Despite a few ridiculous assertions that Browns nose tackle Phil Taylor's hit on Steelers rookie right tackle Kelvin Beachum was clean, the NFL fined Taylor $7,875 for it.

Taylor hit Beachum with a forearm into his head well away from a running play in the third quarter of the Steelers' eventual 24-10 win over Cleveland in Week 17.

#Browns DT Phil Taylor fined $7,875 for unn. roughness. Blindsided #Steelers OL Kelvin Beachum (concussion) w/ forearm away from play. — Nate Ulrich (@NateUlrichABJ) January 4, 2013

It was a particularly chippy game, and while some fail to recognize the legality of a cut block (however unethical it may be), there's little question Taylor's shot on Beachum, who suffered a concussion on the play, was easily defined as cowardly.

The loss sent Cleveland to its fifth consecutive losing season, and the ninth time in 10 years the team failed to win more than six games. It was also the last game for head coach Pat Shurmur, who finished his career in Cleveland 9-23.

The Browns are searching for a head coach yet again, and whomever they hire will be the seventh coach since the league gave Cleveland an expansion franchise in 1999. The Baltimore Ravens assumed its own identity when the Browns were moved to Baltimore for the 1996 season, but the legacy Browns records stayed with the new franchise, even as it strays further away from the positive aspects of that legacy.

The "new" Browns haven't won a playoff game in its existence, and the namesake hasn't had a postseason victory since 1994. The Steelers defeated them in the divisional playoffs that season, as well as in the wild card round of the 2002 playoffs - the new Browns' only playoff appearance.

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