PITTSBURGH: Quarterback Robert Griffin III insisted he wants to return to the Browns next season but doesn’t think the franchise retaining him is a certainty.
So after the Browns fell 27-24 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Steelers during Sunday’s finale at Heinz Field and Griffin’s fifth start of the season, he made sure his teammates knew how much he appreciated them.
“I walked around the locker room afterwards and just told everybody, one on one, man to man, that it was a pleasure to fight with them every week that I was able to be out there and just grind through the rest of the season when I wasn’t,” Griffin said. “So I don’t know what’s going to happen.
“All I know is that I feel like I can help this team win games. We didn’t get it done today. But every week I was able to get better, from my personal performance, and just feel like with Coach [Hue] Jackson and [associate head coach-offense] Pep Hamilton, I’ve seen the game better than I ever had. I think that shows in the play.”
Griffin is under contract with the Browns (1-15) for next season after signing a two-year, $15 million contract as a free agent last year. But the organization must decide whether to keep him with a roster bonus of $750,000 due on March 11.
“I’ve seen him get better,” Jackson said. “I see things to keep growing from. I’ll watch it more in detail. I thought there were some good things today. I thought there were things that he can improve on. I think every week he went out there and got better. I still think there’s another level for him to play at. We’ve got to evaluate and see if it’s the right thing for us as we move forward.”
It’s true that Griffin, 26, improved in each of his four starts since returning from a fractured coracoid bone suffered in his left shoulder Sept. 11 in the season opener. He missed 11 games with the injury to his non-throwing shoulder and came back despite it lingering.
“The bone in my shoulder was not completely healed,” he said. “I can’t say I wasn’t at risk, but the doctors felt that I was healed enough to return to play.”
He finished 1-4 as a starter and had his best outing in the finale. He completed 29-of-40 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He failed to throw a touchdown pass in his first four starts.
Asked if he believed he did everything he could to re-establish himself this season after his downfall in Washington, Griffin said, “I dang sure would’ve liked to play a lot more games. That’s for sure. But I was challenged with the injury. ... I’m really not worried about stats and completion percentage and touchdowns and interceptions. I just want to win. I want to win for those guys. So I feel like I put us in a better chance to win today than I have all season, and hopefully they see it the same way.”
The Browns have the first and 12th overall picks in April’s draft, and Griffin said he would embrace competing against a newcomer.
“If the team decides to draft a quarterback, whoever’s here, we’ll be there for that guy,” Griffin said. “I think that’s very rare in this league.”
Milestone accomplished
Terrelle Pryor reached his goal by eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards in his first full season as a wide receiver. He became the seventh receiver in Browns history to surpass 1,000 yards.
The former quarterback caught a 9-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage in overtime to accomplish the feat. Playing his third consecutive game with a torn ligament in his right middle finger, Pryor had seven catches for 94 yards against the Steelers (11-5).
He finished the season as the team leader in catches (77), receiving yards (1,007) and touchdown receptions (four). His reception total is the fourth-most by a Browns wide receiver in a season.
“TP’s been great,” Griffin said. “For a quarterback to switch to receiver and go for 1,000 yards in his first full season at receiver, that’s beyond impressive.”
Tough ending
Offensive lineman Cameron Erving suffered a knee injury during Cody Parkey’s missed 49-yard field goal with 7:34 left in the fourth quarter and left the stadium on crutches.
“I think we’ll find out more about it tomorrow,” Jackson said of the injury. “I don’t think it’s something that’s good.”
The Browns moved Erving from center and started him at right tackle for the first time. He held his own for the most part but surrendered a sack early in the third quarter and was replaced by rookie Shon Coleman. Jackson said he had planned to summon Coleman regardless of the sack.
Undrafted rookie Anthony Fabiano started at center and Austin Pasztor moved from right tackle to start at right guard. Fabiano fired a shotgun snap over Griffin’s head, and the Steelers recovered with 2:01 left in the second quarter.
Confusion reigns
The Browns opened overtime with the ball and marched to the Steelers’ 2-yard line, where wide receiver Andrew Hawkins caught a swing pass from Griffin but was tackled for a 14-yard loss by inside linebacker Ryan Shazier.
Hawkins thought the Browns would run.
“I won’t get into it, but I wasn’t expecting the ball,” Hawkins said. “If we could go back, we would have handed it off, but here we are.”
Griffin also said something was amiss.
“That’s all on me,” he said. “You just have to make better decisions and give us an opportunity to run the ball in there. Coach is going to make those calls, and I have to protect him with the calls. So that’s on me.”
The Browns settled for Parkey’s 34-yard field goal and a 24-21 lead with 7:17 left in overtime.
Then the Steelers countered with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to secure the win. Wide receiver Cobi Hamilton beat undrafted rookie cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun and caught the game-winning, 26-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Landry Jones with 2:57 left in overtime.
“Terrible,” Hawkins said. “It’s the worst because we had it in our hands multiple occasions, didn’t make the plays we had to make, didn’t make the decisions we had to make to get the ‘W.’ ”
Running to finish
The Browns rushed for a season-high 231 yards, their fourth-most in a game since 1999.
Running back Isaiah Crowell rushed for a career-high 152 yards on 19 carries (8.0 average) and finished the season with 952 rushing yards, just shy of his goal of 1,000. He had a long run of 67 yards against the Steelers but also lost a fumble at the Steelers’ the 3 with 56 seconds left in regulation.
“I try to do too much,” Crowell said. “Should have just got down, tried to fight to get extra yardage. It’s my fault. I’ll learn from it.”
A play after Crowell’s 67-yard gain, running back George Atkinson rushed for a 5-yard touchdown with 3:28 left in the fourth quarter, allowing the Browns to tie the score 21-21 and ultimately force overtime. Filling in for Duke Johnson, who was dealing with a sprained ankle, Atkinson had seven carries for 34 yards (4.9 average).
2017 opponents
Next season, the Browns will host the Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings (in London).
They’ll visit the Steelers, Ravens, Bengals, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers.
The NFL is expected to release the full schedule with dates and times in April.