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HR 1: Steelers-Browns Preview by the Numbers · The Steelers Report

0:00
Speaker 1: Welcome in to the Steelers Report here on Steelers Nation Radio,
0:03
Speaker 1: part of the Steelers Audio Network. I am Ed Troop
0:05
Speaker 1: alongside Brian Bacco, BB. And Brian, this weekend, well, it's
0:11
Speaker 1: first place on the line in the AFC North. The
0:13
Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns at 5-2, the Pittsburgh Steelers at 5-2. The
0:17
Speaker 1: winner of the Week 8 matchup will be in first place.
0:21
Speaker 1: entering week number nine. Cleveland last won a division clear
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Speaker 1: back in 1989. That is a 33-year drought for the
0:31
Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns. That's the NFL's longest active streak. And if
0:35
Speaker 1: they get a win against the Steelers on Sunday, well,
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Speaker 1: they won't cement a division title for them, but they'll
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Speaker 1: certainly be out in front of the division by a
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Speaker 1: good bit.
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Speaker 2: It'll be six and two. It'll be well on their way.
0:47
Speaker 2: Now the Bengals could also win this week. I forget
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Speaker 2: who the Bengals have on the slate this weekend, but
0:54
Speaker 2: they would also be 6-2 with a win in their
0:58
Speaker 2: home against the Titans. So I'm not going to write
1:02
Speaker 2: it in Sharpie, but I can probably pencil it in
1:04
Speaker 2: for Cincy. However, Steelers have the tiebreaker over Cincinnati, as
1:08
Speaker 2: we know, thanks to that Week 3 game in which
1:11
Speaker 2: they vanquished Joe Burrow late. So yeah, it's a massive,
1:16
Speaker 2: massive game with a lot of history on both sides,
1:20
Speaker 2: you know, a mountain of it. working against the Browns,
1:24
Speaker 2: a mountain of it, working in favor of the Steelers.
1:27
Speaker 2: But that doesn't matter when you lace them up on
1:30
Speaker 2: Sunday at 1 o'clock. There's no superstition here. There's no,
1:36
Speaker 2: you know, the Ben Roethlisberger can't hurt them anymore mentality
1:42
Speaker 2: is there for the Browns. Two new head coaches on
1:45
Speaker 2: both sides of this rivalry. And you know what? For
1:48
Speaker 2: that matter, week three doesn't, or excuse me, week four
1:50
Speaker 2: doesn't matter anymore either. Thursday night. Not so far as
1:54
Speaker 2: having any impact on this game, but as long as
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Speaker 2: the Steelers learn from that defeat and make improvements against
2:02
Speaker 2: what the Browns are trying to do to them, then
2:05
Speaker 2: that's the only way that that game has any bearing
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Speaker 2: on this one. So we continue to count down. We're
2:12
Speaker 2: getting closer and closer to kickoff, and it's going to
2:15
Speaker 2: be a fun one.
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Speaker 3: That's for sure, Double B.
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Speaker 1: And when you look at this series between these two teams,
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Speaker 1: the Steelers have dominated for a lot of years, especially
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Speaker 1: at home. We've talked about it going into this one
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Speaker 1: clear back in 2003 was the last time that the
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Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns won here in Pittsburgh during a regular season game.
2:33
Speaker 1: We know the 2020 wild card game went to the
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Speaker 1: Browns favor. But other than that, it's been a long
2:38
Speaker 1: time since Cleveland has come into Pittsburgh and won. This
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Speaker 1: will be just the fifth regular season matchup between the
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Speaker 1: Browns and Steelers since 1980, in which both teams, Double B,
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Speaker 1: enter the game at at least three games above.
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Speaker 3: 500.
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Speaker 1: How about that? Most recently, 2023, it was the 6-3
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Speaker 1: Browns that defeated the 6-3 Steelers, 13-10. In 2020, it
2:54
Speaker 1: was the 10-5 Browns that defeated the 12-3 Steelers at
2:55
Speaker 1: the time. Also in 2020, in week six, the 4-0
3:06
Speaker 1: Steelers defeated the 4-1 Browns, so twice during that 2020
3:09
Speaker 1: season in which, of course, that wildcard game took place.
3:12
Speaker 1: And then clear back in 1994, the 11-3 Steelers defeated
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Speaker 1: the 10-4 Browns 17-7. Both teams made the playoffs at
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Speaker 1: the end of 2023, 2020, and the 1994 season. So
3:24
Speaker 1: if that tells you anything, both these teams are on
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Speaker 1: a playoff path.
3:29
Speaker 2: And the interesting thing is, you know, the Browns got
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Speaker 2: blown out week one. at Jacksonville. The Jaguars took them
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Speaker 2: to the woodshed 34 to 10. Since then, every game
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Speaker 2: has been close for Cleveland. They've won all but one
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Speaker 2: of them, but their victories, Ed, four of those five
3:45
Speaker 2: have come by three points and one has come by
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Speaker 2: four points. So I'm not a mathematician, but that would
3:53
Speaker 2: be 16 points combined. They've won these five games. I mean,
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Speaker 2: I don't know how many games last week. There were
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Speaker 2: at least a couple, I think, where teams won one
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Speaker 2: game by more than 16 points. The Bucs beat the
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Speaker 2: Panthers by 30. The Seahawks beat the Chiefs by 17.
4:19
Speaker 2: The Cowboys beat the Eagles by 17. So there were
4:21
Speaker 2: three games alone in the NFL that were quote-unquote blowouts,
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Speaker 2: and the Browns' entire winning streak has not even added up.
4:30
Speaker 2: to that. So they've been winning close games, which is,
4:33
Speaker 2: can be a feature, but also can be a bug.
4:36
Speaker 2: The Steelers have won pretty decisive win this season against
4:40
Speaker 2: the Colts. And, you know, even this past week, I
4:42
Speaker 2: think I almost wrote in my game story for Steelers.com
4:46
Speaker 2: that the Steelers want it 19 to 10. Well, they
4:48
Speaker 2: didn't end up needing that Chris Boswell field goal. Saints
4:50
Speaker 2: jumped off sides. That ends up being the difference between a,
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Speaker 2: a one score win in a two score win. It's
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Speaker 2: statistics at the end of the day, But the Browns
5:00
Speaker 2: have not won decisively at all this season. They have
5:04
Speaker 2: kind of, you know, tempted fate in the NFL, and
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Speaker 2: it's fallen their way, or they've made it fall their way.
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Speaker 2: But these are two teams that have been broiled in
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Speaker 2: a lot of close battles this year, and we'll see
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Speaker 2: if we're in for another one of those this weekend.
5:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, you mentioned a double B, and you're exactly right.
5:22
Speaker 1: The Browns have been tied or behind in the fourth
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Speaker 1: quarter of all seven games this so far in 2026.
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Speaker 1: In fact, with Deshaun Watson, he's led a game-winning drive
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Speaker 1: in each of the Browns' five wins so far this season.
5:35
Speaker 1: When you look at Brown's history, that currently ranks third.
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Speaker 1: Five game-winning drives. That's behind Bernie Kosar and Brian Seip,
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Speaker 1: clear back in 1979. So Deshaun Watson making a bit
5:45
Speaker 1: of history. But there's a reason why the Browns are
5:47
Speaker 1: trailing going into the fourth quarter, and it could be
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Speaker 1: a mixed bag during the game, right? I mean, if
5:51
Speaker 1: they were this great football team, and much like the Steelers,
5:54
Speaker 1: you can make that same argument for Pittsburgh, too. You know,
5:57
Speaker 1: the Steelers have played a lot of close one-possession games.
5:59
Speaker 1: But my point is, if the Browns were a light-out,
6:02
Speaker 1: clear division winner, dominant team in the likes of the
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Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills or even the Minnesota Vikings for what we've
6:09
Speaker 1: talked about so far here this 2026 season, I don't
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Speaker 1: think they'd be having to have as many fourth-quarter comebacks
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Speaker 1: as they've had so far this season.
