The Steelers didn’t just beat the Browns on Sunday. They flattened them.
After dropping the first meeting 27-24 on a last-second field goal in Week 4, Pittsburgh got the rematch it wanted in Week 8 and made it count in a big way, rolling to a 27-6 win that carried major playoff and AFC North weight. Both teams came in at 5-2, and the winner would leave alone in first place. By the end, there was no mystery about who owned the day.
Pittsburgh controlled the game with a rushing attack that kept Cleveland on its heels from the start. The Browns never really looked like they were in it, even with a few sloppy moments from the Steelers along the way. This was the most complete performance Pittsburgh has put together so far this season.
Jaylen Warren was the engine. On his 28th birthday, he ran 17 times for 143 yards and kept bailing the Steelers out of tough spots with explosive runs.
He didn’t need his usual heavy workload as a receiver to take over this one. Rico Dowdle chipped in with a few solid carries too, but this backfield still belongs to Warren.
The passing game, meanwhile, had one glaring problem. DK Metcalf was targeted a team-high six times and came away with just one catch for four yards.
His most memorable moment was a missed connection that turned into a Browns takeaway: Aaron Rodgers found him wide open down the field, but Metcalf couldn’t haul it in, and Denzel Ward closed in to intercept the drop. At this point, there’s no way around how rough this has been.
Metcalf has become one of the worst starting wide receivers in the NFL, and the Steelers need to move on from him as soon as they can.
The defense did its part too, especially against the run. Cleveland managed only 34 rushing yards, and over the last four games opponents have totaled just 220 on the ground against Pittsburgh, with all four of those games ending in Steelers wins. That kind of run-stopping has opened the door for the pass rush to go hunting.
And hunt it did. The Steelers sacked DeShaun Watson eight times, pushing their total to 16 over the current four-game winning streak, the most in the league over that stretch as of writing.
With the Browns forced into a one-dimensional approach, Pittsburgh’s front got to tee off. If that continues, the Steelers’ defense may be able to survive some of its coverage issues.
Rodgers had a mixed day overall. He finished 13 of 25 for 172 yards, and while the lone turnover came on Metcalf’s drop, the quarterback still didn’t look sharp for much of the afternoon. Pittsburgh only really threatened vertically on a few schemed-up throws to Darnell Washington and a couple of open shots down the middle.
The biggest frustration came in the red zone. Twice in the first half, the Steelers had first-and-goal inside the 10 and settled for field goals instead of touchdowns.
On those drives, the play calls leaned heavily toward the pass: five throws and only one run. Whether the blame falls on Rodgers or head coach Mike McCarthy, that tendency has to change quickly.
In Other News...
Steelers Just Showed How Much Trust Rodgers Really Has
The Steelers offense has been built around giving Aaron Rodgers room to operate, but the latest example came in a spot where most teams would be content to take the safe points and head to the locker room. Against Cleveland, Pittsburgh lined up with no timeouts and only a few seconds left before halftime, then leaned on the quarterbacks experience to sort through a prepared option rather than forcing a rigid call from the sideline.
Mike McCarthy confirmed Rodgers was the one who made the decision, which says plenty about how much freedom the Steelers are willing to hand him in high-pressure moments. It also underscored the kind of trust that can shape an offense late in halves and in tight games, when the margin between caution and aggression often comes down to whether the quarterback can be trusted to choose the right answer on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Win Couldnt Hide One Receiver Problem Anymore
The Steelers kept rolling in Week 8 with a win over the Browns, stretching their streak to four straight and giving the offense another chance to build on some real momentum. Even so, the passing game still had a familiar rough edge, with the receiver group once again leaving plays on the field at a time when Pittsburgh could use cleaner execution to support its winning run.
Drops have become hard to ignore, and the frustration is only growing as the Steelers try to sort out how much help this offense still needs at wideout. With the trade market already buzzing around possible targets, the conversation is shifting from whether Pittsburgh can win games to whether it can keep doing so without adding more reliable playmakers for its quarterback. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Blowout Still Exposed A Goal-Line Problem Fans Know Too Well
The Steelers had plenty to like in their 27-6 win over Cleveland, especially the way they controlled the game on the ground and piled up 200 rushing yards. Jaylen Warren led the charge with 143 yards on 17 carries, giving Pittsburgh a physical edge that helped offset an uneven day for Aaron Rodgers, who finished 13 of 25 for 172 yards with one interception.
Still, the victory did not fully erase a familiar frustration near the goal line. Mike McCarthy was openly bothered by a red-zone sequence deep in Browns territory that ended without a touchdown, a reminder that even in a blowout, Pittsburghs offense can still leave points on the field in the spots that matter most. [Read more 🡒]