The Steelers are heading into Thursday night with a 2-1 mark and a share of the AFC North lead, but Cleveland has a way of turning this matchup into a mess for Pittsburgh. On paper, the Steelers look like the better side. On the grass at Huntington Bank Field, though, the Browns have been a different kind of problem.
One of the biggest reasons this could go sideways for Pittsburgh is the Browns’ pass rush. The Steelers’ offensive line looked dramatically better against the Bengals after a rough opening two weeks, and the move to start Brock Hoffman and Max Iheanachor paid off in a big way.
Hoffman allowed zero pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, while Iheanachor gave up two. That reshuffle helped Pittsburgh pile up 411 yards.
Still, Cleveland has enough juice up front to make life uncomfortable. The Browns lost Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams in the offseason, but they’ve still managed seven sacks through three games and a 45.7 percent pressure rate, which ranks fourth in the NFL, per SumerSports.
Jared Verse, who came over to Cleveland in the Garrett deal, had six pressures in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers after a quiet start to his Browns run. Mason Graham, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, already has four sacks, including two against Carolina.
Add in Isaiah McGuire, Maliek Collins and Derek Barnett, and there’s enough there to test a Steelers front that just found its footing.
The other issue is whether Pittsburgh’s defense can clean up what showed up against Cincinnati. The Steelers were a turnover machine and a sack factory over the first two weeks, forcing four giveaways against the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots while collecting seven sacks.
Against the Bengals, that edge disappeared. Pittsburgh still won 30-27, but it allowed 352 total yards and 282 through the air.
Derrick Harmon saved the day with a strip sack of Joe Burrow in the final minute, but that was the Steelers’ lone sack and turnover of the afternoon.
That matters because Cleveland’s passing game has found some rhythm. Deshaun Watson has thrown for 382 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions during the Browns’ two-game winning streak.
Pittsburgh’s secondary, meanwhile, is not exactly full strength. Jalen Ramsey is dealing with a wrist injury, Brandin Echols is in concussion protocol, and there’s no guarantee Joey Porter Jr. makes his season debut.
DeShon Elliott is still on the reserve/injured list, too. Put it together, and the Steelers’ back end is far from settled right now.
That opens the door for Watson, Denzel Boston, Harold Fannin Jr. and KC Concepcion to make plays.
Then there’s the setting itself, which has been brutal for Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ last trip to Cleveland ended in a 13-6 loss in Week 17 last season, a game they needed to win to clinch the AFC North.
They eventually got the division by beating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18, but that defeat in Cleveland nearly changed everything. Bigger picture, Pittsburgh has lost four straight and six of its last seven at Huntington Bank Field.
As Tony Grossi of ESPN 850 Cleveland noted, the Browns are 11-1 overall and 4-0 against Pittsburgh in Thursday night home games.
Both teams have new coaching staffs, which gives the Steelers a fresh chance to reset the script. But the history in Cleveland is ugly, the Browns have some momentum, and Thursday night in that building has not been kind to Pittsburgh. If the Steelers don’t handle the line of scrimmage and don’t clean up the secondary, this is exactly the kind of game that can slip away.
In Other News...
Steelers Finally Moved On From Joey Porter Jr For A Reason
Joey Porter Jr. is officially on the move, and the Steelers turned the page by dealing the cornerback to the Cowboys for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder. For Pittsburgh, it was a striking end to a run that never really got back on track once Porter was sidelined in 2026, when a back injury and conditioning issues kept him out of game action all season.
Dallas is taking a measured approach with the former Steeler, and there is no immediate plan to extend his contract before seeing how he performs in a new setting. For Pittsburgh, the trade brings back future draft capital and closes the book on a player whose recent absence had become as much a part of the story as his talent. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Coach Just Added Fuel To Steelers' Latest AFC North Grudge Match
Todd Monken has been around the AFC North long enough to know how quickly a passing comment can sharpen a rivalry, and his latest one did exactly that. The Browns head coach, who has seen the Steelers from both Cleveland and Baltimore, took a shot at Pittsburghs veteran defensive core by suggesting it might be time for players like T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward to retire, a remark that lands with extra weight given how many bruising games those names have already created in this division.
For the Steelers, it is the kind of chatter that usually gets remembered long after the pregame noise fades. Watt and Heyward have been central figures in Pittsburghs identity for years, and Monkens familiarity with them only adds another layer to what is already set up as another hard-edged meeting between the Browns and Steelers, with the usual AFC North tension waiting for the first hit to bring it to the surface. [Read more 🡒]
LeVeon Bell Just Turned A Steelers Move Into A Bigger Debate
The Steelers decision to move on from Joey Porter Jr. has already sparked plenty of discussion, but the conversation widened quickly once LeVeon Bell weighed in on social media. Pittsburgh sent the cornerback to Dallas for future draft picks after a contract dispute and a back injury kept him from playing this season, a transaction that would have been debated on its own even before Bell added his criticism.
Bells comments pushed the story beyond football and into a much more familiar kind of scrutiny around the franchise. He alleged unequal treatment of black and white players, a charge that lands differently in light of the Steelers recent extensions for Cam Heyward, Jalen Ramsey and DK Metcalf, and it leaves the team facing a broader question about how this latest move is being interpreted around the league. [Read more 🡒]