The Cleveland Browns lost their starting quarterback, Deshaun Watson, for the season. They announced it early Wednesday morning and proceeded to name Dorian Thompson-Robinson the starter. This came as a bit of a surprise as they have P.J. Walker, who has started nine total games in the NFL and two for Cleveland, on the roster. Thompson-Robinson is a rookie, and his only start came in a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week Four.
Cameron Heyward joined Good Morning Football on Thursday morning and was asked how the Steelers plan to exploit playing against an inexperienced quarterback.
“We try to put it all on his shoulders,” Heyward said. “By doing that you gotta stop the run. I know they don’t have Nick Chubb, but they have that big offensive line that does an amazing job for them.”
Pittsburgh’s defense is a prideful unit, one that will no doubt be looking to force errors by the young, unproven passer, but the Steelers will need to stay disciplined against the run. The Browns will be running the football a lot, including some possible designed quarterback runs. Thompson-Robinson ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash at the Combine and has a good athletic profile overall. He had four carries for 24 yards against the Ravens in Week Four.
Beyond that, the Steelers’ defense struggled against the Browns in Week Two, even after Chubb’s season-ending injury. Jerome Ford went on to carry the ball 16 times for 106 yards, good for a 6.6 average per carry. If the Browns can be that efficient running the ball again it will go a long way toward limiting Thompson-Robinson’s exposure to mistakes.
“So we gotta make sure we make him feel uncomfortable, make sure he has to pass the ball,” Heyward said. “He can’t just rely on that run game. And then getting sacks, turnovers — that’s a storied remedy for a long day for a quarterback.”
The Browns are dealing with more injuries than just to Watson, too. There were 18 players listed on their initial injury report coming out of practice Wednesday afternoon, and 11 of those players failed to practice in any capacity. The list includes RT Dawand Jones and RG Wyatt Teller, on top of already missing Jack Conklin to season-ending injured reserve and Jedrick Wills Jr. on a shorter-term trip to IR. They do have Michael Dunn practicing fully with his 21-day window opened up to return from IR, so he could be returning and possibly starting if Teller can’t go.
There won’t be an excuse for the Steelers’ defense if they aren’t able to take care of business on Sunday. Still, AFC North football can be unpredictable, and the Browns’ defense will have something to say in return. The Steelers enter this game 24-5 against rookie quarterbacks under Mike Tomlin as the head coach.
