The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line had a tough time with the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, allowing five sacks while failing to control the line of scrimmage as San Francisco dominated in the trenches. However, the coaching staff has said since the game that the offensive line played valiantly, those players holding their own well until the game was out of reach as they did a great job minimizing DE Nick Bosa and his impact on the contest.
While the stats and the coachspeak doesn’t exactly line up, Pittsburgh has no time to linger in the past as it prepares for a vaunted Cleveland Browns defensive front that is stacked with talent on the edge as well as on the interior. The two notable names on the edge for Cleveland are DEs Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith, both former Pro Bowlers with multi double-digit sack seasons on their respective resumes. Jake Trotter of ESPN recently made a bold prediction for the site, stating that he believes Garrett and Smith lead the Browns to rarified air for them Monday night.
“The Browns’ dynamic pass-rushing duo of Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith will sack Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett five times,” Trotter wrote. “With defense leading the way again, Cleveland will win its first regular-season game in Pittsburgh in 20 years and start 2-0.”
Cleveland won convincingly over the Cincinnati Bengals at home last week, beating the Bengals 24-3. The defense looked impressive, pressuring QB Joe Burrow all game long, resulting in him throwing for a pedestrian 82 yards. Garrett racked up a sack and four pressures in the game while Smith made an impact himself, getting several pressures and a couple hits on Burrow to force errant passes.
The Steelers may go into the game without their starting right tackle with Chukwuma Okorafor currently in concussion protocol. The team is currently having rookie OT Broderick Jones practice on the right side while keeping Moore on the left. Five sacks between Garrett and Smith seems high, even in a worst-case scenario for Pittsburgh. But Moore is coming off a tough game where he graded out as the worst OT in the league in Week One while Jones could be looking at his first NFL start after a rocky preseason performance.
This week of preparation will be vital for Pittsburgh to perform at a high level against a dangerous Cleveland pass rush. The Steelers will likely need to provide some help for both Moore and Jones via double teams as well as chips by the tight end or running back to aid them as they prepare to take on one of the better pass-rush tandems in the league.
