After securing a big win against the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers can’t take too long to celebrate. The Cleveland Browns aren’t nearly as good as the Ravens, but they’re still a divisional opponent. The Steelers do have a slight history of playing down to lesser competition. The phrase “trap game” might be an appropriate term to use this week. Donte Jackson did have some fun with the idea of the Steelers having a letdown this week.
“What’s a trap game?” Jackson said Tuesday via 93.7 The Fan on Twitter. “What’s that mean? I played in Carolina for a long time, I’m not familiar with trap games.”
That’s a funny statement coming from Jackson, who was with the Carolina Panthers from 2018-2023. During that time, the most wins they recorded in a season was seven. Through 11 weeks, the Steelers have already passed that total. Jackson, who was drafted by the Panthers in the second round, has never been part of an NFL team with a winning record.
That means that Jackson has usually been on the wrong of a trap game. His teams have been the trapper, not the trapped. With the Steelers, that’s probably going to be a little different. Fans are likely aware of the Steelers’ history with letdowns against inferior opponents.
Last year provides several great examples. The Steelers were 7-4 and had a prime opportunity to get to 9-4 with back-to-back games against the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals. Those were two of the worst teams in the league at that point. The Steelers proceeded to lose both games, falling to 7-6.
That kind of thing isn’t isolated to just last year either. In 2020, they were 11-0 and lost to the Washington Football Team with their season beginning to crumble. They ultimately lost to the underdog Browns in the first round of the playoffs. The Steelers aren’t strangers to falling into a trap.
Jackson is just making a joke, but the Steelers do need to be wary this week. They’ve covered some decent ground in the division, and a loss to the Browns would set them back. The Steelers haven’t won in Cleveland since 2021, so it’s not like Thursday night at Huntingdon Bank Field is going to be easy. On a short week, there’s no reason to give Jackson first-hand experience on what a trap game is.
