PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger called offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner his "comfort blanket" and said it would be a big deal if he didn't have him in his helmet earpiece during a game.
Fichtner said the biggest problem for a quarterback not having his normal play-caller is missing some of the verbal cues he has been accustomed to hearing in a game:
Take a peek at the right side.
Maybe you want to start your eyes that way.
Do you see what that defensive back is doing?
"That could be a little bit uneasy for your quarterback," Fichtner said.
That's what the Cleveland Browns are up against for Sunday night's wild-card playoff game against the Steelers at Heinz Field. Their coach, Kevin Stefanski, who calls all the plays for quarterback Baker Mayfield, will not be at the game after testing positive for COVID-19.
That means Alex Van Pelt, who has the title of offensive coordinator but doesn't call any of the plays, will handle the chore for the first time this season. He hasn't been in charge of calling plays since 2009, when he was thrust into the role of offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills 10 days before the start of the regular season.
That is not the type of arrangement a franchise wants to have while appearing in its first playoff game in 18 years.
"Ben and I have a pretty unique ability to talk and he can hear me, but he's still thinking and he might be in no-huddle and he might be right in the middle of wanting to get something, heard something, and then all the sudden realized, 'Yeah, OK, that's right,' " Fichtner said. "So I can see where that would be more difficult in general, but the more you communicate together, it can only be better. So I would think if you haven't been doing that, it can't be as good. That doesn't mean it can't be good, it just might not be as good."
It is one thing for a 17-year quarterback such as Roethlisberger to be without his offensive play-caller for a game. He has been through this playoff thing before and calls many of his own plays in the no-huddle offense. It is another for a third-year quarterback such as Mayfield, who is making his first postseason appearance.
And especially without a play-caller such as Stefanski, who handled all the duties in his first year as head coach and is a prime candidate for NFL Coach of the Year.
Stefanski is allowed to communicate with his players and coaches in the locker room up until kickoff, under NFL rules. But, according to Brian McCarthy, the NFL's vice president of communications, he is not permitted any "communication with anyone on the field 90 minutes before kick through the end of the game."
"I think it's a big deal," Roethlisberger said. "I would think so. There is something to be said about that comfort blanket. There is something to be said about that guy you have the relationship with that is calling the plays.
"Some places, their offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, all those guys do everything and then the play-caller just calls it in. Not sure how they do it up there. To me, it would be a big deal not to have coach Randy on game day in my ear."
I asked three former NFL offensive coordinators this week if Stefanski's absence presented a problem for the Browns, and each said it could have a profound effect on Mayfield and the offense. The reasons varied:
Mayfield is accustomed to hearing Stefanski's voice in meetings and during the game.
Van Pelt's inexperience/rustiness calling plays.
Not an enviable position for the play-caller after not performing the role all season.
Stefanski excelled in that role when he was the offensive coordinator last season with the Minnesota Vikings. And he led the Browns to an 11-5 record with an offense that ranked third in the league in rushing despite having Mayfield and three Pro Bowl receivers — Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry and tight end Austin Hooper.
Stefanski showed patience, averaging 31 rushes per game with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. He did not have Mayfield chuck the ball 40 to 50 times a game to his talented receivers. Mayfield attempted 486 passes, fewest of any NFL quarterback who started at least 15 games. The Browns were one of four NFL teams who ran more times than they threw in 2020.
That will be Van Pelt's biggest chore — the patience to stick with the running game.
"I am sure he's going to call the plays they know because if I was doing that, I would do the same thing," Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. "I am not going to put something in that the whole team has got to learn, and they're going to be slow in doing it because they're not quite sure in what they're doing. I'm sure they're going to have a menu of things they think they can beat us with, but he also feels confident in that they're confident in what they're doing. We'll see how it goes when we get on the playing field and see what he tries to do."
———
Defensive end Cam Heyward will be making his fifth appearance in the postseason with the Steelers and is hoping this venture lasts longer than most of the others.
Heyward has won just one playoff game in nine seasons — the 2015 wild-card game in Cincinnati in which the Steelers benefitted from a pair of late personal foul penalties against Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones. His most recent appearance there was in 2017 when the Steelers were upset at home by the Jacksonville Jaguars, 45-42.
He doesn't want the same to happen against the Browns.
"For me, I'm toward the end rather than toward the beginning," said Heyward, 31. "I'm not saying I'm retiring, but I'm in a situation where I only got a couple more cracks at it. When I first got here [in 2011], we got to the playoffs and lost to Denver. You think we're at least going to make the playoffs every time, but it's not always that way."
Heyward missed the Steelers' most successful postseason run since 2010 when he tore his pectoral muscle in the 2016 season and missed the playoff victories against the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs and the AFC title game loss in New England. The Steelers are 1-4 in playoff games in which he has appeared.
"I'm just appreciative of these moments," said Heyward, the team's defensive captain. "I understand what it takes to get here, but now I want something else. I want to take advantage of the opportunity. I feel we got a great team to do it, but it takes week in and week out of great play from our guys.
"It's a privilege to make it to the playoffs. I'm going to relish this. I'm going to embrace this moment and I hope our guys do, too."