6:17
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, they've had to find ways and win gritty,
6:21
Speaker 2: including against the Steelers in that first matchup. Remember, they
6:25
Speaker 2: were up pretty big. Seemed like they were going to
6:27
Speaker 2: cruise to a victory that night, but they couldn't close
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Speaker 2: out the Steelers, and the Steelers even tied it late
6:33
Speaker 2: in that game, and then obviously, you know, quick string
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Speaker 2: of completions for Deshaun Watson late in the fourth quarter.
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Speaker 2: Sets up the Andre Schmidt field goal, and he boots one,
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Speaker 2: a long one, but he put it through the uprights,
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Speaker 2: and This is another game that I think could come
6:49
Speaker 2: down to the kicking game for sure. If we approach
6:53
Speaker 2: this as these two teams are on pretty equal footing,
6:56
Speaker 2: you know, Andre Schmidt or Chris Boswell could wind up
7:00
Speaker 2: being the hero or heel. Both guys having good seasons, Schmidt,
7:04
Speaker 2: especially 14 of 16 on field goals. He's missed one
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Speaker 2: extra point. He's two of two from 50 plus and
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Speaker 2: he's perfect inside of 40. And then when you look
7:17
Speaker 2: at what Chris Boswell has been doing this season, a
7:20
Speaker 2: little bit of a rocky start, but it's certainly stabilized since.
7:24
Speaker 2: He's 16 of 20. That's a lot of field goal
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Speaker 2: attempts that the Steelers have had to settle much too
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Speaker 2: often for their liking so far. With a long of 58,
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Speaker 2: 13 of 13 hasn't missed an extra point. He's four
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Speaker 2: of six from 50 plus, also has not missed inside
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Speaker 2: of 40. So two teams that can rely on their
7:44
Speaker 2: kickers if this game does get mucked up a bit.
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Speaker 1: Ryan, looking back to that Thursday night game in which
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Speaker 1: the Browns defeated the Steelers on Thursday night football clear
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Speaker 1: back in week four, 27-24. That was a game in which,
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Speaker 1: of course, the Steelers got out to that early 7-0
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Speaker 1: lead as Roman Wilson got a 12-yard touchdown pass from
8:03
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers.
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Speaker 3: And then everything started to unravel after that, right?
8:06
Speaker 1: McLaughlin scored on that 28-yarder in the second quarter. Junkins,
8:11
Speaker 1: a two-yard touchdown run. All of a sudden, it was 14-7.
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Speaker 1: The Browns had a lead in this game. They extended
8:16
Speaker 1: it to 21-7 in the second quarter when Harold Fannin
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Speaker 1: got a two-yard reception from Deshaun Watson, it was 21-10
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Speaker 1: after Chris Boswell hit a 31-yard field goal right before halftime.
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Speaker 3: But then the Steelers come back in the fourth quarter.
8:31
Speaker 1: Darnell Washington, a 21-yard touchdown reception from Aaron Rodgers.
8:35
Speaker 3: They go for two.
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Speaker 1: They fell on that, so it's 21-16 at that point.
8:39
Speaker 1: Schmidt adds a 44-yard field goal, 24-16. Steelers tie it, remember,
8:43
Speaker 1: on that Pat Friermuth three-yard touchdown reception from Aaron Rodgers.
8:47
Speaker 1: That was with just 142 left in the game, 24-24.
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Speaker 3: But the Browns drive right down the field.
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Speaker 1: They settle for the Andre Schmidt 56-yard field goal to
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Speaker 1: win the game with just 10 seconds left, 27-24.
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Speaker 3: So the point is.
9:02
Speaker 1: The Steelers started out good in that game in the
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Speaker 1: first quarter, and they ended it pretty well in that
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Speaker 1: fourth quarter. They just ran out of time, and it
9:08
Speaker 1: was the in-between, that second and third quarter, where things
9:11
Speaker 1: seemed to unravel, especially on defense.
9:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, they couldn't get out of their own way at
9:17
Speaker 2: that point in the game. And, you know, Mike McCarthy
9:19
Speaker 2: highlighted yesterday before practice that tackling is going to be key.
9:25
Speaker 2: And you can say that for any game. But I
9:26
Speaker 2: think this Browns offense especially, Ed, is built on run
9:30
Speaker 2: after the catch. Harold Fannin Jr. is not the biggest guy,
9:34
Speaker 2: not the fastest guy at tight end, but he's very slippery.
9:36
Speaker 2: He's tough to bring down. You've got to make sure
9:39
Speaker 2: you wrap him up. Quinshawn Judkins, you've got to get
9:41
Speaker 2: multiple hats to the football with him. because he's another
9:45
Speaker 2: guy who runs really hard, good contact balance. There's a
9:49
Speaker 2: reason why he was one of the top-backed in that
9:52
Speaker 2: draft last year. It was coming out of Ohio State,
9:56
Speaker 2: forming that one-two punch with Travion Henderson for the Buckeyes.
9:59
Speaker 2: Henderson was more of the home run hitter. Judkins was
10:02
Speaker 2: the guy who could kind of, you know, rip off
10:05
Speaker 2: decent gain after decent gain. And it seems like he's
10:07
Speaker 2: returning to form after that injury last season. And even
10:12
Speaker 2: Casey Concepcion, I mean, one of the best run after
10:14
Speaker 2: catch games in the NFL so far this season was
10:17
Speaker 2: all that he did week seven. against the Tennessee Titans
10:20
Speaker 2: to help the Browns win that game. There's no doubt
10:23
Speaker 2: that the Steelers need to make sure they hem up
10:25
Speaker 2: all three of those guys. They did a nice job
10:27
Speaker 2: of it against the Saints. That's not really where New
10:30
Speaker 2: Orleans was able to find success against them. Tyler Shuck
10:32
Speaker 2: was dropping back and completing passes against the Steelers in coverage. But, hey,
10:39
Speaker 2: they sacked them when they needed to. They picked them
10:41
Speaker 2: off when they needed to. They forced fumbles when they
10:43
Speaker 2: needed to, whether they were upheld on the field or not.
10:47
Speaker 2: We'll see how it goes this week against the Browns,
10:49
Speaker 2: but I think this is a Cleveland team that is
10:52
Speaker 2: pretty different in terms of opponent matchups go as far
10:55
Speaker 2: as offenses that they're facing from one week to the next.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, you mentioned a few of the players so far
11:00
Speaker 3: this season.
11:01
Speaker 1: In our next segment, whenever we come back from break,
11:02
Speaker 1: we're going to dive into some of those playmakers for
11:04
Speaker 1: the Browns so far this season as we continue to
11:07
Speaker 1: get you ready for the AFC North Showdown this upcoming Sunday,
11:11
Speaker 1: Accresure Stadium.
11:11
Speaker 3: It's week eight.
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Speaker 1: The five and two Browns and the five and two Steelers. Brian,
11:16
Speaker 1: before we do transition over to that, I do want
11:19
Speaker 1: to just give you some more factoids, if you will,
11:21
Speaker 1: in and around this series between the Steelers and the Browns.
11:24
Speaker 1: And again, very impressive for the Steelers who have now
11:27
Speaker 1: won 22 straight regular season home games against the Browns.
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Speaker 1: That is an active streak that is second best in
11:35
Speaker 1: the NFL. The Packers and Lions, Packers had defeated the
11:39
Speaker 1: Lions 23 straight times between 1992 and 2014 at home
11:45
Speaker 1: in Green Bay. Washington also has defeated the Lions clear
11:49
Speaker 1: back in 1939. I know you remember that all the
11:53
Speaker 1: way for 18 straight back then. And then actually the
11:57
Speaker 1: Steelers Browns, they also had a streak.
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Speaker 3: The Steelers did back in the 70s from 70 to 85.
12:02
Speaker 3: They'd won 16 straight.
12:05
Speaker 1: So they're going to try to continue to keep that
12:08
Speaker 1: streak alive. Again, we do a little asterisk from the
12:11
Speaker 1: 2020 wildcard game, that playoff game. We can't forget about that.
