BEREA, Ohio-- When iron man Alex Mack went down with a fractured fibula, the Browns offense didn't panic.
The Browns were moving the ball and rather than let the momentum come to a halt, John Greco slid over from right guard to center and the offense didn't miss a beat.
"It was next man up," Mike Pettine said. "I thought John Greco stepped in and did a great job and Paul McQuistan stepped in at right guard and did a great job."
Mack went down on the third play of the drive that started on the Browns' 15 and had moved to the Steelers' 47 on Isaiah Crowell's three-yard run.
After Mack was carted off the field, the Steelers decided to test Greco on the first play with a blitz up the middle.
"They tried to get catch me off guard," Greco said.
Brian Hoyer was impressed with Greco's adaptation from guard to center on the fly.
"I didn't know this until after the game that he had never played center in an NFL game and on his first play, Pittsburgh tested him and ran a blitz right up the middle," Hoyer said. "(Greco) made a great call, made a great block and McQuistan comes in and does a great job."
Greco picked up the blitz and Crowell took a pitchout left and picked up 16 yards on the play to the 31. Seven plays later, Ben Tate went over McQuistan for an eight-yard touchdown to give the Browns a 21-3 lead. In all, the Browns moved the ball 85 yards on 11 plays.
Hoyer was sacked just once on the Browns first possession and the Browns rushed for 158 yards on 38 attempts (4.2 avg.), including three touchdowns.
Hoyer said he and Greco take a few snaps during practice each week, just in case and that helped when Mack went down.
"As a quarterback, the first thing that comes to mind when the center gets hurt, is there going to be an exchange problem?" Hoyer said. "I felt very confident as soon as I started taking snaps with John when I went back out there."
Greco hasn't been told if he will remain at center, but he thinks he likely will.
"Now, we'll get a full week of preparation this week," Greco said. "We should be good to go."
Pettine said that Nick McDonald, who has been on the non-football injury list since Aug. 26 with a wrist injury has played center.
"We have some options," Pettine said. "You don't want to make multiple changes (on the line). Circumstances in the game called for us to do what we did."
However, Pettine said he didn't envision McDonald being ready to play as soon as this week.
Greco is in his seventh season from Toledo and was originally drafted in the third-round by the Rams. He has played in 74 games with 33 starts, including all five games at right guard for the Browns in 2014.
McQuistan (6-6, 315) is in his ninth season from Weber State. McQuistan was a third round pick of the Raiders back in 2006. He was signed by the Browns as an unrestricted free agent in March.
McQuistan has played in four of the five games this season in a reserve role but has started 52 games in his career, including eight at left tackle and six at left guard last season for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Hoyer said it's hard to replace Mack, but feels they are in good hands with his replacement.
"It's like coach told us in the meeting room, you don't replace Alex Mack," Hoyer said. "He never missed a snap in his career, a Pro Bowl center you don't replace that guy, but as you saw (Sunday) John Greco steps (right) in there.
"Those guys are going to do everything they can to step in and step up but everyone knows what Alex means to this offense," Hoyer said. "It's definitely a blow to our team."
Greco said the Browns are a close-knit team and he feels they can handle the loss of Mack.
"I think you see it every week no matter what the situation, we stick together," Greco said. "We have a core group of leaders on this team and guys who have stepped in and found their roles."
Greco said the offensive line is motivated to continue to play well in Mack's absence.
"It's big," he said. "You want to do it for those guys. Everything we accomplish this year, (Mack's) right there along with us."
EXTRA POINTS
Birthday Boy Responds to Report: QB Brian Hoyer celebrated his 29th birthday on Monday but he said he got a birthday present a day early with the 31-10 win over the Steelers.
"It was a great present to beat those guys at home in our stadium," Hoyer said. "The place was rocking. It was pretty cool."
Hoyer is in the final year of his contract and a report came out on Bleacher Report that Hoyer didn't want to stay with the Browns long-term if QB Johnny Manziel was still on the roster.
"I don't know who got that report," Hoyer said. That's something I have an agent to handle. Right now, I'm focusing on Jacksonville."
Hoyer also added.
"I don't think I need to say more than I'm from Cleveland and this is where I want to be," he said. "But I'm a competitor. I want to be somewhere where I'm playing."
West Down: RB Terrance West was a healthy scratch against the Steelers, but Pettine said he's confident he'll respond in a positive way.
"I think he's handled it well," Pettine said. "I'm not going to make to big of a deal about that situation. We met and I'm confident he'll respond."
No reason was given for West being inactive other than it was a "coach's decision".
Injury Update: Other than the surgeries to C Alex Mack and DL Armonty Bryant, Pettine didn't have more information on DL Ahtyba Rubin (ankle), DL Billy Winn (quad) and DB K'Waun Williams (concussion).
Williams is in the NFL protocol and is being evaluated.
"We'll see (where he's at)," Pettine said. "He'll be evaluated every day. He hasn't been ruled out."
