This week’s talks with the Cleveland Browns have mostly focused on Deshaun Watson’s shoulder injury, which ended his season. On Sunday afternoon,
Cleveland will host Pittsburgh in a game that pits one of the top defenses in football against a failing offense. However, they still have a game to play. 283 total yards are averaged by the Pittsburgh offense per contest. To put things in perspective, the average passing yardage for two NFL quarterbacks—C.J. Stroud and Tua Tagovailoa—is higher than the total passing yardage for the entire Pittsburgh Steelers offense in a single game.
Somehow, despite being outgained in every single game they’ve played in, Pittsburgh has scratched and clawed their way to 6-3 and are in the exact same position as the Browns where a win keeps them right on pace for the top spot in the AFC North.
On offense, it starts with Kenny Pickett who the Browns need to pressure continuously all game long. Pickett enters Sunday ranked as the 25th quarterback in passer rating and 28th in adjusted quarterback rating, below Mac Jones and Daniel Jones.
The running back duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren give the Steelers just over 100 yards per game and they seem to be building some momentum with their run game of late. While Warren has been a great change-up, Harris has been more consistent over the last few weeks. In the last two games, he has 141 yards on 32 attempts, good for about 4.4 yards per carry. His 461 yards ranks Harris 23rd in the league and one yard ahead of Dolphins running back De’Von Achane who has played in five less games due to injury. Their passing attack looks different than it did in Week 2. Diontae Johnson has been welcomed back into the fold and scored his first touchdowns since 2021 two week back, in a 90-yard performance against the Titans. He’s been dealing with a thumb injury this week but was a full participant at practice on Thursday so it’s likely he’ll be suiting up this weekend in Cleveland.
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