12:15
Speaker 1: Cleveland did win that game here in Pittsburgh. But during
12:17
Speaker 1: the regular season, the Steelers have put up some big
12:19
Speaker 1: numbers against Cleveland over the course of time. But I
12:22
Speaker 1: would think in Cleveland this week, and we're going to
12:23
Speaker 1: talk to Ashley Bastock here tomorrow on the show. from Cleveland.com.
12:28
Speaker 1: We'll get her thoughts on this, but I would think
12:30
Speaker 1: in Cleveland, they have a golden opportunity in front of
12:33
Speaker 1: them to win this game. As we said, take control
12:35
Speaker 1: of the AFC North and end that regular season streak
12:38
Speaker 1: that I'm sure is in their heads, right? It would
12:42
Speaker 1: be for any NFL team, but like I said, they
12:45
Speaker 1: did get that win in 2020.
12:46
Speaker 2: What the Browns want this to be is a changing
12:50
Speaker 2: of the guard kind of season, right? I mean, what
12:53
Speaker 2: came to mind for me when you're reading off those
12:55
Speaker 2: factoids was Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy were part of
12:58
Speaker 2: that big brother, little brother relationship for a long time
13:02
Speaker 2: with the Detroit Lions in Green Bay. The Packers were
13:05
Speaker 2: the team with all the history, all the accolades, all
13:08
Speaker 2: the winning the Super Bowl trophies. In their case, the
13:11
Speaker 2: Lions were the plucky underdog, little brother type of franchise.
13:17
Speaker 2: And now they've obviously established themselves with and that happened
13:23
Speaker 2: post rogers and mccarthy but you know kind of the
13:25
Speaker 2: tail end of rogers career in green bay the lions
13:29
Speaker 2: became friskier big cats and maybe that's what we're seeing
13:33
Speaker 2: now with the browns or maybe the steelers will simply
13:36
Speaker 2: stomp them out on sunday uh just like old times
13:40
Speaker 2: uh that that all kind of makes for for a
13:42
Speaker 2: lot of juice in this game i think there's been
13:44
Speaker 2: some some shots across the bow already from jared verse
13:48
Speaker 2: to uh the steelers and cam hayward is kind of
13:52
Speaker 2: returned in kind but you know mainly has said they're
13:55
Speaker 2: going to let their play do the talking so I'm
13:57
Speaker 2: expecting a chippy physical game it was on Thursday night
14:01
Speaker 2: in Cleveland in week four and it usually is between
14:04
Speaker 2: these two teams I'll have to go back and look
14:07
Speaker 2: you know last year Aaron Rodgers would occasionally wax poetic
14:10
Speaker 2: ahead of AFC North games about how you know he
14:13
Speaker 2: looked at the the Packers were kind of the Steelers
14:16
Speaker 2: uh the the Bears were the Ravens right the Bengals
14:19
Speaker 2: were the Vikings and then the the Lions were the Browns.
14:23
Speaker 2: So did I say the Bears were the Vikings? The
14:26
Speaker 2: Vikings were the Bengals. And then, yeah, yeah. And then
14:29
Speaker 2: the Lions were the Browns. That was kind of the
14:32
Speaker 2: comparables there for him. And I know that, you know,
14:35
Speaker 2: late in his time at Green Bay, Lions players sort
14:39
Speaker 2: of bristled at the Packers and felt like they were
14:43
Speaker 2: disrespected at times. That's the kind of card that you
14:46
Speaker 2: need to play when you're that team that hasn't had
14:49
Speaker 2: a ton of success or at least sustained success or
14:52
Speaker 2: postseason success. And I think when a new head coach
14:54
Speaker 2: comes in, you know, that that's, that's definitely a card
14:57
Speaker 2: that you can play. I don't know how much Todd
14:59
Speaker 2: Munkin's doing that behind closed doors, but oddly enough, as
15:03
Speaker 2: we started off today's show by saying they're five and two,
15:06
Speaker 2: they're the ones with the target on their back right now.
15:08
Speaker 3: Yeah, no doubt about that.
15:09
Speaker 1: Whenever we come back, we'll get into some injury updates
15:12
Speaker 1: from Double B. He was at practice yesterday and he's
15:14
Speaker 1: also on the South side today for day number two
15:17
Speaker 1: of Steelers prep for the Cleveland rematch this upcoming weekend.
15:20
Speaker 1: And 3 o'clock today, it's our Terrible Takes, another favorite
15:23
Speaker 1: segment we do each and every week. We'll do the Steelers'
15:26
Speaker 1: Terrible Takes as well as some NFL Terrible Takes this
15:29
Speaker 1: week as well.
15:30
Speaker 3: He's back. Oh, I'm Troop.
15:31
Speaker 1: It's the Steelers Report right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
15:34
Speaker 1: part of the Steelers Audio Network. Back here on the
15:36
Speaker 1: Steelers Report, I am Ed Troop alongside Brian Bacco. As
15:40
Speaker 1: we continue to march on here in our number one,
15:43
Speaker 1: again coming up at 3 o'clock today, we're going to
15:44
Speaker 1: have our terrible takes for the Pittsburgh Steelers as well
15:47
Speaker 1: as some NFL terrible takes as we continue to get
15:50
Speaker 1: you set for week number eight across the NFL.
15:54
Speaker 3: Double B, hard to believe, but we're starting.
15:57
Speaker 1: To make that turn. We're on like hole number nine, right?
16:00
Speaker 1: We're getting ready to tee off on the ninth hole.
16:01
Speaker 1: We're going to be making the turn here shortly to
16:03
Speaker 1: the second half of the NFL season in just another
16:06
Speaker 1: week or so.
16:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, and the bye week is almost at the halfway point. Granted,
16:12
Speaker 2: you can't be entirely halfway through a 17-game season. Again,
16:16
Speaker 2: I'm not Pythagoras or anything, but I think that much
16:19
Speaker 2: is pretty obvious. So yeah, we're coming up on it,
16:23
Speaker 2: and the NFL around the league, the races are starting
16:28
Speaker 2: to take shape. I saw that there were some new
16:30
Speaker 2: odds that went out yesterday. Updated NFL futures, Super Bowl favorite. Well,
16:36
Speaker 2: let's see if you can guess, Ed. This is according
16:38
Speaker 2: to one of those websites, whatever it is. Who do
16:42
Speaker 2: you think is the new favorite from this site who
16:45
Speaker 2: emailed me here?
16:46
Speaker 3: Buffalo Bills?
16:48
Speaker 2: No, they are second.
16:50
Speaker 1: Let me give you one more guess. I mean, the
16:51
Speaker 1: Vikings are undefeated. They'd be the obvious choice. Are they
16:55
Speaker 1: at the top of the list? But that seems too
16:57
Speaker 1: obvious to me, so I'm going to hold off on
16:58
Speaker 1: my Vikings pick. I'm going to say San Francisco 49ers.
17:03
Speaker 2: Correct. The Vikings aren't even in the top seven. They're
17:07
Speaker 2: outside the top seven. So clearly the house doesn't really
17:11
Speaker 2: believe in this unbeaten start for Minnesota. Probably the offense
17:16
Speaker 2: has a lot to do with that. Steelers are kind
17:19
Speaker 2: of right around the middle of the pack still there.
17:21
Speaker 2: So I thought that was kind of interesting to look
17:24
Speaker 2: at here as we move toward week eight. You know,
17:28
Speaker 2: we'll see what happens. I mean, the division races are
17:32
Speaker 2: coming into focus. And for the Steelers and the Browns,
17:35
Speaker 2: you know, this is a very difficult division that they're in. So,
17:39
Speaker 2: you know, you need to make sure that you're peaking
17:42
Speaker 2: at the right time. The Steelers have won three in
17:45
Speaker 2: a row. It's always nice to see them put together
17:48
Speaker 2: a win streak. Onward and upward for them. The Browns
17:52
Speaker 2: are on a little win streak. After a miserable start
17:55
Speaker 2: to the season, the Steelers had more of an up
17:57
Speaker 2: and down start to the season. But these are two
17:59
Speaker 2: teams that are hot right now. And you'd probably say
18:03
Speaker 2: three of the four divisional teams are hot right now
18:05
Speaker 2: after what the Bengals did to the Ravens last weekend.
18:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt about that. There's still a lot to
18:10
Speaker 1: be figured out. And again, Brian, there's still a path,
18:13
Speaker 1: even if the Steelers would lose this game on Sunday,
18:16
Speaker 1: but having gotten swept by the Browns, it just makes
18:19
Speaker 1: that mountain a lot steeper to climb second half of
18:22
Speaker 1: the season. But again, as you said, still a lot
18:24
Speaker 1: more matchups. Steelers still have to play the Ravens twice.
18:26
Speaker 1: They got a rematch out of the bye week against
18:28
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns still have to deal with
18:32
Speaker 1: everyone else in the AFC North, too. They've only played
18:34
Speaker 1: the Ravens, and after this Sunday, the Steelers twice. So
18:37
Speaker 1: the majority of their AFC North schedule left to be
18:40
Speaker 1: figured out as well. Brian, before we get into some
18:43
Speaker 1: statistics for the Cleveland Browns so far here in 2026,
18:47
Speaker 1: let's check the injury report. Day number one of practice
18:50
Speaker 1: on the south side was held yesterday on Wednesday. You
18:53
Speaker 1: were there for that, and you're also there for day
18:55
Speaker 1: number two here today. What do you know about Steelers'
18:58
Speaker 1: injuries on day one and also... Let's check in on
19:01
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns as well.
19:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, the players who did not practice at all Wednesday
19:07
Speaker 2: for the Steelers, Jalen Ramsey with the wrist, but that's
19:10
Speaker 2: kind of been his start to the week lately as
19:12
Speaker 2: he's been playing through that injury quite admirably, I might add.
19:18
Speaker 2: A couple other DBs though, Brandon Echols with his hamstring
19:22
Speaker 2: and now Danico Slaughter with a hamstring. So two guys
19:26
Speaker 2: who have mostly been on special teams, but If they
19:29
Speaker 2: can't go, that obviously hurts your depth and you're going
19:31
Speaker 2: to need some other people to fill in on that
19:33
Speaker 2: third phase of the game. That's why they've got the
19:35
Speaker 2: likes of Sean Murphy Bunting and Terrell Smith, the former
19:39
Speaker 2: of whom made his Steelers debut last week with a
19:42
Speaker 2: few special team snaps as he was active again. Darnell Washington,
19:46
Speaker 2: TJ Watt, Cam Hayward all get rest days to begin
19:49
Speaker 2: the week. I think that's the first time I've ever
19:51
Speaker 2: seen that for Darnell. And then limited were Alex Highsmith
19:55
Speaker 2: with a groin, Ben Skoranek with his calf. And I
19:59
Speaker 2: think the receiver position is kind of intriguing because we
20:02
Speaker 2: know Roman Wilson is still going to be out along
20:05
Speaker 2: with Michael Pittman Jr. Right. But Skorodnik, maybe he can
20:09
Speaker 2: come back this week. That's encouraging to see him at
20:11
Speaker 2: least be limited to begin the week. And I don't
20:13
Speaker 2: know if you caught it from Aaron Rodgers yesterday in
20:15
Speaker 2: his little scrum after practice, but he pretty much straight
20:20
Speaker 2: up advocated for Marquez Valdez-Scantling to be active one of
20:24
Speaker 2: these weeks here in the receiving core. Now, Brandon Smith
20:26
Speaker 2: had a big third down catch last week against the
20:29
Speaker 2: Saints in Paris. Brandon Johnson hasn't factored in very much,
20:34
Speaker 2: but somehow, some way, They're still moving the ball. They're
20:38
Speaker 2: still getting things done in the passing game. But sounds
20:41
Speaker 2: like Rogers would like to see his old pal be
20:44
Speaker 2: a new possible solution for this team.
20:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe more of a role player, right?
20:50
Speaker 1: Come in on a third down type of situation, you know,
20:53
Speaker 1: third and short or. You know, again, a nice depth
20:55
Speaker 1: piece for the Steelers moving forward. I wasn't blown away
20:58
Speaker 1: with MVS last year. I don't know what your thoughts
21:01
Speaker 1: are on that, Brian. But, you know, hey, he has
21:04
Speaker 1: that history. He has that chemistry with Aaron Rodgers, as
21:07
Speaker 1: you said. So if they work him into the lineup,
21:09
Speaker 1: give him some snaps.
21:10
Speaker 3: Who knows?
21:11
Speaker 1: Maybe he makes a play here or there. But right
21:13
Speaker 1: now I think it's pretty clear. You know, they got
21:15
Speaker 1: Jeremy Bernard in at that No. 2 spot, DK Metcalf.
21:19
Speaker 1: Ben Skoranek went healthy. I think he comes in, gives
21:21
Speaker 1: them a nice look there. I thought Brandon Smith did
21:23
Speaker 1: a nice job last week.
21:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, the penalty wasn't great, but the sliding catch there
21:28
Speaker 2: to move the chains was what you want to see.
21:30
Speaker 2: I mean, if Skorodnik is back, then Brandon Johnson probably
21:35
Speaker 2: doesn't get elevated again. I think Smith is out of
21:38
Speaker 2: elevations at this point. I think he's had all three
21:41
Speaker 2: of them. So maybe if Skorodnik is back, he would
21:44
Speaker 2: take Smith's place. Maybe if an MVS does get a helmet,
21:49
Speaker 2: he would take Johnson's place as far as the elevations go.
21:52
Speaker 2: They still have some time to figure this all out,
21:55
Speaker 2: but So far, I think every game, they've had five
21:58
Speaker 2: receivers in helmet, whether it's Metcalf, Bernard, Weijin, Smith, Johnson,
22:04
Speaker 2: or Metcalf, Bernard, Weijin, Wilson, Smith. I'm starting to lose
22:10
Speaker 2: track of what it was some of these weeks here,
22:13
Speaker 2: but it's good that Skoranek is getting closer to returning,
22:18
Speaker 2: both for the offense potential to do some dirty work
22:20
Speaker 2: at receiver, and of course, most of all for the
22:23
Speaker 2: special teams.
22:25
Speaker 3: I agree with that absolutely for sure. Special teams, huge.
22:29
Speaker 3: They need it.
22:29
Speaker 1: We've talked about their struggles on special teams at certain moments,
22:32
Speaker 1: so that would definitely give them a big boost. Brian,
22:35
Speaker 1: how about the Cleveland injury report? Any updates over there?
22:38
Speaker 1: Anything major sticking out at you after.
22:40
Speaker 3: Day number one?
22:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, Jared Verse was a DNP himself with a knee injury.
22:47
Speaker 2: I think the latest out of Cleveland is that they
22:49
Speaker 2: don't anticipate that. holding him out of game action, but
22:53
Speaker 2: he is missing some practice action. So something's going on
22:55
Speaker 2: there with him. Right tackle Titus Howard in concussion protocol
23:00
Speaker 2: did not practice. Starting center Elton Jenkins with a knee
23:05
Speaker 2: did not practice. So those are probably the three big
23:08
Speaker 2: ones to watch for the Brownies. A bunch of guys
23:11
Speaker 2: limited for them, Ed, including Grant Delpit and Daniel Thomas
23:16
Speaker 2: at safety. Delpit's the big name there. Dylan Sampson in
23:19
Speaker 2: the backfield with a knee, but he was banged up
23:22
Speaker 2: earlier this season and just returned. And then the linebacker
23:26
Speaker 2: Carson Schwessinger with an ankle was limited. Mike Hall, the
23:29
Speaker 2: tackle up front who had a good game against the
23:30
Speaker 2: Steelers in the first meeting, limited with an ankle. Mason Graham, too,
23:36
Speaker 2: another defensive tackle who left that first Steelers game with
23:39
Speaker 2: an injury, but has played since then. And then their
23:42
Speaker 2: slot corner, Miles Harden, limited with a hamstring. So two
23:46
Speaker 2: injury reports that aren't overly concerning or worrisome. Two teams
23:51
Speaker 2: that honestly have stayed fairly healthy to this point. I mean,
23:57
Speaker 2: the Steelers have probably been leaking oil a little bit
23:59
Speaker 2: more when you look at Derek Harmon, Sebastian Joseph Day,
24:03
Speaker 2: Roman Wilson, Pittman. But the Browns, as Mike McCarthy put it,
24:06
Speaker 2: I mean, their personnel has not changed much at all
24:09
Speaker 2: since that first game, whereas the Steelers have. They don't
24:13
Speaker 2: have a lot of their playmakers who were present in Cleveland,
24:18
Speaker 2: but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be worse off. You'll
24:20
Speaker 2: just be distributing the ball to different people. Pat Fryermuth
24:23
Speaker 2: didn't do a ton in that first game in Cleveland.
