CLEVELAND — On Sunday, the Cleveland Browns lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 15-10 to fall to a 4-4 on the season and last place in the AFC North. After the game, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski met with reporters to discuss his team's defeat and its ongoing offensive struggles.
What follows is a complete transcript of Stefanski's postgame press conference, courtesy of the Browns Media Relations department:
Opening statement:
“Injury front, (T) Jack (Conklin) dislocated his left elbow. We will get tested on that tomorrow morning. (S) John Johnson (III) has a neck sprain.
“Obviously, very disappointed to lose that ball game. Credit to Pittsburgh. They did a nice job. They made more plays than we did. We were minus-one in the turnover margin. We did not score enough points. Really, it is just a frustrating day, a disappointing day and that is true. We are 4-4 and have a bunch of games left so we have to rally, get back in there tomorrow, make some corrections and then go find a way to get a win.”
On if WR Jarvis Landry’s missed completions were drops or too difficult to catch:
“I would have to look at it. We have high expectations and high standards for our guys. Anytime you do not come down with it, I know they are disappointed. I would have to look at them. Bottom line is we did not make enough plays and did not do enough things that you play an AFC North divisional opponent and we did not play complementary football well enough.”
On the biggest issue for the Browns offense today when scoring only 10 points:
“Frustrating. Again, credit to them. They did a nice job on defense. We were 0-for-2 on fourth down. Just did not stay on the field enough, possess the ball enough and score enough points.”
On if the Browns offense was out of sync at times today:
“It is always out of sync when you go three-and-out. That is just how it is. We have to get to the bottom of it.”
On QB Baker Mayfield’s performance with the left, non-throwing shoulder injury:
“I would have to obviously look at it to evaluate his play, but we made some plays. We just did not make enough of them.”
On if WR Odell Beckham, Jr. could have made a better play on the pass late in the fourth quarter:
“I honestly did not have a great angle on that.”
On his evaluation of state of the Browns passing game with experienced players:
“I am looking at it from the entire offense, and we scored 10 points. That is not good enough. I am sure there are areas in the pass game that have to improve. I know there are areas that we can help as coaches. We just have to do it. Talking about it is not going to get it done. We have to work at it.”
On if he would like to see more targets for Beckham going forward this season:
“I would like to see more points any which way we can do it. Obviously, he is a player that we are counting on. A couple of opportunities. They just took it away.”
On if he knows what Conklin’s injury means long-term:
“I do not. Not yet.”
On why it has been hard to go vertical down the field early in games:
“I would have to really study that to give you a good answer. Bottom line is in our pass game, we are often times looking for completions, and in those shot plays, you are looking to work top-down. You are looking to throw it down the field and work your way down. I do not know that there is a great answer specifically to this game, but just felt like we did not make enough plays.”
On if the Browns defense did enough to win the game:
“Did we hold them to 15? To hold an opponent to 15 points, you should win a lot of games.”
On if Browns players did not get open when Mayfield was sacked early in the game:
“I would have to look at it. Again, credit to them. They took away some plays from us. They made some plays, and we did not do a good enough job.”
On how to prevent game-altering penalties going forward:
“You have to play clean on all sides of the ball – offense, defense and special teams. I do not think we played clean enough. We had some costly ones. Those are little things, and all those little things add up to the big thing. We have to get better in that area.”
On if the Browns thought about kicking a FG on the final offensive series:
“No.”
On if the team played with the intensity required to win:
“Anytime you lose, you can look at all of those type of things. We had a good week of preparation. We got beat today. Credit to them. They did a nice job. We got beat.”
On the decision to not go for it on fourth-and-one at midfield:
“I think there are a bunch of different factors that go into it. Our defense was playing well throughout the day. There are going to be times we go for it and times we do not.”
On the failed fourth-and-one attempt:
“They beat us on that play. We got some penetration at the point of attack, and they made a play. When we go for it on those fourth-and-ones, whether we throw it or run it, you have to like your odds on offense. Unfortunately, we did not come through.”
On how not having RB Kareem Hunt affected the Browns’ decisions on fourth-and-short:
“I would not factor that into fourth-and-short. Obviously, (RB) Nick (Chubb) was healthy today and ready to go. Nick is a great player. Kareem is a great player. Of course, we miss him – I think that is obvious – but we have enough to go get a win. We have enough to score more than 10 points.”