The Browns play the defending AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers in two weeks in their regular-season opener, and their first-team offense is light years away from being ready.

That’s the prevailing thought after the third preseason game – the most important one of the contests that don’t count, the dress rehearsal for the ones that do.

The No. 1 offense did against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium what it did in the first two games. That is, it struggled, getting just a field goal in a 3-3 halftime tie. Substitutes on both sides pretty much took it from there in the second half.

The Browns defense did OK defensively – not great, not terrible, just average – and the feeling for a couple weeks now has been that that unit will give a good accounting of itself this year.

But the offense? Not so much. And you need to score points in the NFL, where all the rules have been changed to help the offenses.

Rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer, who was given the starting nod last Wednesday, did more than enough against the Bucs to keep it going into the regular season. He made mistakes, especially in the last two series, but he also had a long pass dropped by veteran wide receiver Kenny Britt, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason to make such plays.

The Browns ran the ball semi-effectively, but they will have to do much better against Pittsburgh – and going forward in the early part of a schedule that looks very difficult – to keep the pressure off Kizer to make plays all by himself.

The highlight of the first half? Some laser shots from Kizer to wide receiver Corey Coleman, who was he No. 15 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Those two guys have to do much more of that – together – to help carry this offense forward.

There are two weeks left to work on all these things.

Is that enough time?

It has to be.