24:26
Speaker 2: Maybe we see him get more involved this week. Rico
24:29
Speaker 2: Dowdle was not out there for that one. We know
24:31
Speaker 2: that he helped be the engine for that victory out
24:36
Speaker 2: in France. So things have changed a little bit more
24:38
Speaker 2: on the Steelers' side. The Browns have mostly stayed healthy
24:41
Speaker 2: since that matchup, and that always helps with winning games
24:43
Speaker 2: too in this league.
24:45
Speaker 3: Yeah, Mike McCarthy spoke about that.
24:46
Speaker 1: That will be on Monday that the personnel, the roster
24:49
Speaker 1: for Cleveland has not changed much. And that's part of it,
24:51
Speaker 1: the injury aspect of it. And hey, we're at that
24:53
Speaker 1: point of the season too. I talked at the start
24:55
Speaker 1: of this segment about making the turn. You're on hole
24:58
Speaker 1: number nine. The second half of the NFL season is
25:01
Speaker 1: shortly just in front of us. And this time of
25:04
Speaker 1: the year, you start seeing more veteran days off and
25:07
Speaker 1: preserving players' bodies and trying to get the most out
25:11
Speaker 1: of them as you continue to march on in a
25:13
Speaker 1: 17 game Brian, let's talk about the Browns playmakers so
25:17
Speaker 1: far this year. We touched on a few of these players.
25:19
Speaker 1: Let's start with the quarterback, Deshaun Watson. He has completed 64%
25:23
Speaker 1: of his passes so far this season, just shy of
25:25
Speaker 1: 1,500 yards passing, seven touchdowns, three interceptions.
25:29
Speaker 3: In the air.
25:30
Speaker 1: On the ground, he's also had 48 takes for 215
25:33
Speaker 1: yards and a touchdown there as well, so eight total
25:37
Speaker 1: offensive touchdowns. Seven passing, one rushing so far for Deshaun Watson.
25:42
Speaker 1: Last week, his first 300-yard passing game of his Browns
25:45
Speaker 1: career against the Titans. Watson led the NFL with 10
25:49
Speaker 1: games with 300-plus passing yards back in the 2020 season
25:52
Speaker 1: with Houston. And then he had zero since and since
25:57
Speaker 1: that time period, of course he was hurt for a
25:59
Speaker 1: long time too, but Watson to me seems to be
26:02
Speaker 1: riding the ship as he returns to be the starter
26:05
Speaker 1: in Cleveland. And when I say riding the ship, he
26:08
Speaker 1: hasn't jumped out at you, but he's got him at
26:10
Speaker 1: five and two and he's also made some plays at times.
26:14
Speaker 2: Yeah. And that rushing touchdown was his first since week
26:17
Speaker 2: two of 2024. Now, obviously he's gone through a lot
26:21
Speaker 2: injury wise with, Achilles and shoulder. But, you know, it's
26:27
Speaker 2: kind of interesting with him. I mean, he's finding a
26:29
Speaker 2: way to get it done in the clutch, oddly enough.
26:33
Speaker 2: You know, he used to be a prolific passer, of course,
26:36
Speaker 2: when he was with the Houston Texans. With the Browns,
26:38
Speaker 2: he's been more of a game manager. That's certainly not
26:41
Speaker 2: what they paid him for when they acquired him way
26:44
Speaker 2: back when. But, you know, it's kind of just how
26:46
Speaker 2: it's shaken out. Made a lot more sense when you
26:49
Speaker 2: had Nick Chubb in your backfield to hand the ball
26:51
Speaker 2: off to him and let him help control the game.
26:54
Speaker 2: But Watson is, he's obviously playing better than anybody expected
26:59
Speaker 2: coming into this year. Still not the guy that he
27:01
Speaker 2: was early in his career, but he's taking care of
27:05
Speaker 2: the football lately. At least he's like you said, he's
27:09
Speaker 2: engineering these game winning drives. I don't know if he's
27:13
Speaker 2: going to turn back into a pumpkin at some point,
27:15
Speaker 2: but at least for now he's, he's finding ways to
27:18
Speaker 2: help the Browns win games under center. Not really under center.
27:21
Speaker 2: They're in shotgun more than I think any team in
27:24
Speaker 2: the NFL.
27:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, they don't go under center very much.
27:27
Speaker 1: They want to give defenses that look that Deshaun Watson
27:30
Speaker 1: could potentially take off with the.
27:31
Speaker 3: Football and be mobile with it.
27:34
Speaker 1: Running-wise, Quinshawn Junkins, Steelers held him in check first time around, right?
27:38
Speaker 1: 50-some yards, that was about it. Since, though, starting to
27:41
Speaker 1: heat up a bit. He has 90 total rushes on
27:43
Speaker 1: the season for 317 yards left. and 3.5 yards per carry,
27:49
Speaker 1: and has three rushing touchdowns so far this season. Look,
27:52
Speaker 1: he's spectacular last year until he got hurt in his
27:55
Speaker 1: rookie season in Cleveland, and maybe that's why he had
27:58
Speaker 1: a slower start to his second NFL season here in 2026, Brian,
28:02
Speaker 1: but he seems to start, you know, starting to click
28:05
Speaker 1: more in Cleveland these last few games running the football.
28:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was part of that promising draft class for
28:12
Speaker 2: them last year with Fannin, Schwessinger, Graham, so many young
28:17
Speaker 2: players that they added in 2025, and they kind of
28:20
Speaker 2: doubled down with a lot of picks this season in 2026.
28:23
Speaker 2: With Judkins, you know, he's good between the tackles. He's
28:30
Speaker 2: pretty decent catching the ball out of the backfield, but
28:31
Speaker 2: that's what they have Dylan Sampson for too. Right. Smaller guy,
28:35
Speaker 2: more of a third down back type of player. You know,
28:39
Speaker 2: I'm kind of looking to, you know, to go back
28:41
Speaker 2: to the injuries for a second with the Browns. If
28:42
Speaker 2: Titus Howard is in concussion protocol and doesn't play, DeJuan
28:46
Speaker 2: Jones would probably be next up at right tackle. And
28:49
Speaker 2: he's had a lot of games against the Steelers in
28:51
Speaker 2: the past, but obviously he wasn't consistent enough for this
28:55
Speaker 2: regime and this coaching staff to not replace him. So
28:58
Speaker 2: he's a guy who, you know, he'd be matching up
29:01
Speaker 2: with TJ Watt on that right side. The pass game
29:04
Speaker 2: is one thing, but TJ has also been really good
29:06
Speaker 2: against the run this season. And, you know, I can
29:09
Speaker 2: absolutely see him making plays from the backside, bringing down
29:12
Speaker 2: Quinn Sean Judkins in the backfield before he can get going.
29:16
Speaker 1: Most receiving yards so far in 2026 double B for rookies.
29:20
Speaker 1: Carnell Tate of Tennessee is now number one, 413 yards.
29:24
Speaker 1: Denzel Boston, 372 of the Browns. Casey Concepcion, 315 of
29:29
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns. And then the Steelers, Jeremy Bernard with 254.
