Even without QB Deshaun Watson in the fold, the Pittsburgh Steelers will still have their hands full with the Cleveland Browns offense. They have found a way to continue to have success on the ground even without their All-Pro running back, Nick Chubb, who suffered a serious injury in the first meeting between the two teams.
And the Steelers’ run defense has not been great, ranking 25th in yards allowed and 26th in yards per carry allowed. They do rank just outside the top 10 in points allowed, however, and first in takeaways, which has been the key to their 6-3 record.
Cleveland’s matching 6-3 record, on the other hand, has been built upon a more smothering kind of defense, more consistent and dominant from play to play. Nobody has given up fewer yards and they rank second in points allowed per drive, though they rank outside the top five in turnovers. Different means of ultimately producing similar results for their teams.
“Whoever has the best defense”, Steelers DL Cameron Heyward told Good Morning Football on Thursday, will be set up to win Sunday’s meeting between the two AFC North teams. “They’re number one in defense overall. Our defense is up for the challenge. Our offense is up for the challenge. It should make for a pretty good battle this week”.
Both the Steelers and Browns are winners of four of their last five, now tied squarely for second place in the division behind the 8-3 Baltimore Ravens. Whoever wins Sunday’s matchup will have the best chance to actually challenge the Ravens for the division title.
The Browns have already played Baltimore twice, splitting the season series thanks to an improbable comeback win this past Sunday. The Steelers defeated the Ravens back in Week Four in comeback fashion as well, also benefitting substantially from unforced errors, particularly dropped passes. They do not play again until the season finale.
It will come down to which defense best matches up against the opposing offense. The Steelers will find it exceedingly difficult to move the ball against the Browns, though a banged-up secondary might not hurt their ambitions in that regard.
On the other hand, Cleveland has not been the most efficient offense, ranking 29th in yards per drive, for example, and 20th in average drive time. That is partly because they have turned the football over more than anybody else in the league with 19 giveaways.
If Pittsburgh can continue to take the ball away and Cleveland continues to give it up, that is the clearest path for a Steelers victory. Only the Los Angeles Chargers have turned the ball over fewer times than Pittsburgh, but nobody has taken it away more. So if the game lends itself to Pittsburgh’s style of defense, resting on the critical moments rather than the play-by-play, they should come out on top.
