The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into their biggest regular-season test yet, and the assignment is as clear as it is brutal: find a way to deal with Denzel Ward.
Pittsburgh and Cleveland both sit at 5-2 entering Week 8, which gives this matchup the feel of a true divider in the AFC North race and beyond. The Steelers are riding a three-game winning streak, but none of that matters much if their passing game can’t survive Ward’s side of the field.
Right now, Ward is making a case as the league’s toughest corner. Through seven games, the five-time Pro Bowler has two interceptions and six passes defended, but the real damage shows up in how little opposing quarterbacks are willing to challenge him. He has been targeted 39 times and allowed only 16 completions, a 41% completion rate, while giving up an average of 9.6 yards per reception, according to Pro-Football-Reference.
For the Steelers, the answer starts with DK Metcalf. Their earlier meeting with Cleveland offered a blueprint, and it came from getting the ball to Metcalf fast and in space. In Week 4, Pittsburgh opened with a go-ball to Metcalf that fell incomplete because of Ward’s coverage on the sideline, but later in the drive the Steelers went to two quick screens that helped Metcalf collect 22 yards on his first two catches.
He went quiet again after that until the fourth quarter, when Rodgers hit him for a 43-yard bomb early in the period. That play worked because of the bunch formation to one side, which moved Metcalf away from Ward and Tyson Campbell and created a one-on-one slot matchup against the Browns’ nickel corner, a spot Metcalf won easily.
That sort of manipulation is going to matter again on Sunday. This is really a chess match between McCarthy and Cleveland’s defense, and the Steelers need to keep finding ways to keep Metcalf from spending too much time locked onto Ward.
There is at least one more clue on how to attack this defense. The New York Jets managed solid production against Ward and the Browns in Week 5, with Geno Smith and Garrett Wilson combining for 104 yards by leaning on simple ideas that still worked. If Pittsburgh can’t dodge Ward altogether, it needs to lean into concepts that give its top receiver a real chance to separate.
That fits with what Cleveland likes to do. The Browns use man coverage more than any team in the league, lining up in it 42.4% of the time this season, according to Sharp Football Analysis. With Ward playing at this level, that approach makes sense for them.
The Jets’ answer was mesh concepts, with crossing routes over the middle, along with pick plays and rub routes that helped Wilson find just enough space. That’s the kind of approach the Steelers should borrow here, especially with Metcalf’s speed and the offense’s ongoing struggles to create separation.
If Pittsburgh can win the passing game, it can win this one. If not, Ward is fully capable of taking over the matchup himself.
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