29:34
Speaker 1: He's now fourth among rookie wide receivers, but not one,
29:38
Speaker 1: two rookie wide receivers in Denzel Boston. Boston and Casey
29:41
Speaker 1: Concepcion have had good starts their NFL careers in Cleveland
29:45
Speaker 1: we expected that these were two players that we here
29:48
Speaker 1: in Pittsburgh leading up the draft time had circled on
29:50
Speaker 1: our draft boards if they were available along with Jeremy
29:53
Speaker 1: Bernard as potential fits for the Steelers. Cleveland got both
29:56
Speaker 1: of them in Boston and Concepcion, and so far so
29:59
Speaker 1: good in Cleveland for those two rookies.
30:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt about it. And, you know, Boston's a
30:05
Speaker 2: tall drink of water on the outside, so they're both
30:07
Speaker 2: going to be a challenge for the Steelers' corners. Jamel
30:09
Speaker 2: Dean and Asante Samuel Jr. have been holding down the
30:13
Speaker 2: fort of late, but I think there's always the possibility
30:16
Speaker 2: of getting Daylon Everett more involved. He's sort of just
30:19
Speaker 2: waiting in the wings right now, was not heavily involved
30:22
Speaker 2: against the Saints for whatever reason. that was game plan
30:25
Speaker 2: specific or they just felt like asante samuel jr had
30:29
Speaker 2: taken some strides made some improvements and they've been playing
30:31
Speaker 2: better so they both i mean you got to tackle
30:34
Speaker 2: the catch if it's concepcion and you need to be
30:37
Speaker 2: ready for those 50 50 jump balls if it's.
30:39
Speaker 1: Boston that is a look at some of the playmakers
30:42
Speaker 1: on offense one other player i want to mention too
30:44
Speaker 1: harold fanon jr the tight end had a touchdown against
30:47
Speaker 1: the steelers on that thursday night He has 25 receptions,
30:50
Speaker 1: 257 yards, and three touchdowns. So don't forget about the
30:53
Speaker 1: talented tight end in Cleveland. But those are some of
30:55
Speaker 1: the playmakers for the Browns. Who are some of the
30:58
Speaker 1: defensive superstars? Whenever we come back, we will jump into
31:01
Speaker 1: that as we continue to scout the Cleveland Browns. But first,
31:05
Speaker 1: this is the Steelers Report on SNR, part of the
31:07
Speaker 1: Steelers Audio Network.
31:09
Speaker 3: Wrapping up our first.
31:10
Speaker 1: Hour here on the Steelers Report on Steelers Nation Radio,
31:13
Speaker 1: part of the Steelers Audio Network.
31:15
Speaker 3: I am Ed Troop alongside Double B Brian Bacco.
31:18
Speaker 1: As we continue to get set for this upcoming Sunday
31:21
Speaker 1: matchup between the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers, we
31:23
Speaker 1: are self-scouting the Cleveland Browns.
31:26
Speaker 3: Well, I don't know if we're self-scouting.
31:27
Speaker 1: I guess if we were self-scouting Brian Bacca, we'd be
31:30
Speaker 1: scouting ourselves or scouting the Steelers. We scout the Steelers
31:34
Speaker 1: every single week and every single day. But now we're
31:37
Speaker 1: taking a closer look at their next opponent, the Cleveland Browns,
31:39
Speaker 1: who we're very familiar with.
31:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's just called scouting. You know, when
31:43
Speaker 2: you look at the opponent– That's what we're doing here
31:46
Speaker 2: on this Thursday afternoon ahead of Steelers-Browns. I think the
31:53
Speaker 2: players got their feet back under them on Wednesday. Mike
31:57
Speaker 2: McCarthy talked about not really overdoing it for that first
32:00
Speaker 2: practice of the week because they did have the travel
32:03
Speaker 2: coming back from Paris. He said you actually have to
32:05
Speaker 2: couple that with traveling the week prior to Tampa Bay.
32:08
Speaker 2: I know I'm feeling it, so I can only imagine
32:11
Speaker 2: how the players are feeling. The bye will come at
32:14
Speaker 2: a good time, but you don't want to limp to
32:17
Speaker 2: the bye or back into it or fizzle out. Empty
32:22
Speaker 2: the tank this week, Sunday, against the Browns, and then
32:25
Speaker 2: you'll get a whole nice bye week schedule to kick
32:28
Speaker 2: your feet up and rest and recharge and recover for
32:31
Speaker 2: the second half of the season, starting with another Ohio
32:34
Speaker 2: team in the Cincinnati Bengals. Not to look too far ahead,
32:37
Speaker 2: but we know that the Steelers have them coming up
32:40
Speaker 2: on the schedule after Cleveland. Looks like Lamar Jackson is
32:43
Speaker 2: going to be back for the Ravens this weekend in
32:46
Speaker 2: a huge game against the Buffalo Bills. Seems like there's
32:49
Speaker 2: been a lot of noise and chatter surrounding his status
32:53
Speaker 2: down in Baltimore. I haven't had time to fully delve
32:57
Speaker 2: into what's being said or written about Lamar's status. Just
33:00
Speaker 2: seems like a lot of people thought he was going
33:02
Speaker 2: to play last week, and he didn't. But this is
33:05
Speaker 2: kind of par for the course with him. You're going
33:07
Speaker 2: to miss him for three or four games a season,
33:09
Speaker 2: it seems like. He doesn't really... play through the injuries,
33:13
Speaker 2: at least not in this stage of the year. But
33:15
Speaker 2: if he comes back healthy, then all will be forgiven soon.
33:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt they're a better football team with Lamar Jackson,
33:22
Speaker 1: but that Ravens defense has a lot of issues, including
33:26
Speaker 1: that second half in which they crumbled against the Cincinnati
33:29
Speaker 1: Bengals last week. The Ravens had a 13-0 halftime lead
33:34
Speaker 1: before the Bengals came back in the second half. Joe
33:37
Speaker 1: Burrow and company, as they tend to do sometimes, threw
33:41
Speaker 1: all over that defense there in Baltimore. Again, we're getting
33:46
Speaker 1: set for Brown Steelers. As Brian said, just keep it simple, Edward, right?
33:49
Speaker 1: Just call it scouting, self-scouting, inner-scouting, whatever you want to
33:52
Speaker 1: call it. We're scouting the Cleveland Browns. We took a
33:54
Speaker 1: look at the offense. Let's now take a look at
33:57
Speaker 1: this defense, Brian. And no doubt coming into this season,
34:00
Speaker 1: lots of question marks in and around who the quarterback
34:02
Speaker 1: would be, Shador Sanders, Deshaun Watson. They have a number
34:06
Speaker 1: of them in Cleveland. They figured that out with Deshaun Watson.
34:08
Speaker 1: But one questions, or questions, I should say, many questions,
34:12
Speaker 1: there weren't many questions in and around this defense.
34:14
Speaker 3: We knew this defense was going to be good.
34:16
Speaker 1: Even with Myles Garrett exiting via trade, they felt confident
34:20
Speaker 1: with the young defenders that they have. Again, I thought
34:23
Speaker 1: this was the strength of Cleveland coming into the season,
34:25
Speaker 1: and I feel like it continues to be.
34:29
Speaker 2: I don't know that I knew that this defense was
34:30
Speaker 2: going to be good. I kind of wasn't sure. I
34:32
Speaker 2: wasn't sure. I mean, yes, the personnel– Obviously, Denzel Ward
34:37
Speaker 2: is one of the best corners in the league. Carson Schwessinger,
34:40
Speaker 2: everybody saw what he did as a rookie at that
34:42
Speaker 2: inside linebacker spot. There's a bunch of other familiar faces there.
34:46
Speaker 2: But Jim Schwartz was such a defensive maestro as that D.C.
34:49
Speaker 2: that I wasn't sure how much of that equation you
34:52
Speaker 2: could chalk up to him in the scheme versus how
34:55
Speaker 2: much was the players. Clearly, those guys are still getting
34:58
Speaker 2: it done despite the coaching change.
35:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a good point, Double B. I had forgotten
35:02
Speaker 1: about the Schwartz part of that. He had done such
35:05
Speaker 1: a great job over the years in Cleveland with that defense.
35:08
Speaker 1: But Cleveland at 5-2, we talked about the quarterback being
35:12
Speaker 1: a big part of that, but the defense there as well.
35:14
Speaker 1: A very good defensive front. Isaiah McGuire has three sacks
35:19
Speaker 1: on the season up front. He has 165 pass rushes,
35:22
Speaker 1: and during that time he's gotten to the quarterback 18
35:25
Speaker 1: times for 18 pressures.
35:26
Speaker 3: Malik Collins, very good up front as well.
35:28
Speaker 1: 181 pass rushes for 17 quarterback pressures, three and a
35:33
Speaker 1: half sacks on the year. Jared Verse, the newcomer there,
35:36
Speaker 1: no sacks yet on the season, but he's stopping the run.
35:39
Speaker 3: He's getting to the quarterback.
35:41
Speaker 1: He has 16 pressures to the quarterback so far, but
35:44
Speaker 1: it's really that defensive front. And oh, by the way,
35:46
Speaker 1: I didn't even mention Mason Graham, who had the quick
35:48
Speaker 1: four sacks. To start the season, got banged up in
35:52
Speaker 1: that Steeler game. It looks like they are slowly working
35:54
Speaker 1: him back into the mix.
35:56
Speaker 3: I mentioned Collins, McGuire, Aiden, Huntington.
35:59
Speaker 1: Yesterday, I almost said Hutchison, but you stopped me on
36:02
Speaker 1: the dime there, Double B, as you always do correctly.
36:05
Speaker 3: Huntington, Aiden, Huntington, two and a half sacks.
36:08
Speaker 1: That's 13 sacks for the defensive line between the ends
36:11
Speaker 1: and the defensive tackle so far this season for Cleveland.
36:13
Speaker 3: That's pretty good.
36:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's really kind of wild that so many
36:19
Speaker 2: players on this defense have pitched in getting to the QB,
36:23
Speaker 2: and yet the player they acquired in exchange for Myles Garrett,
36:26
Speaker 2: who's one of the top young pass rushers in football,
36:29
Speaker 2: in reverse, has not gotten there. So it's strange that
36:34
Speaker 2: they've found a way to generate pressure and get pressure
36:39
Speaker 2: this season from the interior a lot. But Jared Verse,
36:43
Speaker 2: who you would think, you know, if you ask somebody
36:45
Speaker 2: going into week one, who's going to end up being
36:48
Speaker 2: the Browns sack leader this year? I think most reasonable
36:51
Speaker 2: people would have guessed Jared Verse. And again, not only
36:56
Speaker 2: is he not leading his team in sacks, doesn't even
36:59
Speaker 2: have one to this point in the year. Right. Might
37:01
Speaker 2: be a situation where he's doing things that don't come
37:05
Speaker 2: into play in the box score, but are taking attention
37:08
Speaker 2: away from others and freeing things up. for the Mason
37:11
Speaker 2: grams and Malik Collins and Isaiah McGuire's of the world.
37:15
Speaker 2: But I think it also is a pretty indicative of
37:19
Speaker 2: a lot of these sacks are, you know, scheme based
37:22
Speaker 2: and they're running games and twists and stunts that are
37:24
Speaker 2: confusing opposing offensive lines. I know we saw that a
37:28
Speaker 2: little bit in week four against the Steelers. So credit
37:32
Speaker 2: to Mike Rudenberg, who replaced Jim Schwartz calling the shots
37:35
Speaker 2: for this defense and, Credit to a bunch of guys
37:39
Speaker 2: who aren't the biggest names in football or even the
37:42
Speaker 2: AFC North or even in Cleveland, and yet they are
37:45
Speaker 2: doing their part too. A lot of times the great defenses,
37:49
Speaker 2: they don't revolve around one guy. They are many hands
37:53
Speaker 2: making light work.
37:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, a lot of times it's the collective of all
37:57
Speaker 1: 11 on the field teaming in at once and contributing
38:00
Speaker 1: to be that great defense, as you said. Some team
38:03
Speaker 1: stats for you from a defensive standpoint, Brian. The pressure
38:07
Speaker 1: rate so far this season, 38.6% for Cleveland as far
38:11
Speaker 1: as getting home to the quarterback.
38:12
Speaker 3: That's 10th best in the NFL. They don't blitz a lot.
38:14
Speaker 1: They've only blitzed 27% for seven games. That's 22nd in
38:18
Speaker 1: the NFL. So they stay home a lot because they
38:20
Speaker 1: play a lot of man. 42% of the time they're
38:23
Speaker 1: in a man defense. That's first in the NFL. Single
38:26
Speaker 1: high as well, 73% of the time there with their safeties.
38:30
Speaker 1: That's first in the NFL. Overall, points per game given
38:33
Speaker 1: up defensively. They are 12th in the league so far
38:36
Speaker 1: this season with 20.9. Yards per game, 318. That's 12th best.
38:42
Speaker 1: 11th best for yards per play with 5. So there,
38:44
Speaker 1: with those stats, they're a top 10 defense you can
38:46
Speaker 1: make the case for. Passing yards per game, 7th, 201.
38:50
Speaker 1: So the secondaries played very well. Sacks, total of 20.
38:54
Speaker 1: I mentioned the 13 by the defensive line alone. So
38:57
Speaker 1: far this year, that is 6th best in the NFL.
39:00
Speaker 1: They've stopped a run. for a 20th best in the
39:02
Speaker 1: NFL yards per game there, 116. So that is one
39:05
Speaker 1: area that Cleveland has struggled a bit with, which is
39:08
Speaker 1: kind of confusing because that defensive line has played so well.
39:11
Speaker 1: I just gave you the stats, but against the run,
39:13
Speaker 1: they ranked 20th in the NFL.
39:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think maybe part of that is that
39:20
Speaker 2: defensive front is just a little bit better in terms
39:23
Speaker 2: of rushing the passer than it is stopping the run.
39:26
Speaker 2: And that could be body type, that could be play style,
39:29
Speaker 2: or all of that rolled in. one you know if
39:31
Speaker 2: you've got some big jokers out there they might not
39:33
Speaker 2: move laterally all that well but they they might occupy
39:38
Speaker 2: four hands at a time and that allows linebackers to
39:41
Speaker 2: flow down and and get to the ball carrier but
39:43
Speaker 2: if you've got some you know relatively smaller quicker guys
39:47
Speaker 2: then yeah they're going to be And they're going to
39:49
Speaker 2: have great get-off off the line and it can be
39:51
Speaker 2: difficult to contain them in terms of when they just
39:53
Speaker 2: pin their ears back. But you might be able to
39:56
Speaker 2: move them around and push them around a little more. Obviously,
39:58
Speaker 2: if you can do both, your Dexter Lawrence or your
40:01
Speaker 2: Cam Hayward or your Vita Vea or any of those
40:04
Speaker 2: top defensive tackles in the NFL. And despite the way
40:07
Speaker 2: that these Browns' interior linemen have started the season, I
40:11
Speaker 2: don't think I'm ready to put Malik Collins into that mix.
40:14
Speaker 2: And Mason Graham, we'll see if he gets there. Eventually,
40:17
Speaker 2: he's off to a nice start. In year two, but
40:21
Speaker 2: I still don't think he's in that upper echelon of
40:23
Speaker 2: talent until you start doing both, being really stout against
40:27
Speaker 2: the run and finding ways to collapse the pocket and
40:30
Speaker 2: wreck plays and wreck games from that spot against the pass.
