot of these short passes are basically running plays anyways, but I digress. I love the execution on this gap run here by Jones (77) and Seumalo (73) for one of those chunk runs I mentioned. No Spencer Anderson on this play, but it’s worth noting that he played 17 snaps in this game, and the Steelers averaged 5.4 yards per carry with Anderson on the field. The Steelers run game has life right now.
Q4 15:00 - 1st & 10 from CLE 25
This play (above) is really a culmination of a wonderfully executed gameplan. The Browns load the box here to show our run game some respect, and we’re always happy to have DK Metcalf one-on-one with Tyson Campbell on the outside. You can see the chip on Myles Garrett by #80, and then the block by #77 is really just for show, because that ball is already in the air for DK. Touchdown Steelers, and a silent day for Myles Garrett. Sick route by DK on this play, by the way, if you wanna go check that out…little fake slant into the corner route…disgusting(in the best way).
Shahtaht Arthur Smith. Shahtaht Broderick Jones. “We’re on to Cincinnati” on a short week.
Follow me on twitter/x: @jay_newm
Clips via NFL Pro
