First place in the AFC North is back on the line when the Browns head to Pittsburgh, and this one carries the same kind of weight as their October 1 meeting on Thursday Night Football. That game was played with the division lead hanging in the balance, and the rematch arrives with both teams sitting at 5-2.
The Steelers have not lost since that Week 4 matchup in Cleveland, while the Browns have only fallen in the rain in New York. Cleveland still owns the tiebreaker for now, but it will need to hold up in Pittsburgh to keep its grip on the top spot.
The ground game is where this matchup starts. Jaylen Warren has already shown he can tilt a game, rushing for more than 100 yards three times this season and picking up 93 in the first meeting with Cleveland.
He is averaging 5.5 yards per carry, and he can break one whenever he finds space. Rico Dowdle was not available in the first game, but he is back now and gives the Steelers another way to keep Warren fresh.
That matters because Pittsburgh got away from leaning on Warren in the first meeting, and Dowdle makes that offense harder to predict.
For Cleveland, the answer has to begin up front. The Browns defense has had trouble giving up chunk runs, and slowing Warren early would force Aaron Rodgers into more throws and more hits.
That is exactly where the Browns want this game to go. If the defensive line can close lanes and stop Warren before he gets rolling, it changes the whole feel of the night.
The Browns also need their own rushing attack to show the same kind of life it showed last Sunday. The lanes were there, Judkins ran with speed and power, Dylan Sampson brought some burst on the outside after returning from rust, and KC Concepcion even chipped in on designed runs.
That kind of balance matters because it keeps Deshaun Watson out of obvious passing downs and prevents the Steelers pass rush from turning the home crowd into fuel for chaos. Todd Monken has to keep building on what finally worked.
Turnovers could swing this one just like they did in the first meeting. That game started slowly before Ward intercepted Rodgers and Cleveland’s offense found its rhythm.
Something similar happened last week against the Tennessee Titans, when the team fed off the defensive leader’s turnover. Rodgers has also been aggressive all season, throwing the ball more than 30 times in every game, and he has targets who have been dangerous all year, including a big-bodied tight end who creates a matchup problem.
The Browns’ secondary will need clean communication and sharp assignment discipline to avoid the kind of breakdown that can flip a game in one snap.
There is also the matter of the Steelers’ pass rush, which has been a problem for Cleveland quarterbacks in recent years. The last time Watson played in Pittsburgh, he threw a pick six to the defensive end, and that sequence set the tone for the game.
Spencer Fano has been a rookie bright spot, and he will have to keep that going against TJ Watt if Watson is going to stay upright. The Browns got the ball out quicker against Tennessee and scored 27 points, but Watson still has a tendency to hold it too long, and Pittsburgh will be eager to hit him hard.
Monken and Watson need to take that rush out of the game and stay ahead of the sticks.
Monken knows exactly what this matchup means, even if he is refusing to turn it into something bigger than a football game. The Browns have not won a regular-season game in Pittsburgh in 23 years, but this roster is loaded with rookies and second-year players, and Monken is not interested in letting old history dictate how they play.
“Well, it has nothing to do with our team. I mean, this year, whether it’s where we’re at record-wise, comparing the past or the history against the Steelers, it’s a divisional game," said Monken about playing in Pittsburgh.
"It’s bigger because it’s obviously a divisional opponent. The fastest way to get in the playoffs is [to] win your division.”
That approach fits a young team that does not need the burden of the past. The Browns are 2-2 on the road and 3-0 at home, and they have a chance to sit alone in first place after Week 8 for the first time since 2014. If they want the AFC North to run through Cleveland, they have to handle these matchups in Pittsburgh and come out with control of the division.
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Browns Face One Huge Steelers Week Concern On Defense
The Browns opened Steelers week with one notable defensive concern after defensive end Jared Verse was listed as a nonparticipant in practice because of the knee injury he picked up in the previous game. Cleveland still has a few moving parts to sort through on the injury report, with right tackle Tytus Howard and center Elgton Jenkins also sitting out while some players who had been dealing with injuries were back on the field.
Head coach Todd Monken sounded optimistic that Verse will be available for the matchup in Pittsburgh, which at least gives Cleveland some hope this is more of a short-term issue than a week-long setback. Even so, it is the kind of update the Browns will be watching closely, because Verses presence has a real impact on a defense that will need as many healthy bodies as possible for a divisional road game. [Read more 🡒]