40:35
Speaker 1: In that secondary, as I said, they've done pretty well
40:37
Speaker 1: there as far as passing yards per game. Seventh best
40:41
Speaker 1: in the NFL with 201. Denzel Ward, a big part
40:43
Speaker 1: of that. We're familiar with Denzel Ward over the last
40:46
Speaker 1: few seasons. And, of course, he had an interception against
40:48
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers last on that Thursday night football game. He
40:52
Speaker 1: recorded his 20th career interception last week, despite playing with
40:56
Speaker 1: a heavily wrapped hand after suffering a dislocated finger that
41:01
Speaker 1: required five stitches in practice last week. He passed Joe
41:04
Speaker 1: Hayden for the most interceptions by a Brown player since
41:07
Speaker 1: the franchise returned to Cleveland in 1999. Former Pittsburgh Steeler
41:12
Speaker 1: Joe Hayden, we should say. One of the Browns' all-time
41:15
Speaker 1: best at defensive back. and now Denzel Ward also in
41:18
Speaker 1: that same category, double B. No doubt Steelers have to
41:21
Speaker 1: watch Denzel Ward. He had that big play on the
41:23
Speaker 1: Thursday night game picking off Aaron Rodgers.
41:26
Speaker 2: For sure, and he's well-versed in this matchup. I know
41:32
Speaker 2: that Todd Munkin has made the point that this negative
41:36
Speaker 2: history for the Browns in Pittsburgh doesn't have anything to
41:39
Speaker 2: do with him or this team, but Denzel Ward has
41:43
Speaker 2: probably been out there for as many of those as
41:45
Speaker 2: any player on this Browns team, I think he's the
41:49
Speaker 2: longest tenured Brown. At least I would guess that off
41:52
Speaker 2: the top of my head. So he, I mean, he's,
41:55
Speaker 2: I think he shrugged off a question about that on
41:57
Speaker 2: Wednesday too. Like, Hey, what, what happened in the past
42:00
Speaker 2: doesn't matter. But you know, he understands the magnitude of
42:04
Speaker 2: Steelers Browns as well as anybody in that locker room.
42:07
Speaker 2: I'm sure the coaches starting with Munkin would say it's
42:10
Speaker 2: kind of incumbent upon him to pass that down. to
42:14
Speaker 2: the current generation, the next generation of Browns. It's, it's,
42:19
Speaker 2: it's great to see. I mean, you know, I'm glad
42:22
Speaker 2: that they've become more competitive. I think this, this series
42:26
Speaker 2: in this game was always kind of a, a whatever,
42:29
Speaker 2: you know, you just almost look past it on the schedule.
42:33
Speaker 2: It's not fun to see the Browns win, but I
42:36
Speaker 2: like it. I at least like when it's a little fiery,
42:38
Speaker 2: a little bit testy. It doesn't make for an easy,
42:42
Speaker 2: an easy out on the schedule anymore, but it still
42:45
Speaker 2: has been in Pittsburgh for the most part.
42:48
Speaker 1: No doubt from a football standpoint, when the Browns are good,
42:52
Speaker 1: it makes it for a better series against the Steelers.
42:54
Speaker 3: It makes it more of an intense rivalry.
42:55
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, let's face it, Brian, in the
42:58
Speaker 1: last 25 years, it's been Ravens-Steelers more than Steelers-Browns. But
43:02
Speaker 1: for some reason, when the Browns put something together and
43:04
Speaker 1: they beat the Steelers and there's a rematch, regardless of
43:07
Speaker 1: what the records are or what's going on, it's a
43:10
Speaker 1: bit more intense.
43:11
Speaker 3: And that's certainly.
43:12
Speaker 1: is the case this upcoming weekend at Akershore Stadium. Just
43:15
Speaker 1: one other stat before we get to break and wrap
43:17
Speaker 1: up our first hour here on The Report, Brian. In
43:20
Speaker 1: the seven games that the Browns have played defensively, they've
43:22
Speaker 1: given up under 20 points in five of those wins
43:25
Speaker 1: or losses. So real quick, I'll give it to you.
43:27
Speaker 1: They gave up 34 against Jacksonville in Week 1. That's
43:30
Speaker 1: a season high for that defense. In wins against Tampa Bay,
43:33
Speaker 1: they gave up 19, 18 against Carolina. Steelers' first time around,
43:37
Speaker 1: they gave up 24. Against the Jets, they gave up
43:40
Speaker 1: 17 in the loss. Against Baltimore, they gave up 10.
43:44
Speaker 1: Last week, gave up 24. So they're averaging in and
43:47
Speaker 1: around 20.9 points per game given up so far this season.
43:50
Speaker 3: As I said, that's 12th best.
43:51
Speaker 1: You and I were talking about points per game offensively
43:54
Speaker 1: or defensively being a big stat for you and I.
43:57
Speaker 1: Steelers offense averaging 21.9 points per game. So pretty even
44:01
Speaker 1: there as far as what Cleveland has given up throughout
44:04
Speaker 1: seven games and what the Steelers have scored so far
44:06
Speaker 1: throughout seven games.
44:08
Speaker 2: The Browns defense really hasn't crumbled in a game since
44:11
Speaker 2: that season opener against Jacksonville. The Steelers, I think you
44:15
Speaker 2: can pretty much say the same for their defense. I mean,
44:17
Speaker 2: nobody really was satisfied, I don't think, with giving up
44:23
Speaker 2: 27 points in back-to-back weeks to the Bengals and the Browns,
44:26
Speaker 2: albeit they won the first of those games and the
44:28
Speaker 2: defense closed it out. But it's not like they've had
44:31
Speaker 2: a terrible defensive performance either. I mean, the first one
44:35
Speaker 2: was against Joe Burrow and the second one, I mean,
44:38
Speaker 2: I think we've been over it enough this week in
44:40
Speaker 2: anticipation of the rematch that, yeah, there were some issues
44:44
Speaker 2: that cropped up against the Browns that we haven't really
44:46
Speaker 2: seen crop up again right now. Maybe that they're a
44:49
Speaker 2: bad matchup for the Steelers in some ways. I don't know.
44:52
Speaker 2: We'll find out on Sunday at one, but yeah, I mean,
44:55
Speaker 2: these are two teams right now that they are built
44:58
Speaker 2: on kind of the, the culture instilled in these rust
45:02
Speaker 2: belt cities, right. Where nothing's going to come easy against
45:06
Speaker 2: these defenses and, I think that it also goes into
45:10
Speaker 2: who you've played. I mean, let's just be honest. The Steelers,
45:13
Speaker 2: three of their wins, they've faced Jalen Daniels, Tyler Shuck,
45:17
Speaker 2: and Daniel Jones. And in this most recent game, I
45:20
Speaker 2: think Tyler Shuck was okay, but you still saw that
45:25
Speaker 2: he's a second-year guy. He's going to make a mistake
45:27
Speaker 2: here and there. And then on the Browns' side of things, Ed,
45:30
Speaker 2: they've faced Chino Smith and the Jets. They've faced Cam
45:33
Speaker 2: Ward and the Titans. They've faced Tyler Huntley. and the Ravens.
45:37
Speaker 2: So that, that's part of this three game win streak
45:40
Speaker 2: for them too. Uh, now it's, it's going to be
45:42
Speaker 2: good to see Aaron Rogers and what he can do
45:45
Speaker 2: against this Browns defense. I think a big part of
45:47
Speaker 2: it too, that maybe flies under the radar a little
45:49
Speaker 2: bit with someone with his level of experience, 42 years old,
45:53
Speaker 2: 22 seasons in the league. I like his chances when
45:56
Speaker 2: he sees a defense for the second time in a season.
45:59
Speaker 2: I think that's also an underrated factor to these divisional games.
46:03
Speaker 3: I agree with you. No doubt about that. And, uh,
46:06
Speaker 3: He's one of the best to do it throughout his
46:07
Speaker 3: NFL career, that's for sure.
46:09
Speaker 1: When Brian and I come back to kick off the
46:11
Speaker 1: 3 o'clock hour, our terrible takes for the week for
46:13
Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers. We'll also check in on some NFL
46:15
Speaker 1: terrible takes coming up here in the 3 o'clock hour
46:18
Speaker 1: as well. This is the Steelers Report with Troop Mbako
46:21
Speaker 1: here on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers Audio Network.