CLEVELAND — Jarvis Landry is typically one of the Cleveland Browns' most reliable players.
But on Sunday, the five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver found himself on the wrong end of two crucial plays in the fourth quarter of the Browns' 15-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With 6:14 remaining in the game and Cleveland trailing by a score of 15-10, the Browns found themselves in Pittsburgh territory with a chance to take the lead. An 11-yard completion from quarterback Baker Mayfield to Landry that would have given the Browns the ball at the Steelers' 21-yard line, however, was ultimately wiped out when the wide receiver was stripped by Pittsburgh linebacker Joe Schobert, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
After Cleveland's defense forced a three-and-out, the Browns got the ball back at their own 39-yard line. But while Cleveland would advance the ball to Pittsburgh's 26-yard line, the Browns' offensive drive stalled out with Landry dropping a would-be first down on 4th and 12 on the team's final offensive play of the game.
Moments after the contest, Landry took full responsibility for his role in the loss.
"Yes," Landry answered when asked if he should have made the catch on fourth and 12. "I didn't make the catch."
As for the fumble: “It is something he [Schobert] s known for doing. I really was not trying to fight for extra yards. I was trying to get down. He made a great play.”
But while Landry shouldered a large portion of the blame for the Browns' loss, which at 4-4 moved Cleveland into last place in the AFC North, Mayfield made it clear the defeat was a team effort.
"It is on all of us," Mayfield said. "Everybody is going to point fingers at a few plays, but the fact is we just did not get into a rhythm today. We stubbed our toe a few times -- penalties and just did not make the plays we needed to to win. It is pretty simple.
"Obviously, Jarvis is a veteran guy. He is one of our best leaders. It is unfortunate that it happened, but he is going to take ownership, he is going to get it corrected and we know how he is going to handle it. We all have to take ownership. This does not just fall on him at all by any means. There were a lot of throws that could have been made today, and there were plays we should have had. Plain and simple.”