Browns guard Cameron Erving makes his case for worst block in NFL history

This could be the worst block in NFL history. It’s certainly one of the worst by a first-round lineman.

Cleveland Browns left guard Cameron Erving, the No. 19 overall pick out of Florida State this past May, earned the first start of his career against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then this happened. Welcome to the NFL.

On the final play before the half, Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward trucked Erving like he was Austin Powers manning a steamroller and tackled Browns running back Isaiah Crowell 0.2 seconds after he received a shotgun handoff. For good reason, Cleveland opted not to run another play before halftime.

The five-yard loss left the Browns with negative-6 rushing yards through two quarters. Of course, that was oly slightly worse than Pittsburgh’s three rushing yards at the break. The two teams were threatening a record for the fewest combined rushing yards in a game since the Detroit Lions and Chicago Cardinals combined for minus-15 in 1943. Unfortunately, for Erving’s sake, we don’t have video of those linemen.

DeAngelo Williams helped the two teams avoid the record in futility, rushing for 54 yards on 17 carries in Pittsburgh’s 30-9 win. Cleveland netted 15 rushing yards in defeat — led by QB Johnny Manziel’s 17.

The argument for worst block in football history brings to mind Erving’s predecessor on the Seminoles, Zebrie Sanders, who quite possibly fell asleep during a 2012 play against North Carolina.

In the NFL ranks, there’s also former New England Patriots tackle Max Lane’s game-long effort against Green Bay Packers legend Reggie White in Super Bowl XXXI and Jacksonville Jaguars special teamer Bernard Pierce blocking for the wrong team on a punt return earlier this season, but Lane was a sixth-round pick facing one of the most dominant defensive players in league history and Pierce was literally concussed.

Erving, however, is a first-round pick who should be able to block Heyward for even a fraction of a second.

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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach