The Pittsburgh Steelers do not have a whole lot of time to stew in their own misery in the aftermath of the 30-7 season-opening loss against the San Francisco 49ers. Up next is a Monday Night Football matchup against hated rivals, the Cleveland Browns.
While fans may look forward to that matchup, and historically with good reason, the two teams had very different results in Week One. Cleveland hosted last year’s AFC champions, the Cincinnati Bengals, and shut down QB Joe Burrow and company en route to a 24-3 win. So it was no surprise that two-time Super Bowl champion and former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger discussed the upcoming matchup on Monday’s episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger.
“I think they’re gonna want to come in and whoop on us because they’ve been getting whooped on for so long,” Roethlisberger said. “I think their offense, they can run the ball… and I think their defense is crazy good. It’s not going to be easy, and we’ve got some injuries to deal with now. It’s not getting easier this week.”
Roethlisberger is no stranger to, quote-unquote, whooping on the Browns. He finished his career with a 26-2-1 record against Cleveland in the regular season (though he did lose the lone postseason matchup in 2020, 48-37.) So he knows a thing or two about this matchup.
However, the two teams look completely different after Week One. The Steelers struggled on both sides of the ball (except for LB T.J. Watt who tied the the franchise record for career sacks.) QB Kenny Pickett did throw for one touchdown but also threw two interceptions and was sacked five times. Pittsburgh also only ran the ball 10 times, averaging 4.1 yards per carry but barely committed to a balanced attack.
The Browns may have only had two sacks, but they constantly harassed Burrow, hitting him another 10 times in the game. The run game, as Roethlisberger noted, was stellar as well. RB Nick Chubb had 18 carries for 106 yards, 5.9 yards per rush. His performance led the way for a group effort, including QB Deshaun Watson, that finished with 40 carries for 206 yards and a touchdown.
That matchup, Pittsburgh’s run defense vs. the Browns’ rushing attack, will be pivotal. Pittsburgh allowed 188 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries, an average of 5.5 yards per carry. Then you factor in the injuries to the Steelers, headlined by DL Cameron Heyward’s multi-week injury, and the run defense looks shaky at best.
There’s no question that Cleveland will be coming into Acrisure Stadium on Monday night looking to “whoop on” the Steelers. It will be all hands on deck on both sides of the ball to stave that off if Week One’s performances for both teams are any indicator.
