The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped a game against the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 21 that they should have won. While they trailed by 12 points in the fourth quarter, they did come back only to squander the opportunity. Now a short time later, they get another crack at their division rival—but not with revenge on their minds.
“The whole week it hasn’t necessarily been about the get-back, but get right week”, Alex Highsmith said, via the Steelers’ website. “There’s a lot of things that we look at on our film in the last game that we could have done better. We’ve just got to go out there and play Pittsburgh Steelers football. Play hard, play fast, play physical”.
Highsmith did not play in that game due to injury, but he is slated to return this week. They hope adding the potency of his pass rush will keep QB Jameis Winston scrambling and accelerating his reads. In the last game, they allowed him too much time and the opportunity to make the necessary plays. The offensive side of the ball shared the same sentiment, though.
“I don’t know so much about revenge”, Steelers WR Van Jefferson said of facing the Browns again. “I think it’s just coming out and playing our style of play and playing our ball. Obviously, we would like to have that win back, but that’s gone and you’re moving to the next week. All we can do is just go out this week and put our best foot forward and execute the game plan”.
Indeed, if the Steelers preoccupy themselves too much with the “get-back” against the Browns, it will only make it that much harder to get right. One might think they already “got right” with their 44-point showing last Sunday. But the Browns have a better defense than the Bengals do.
One thing the Steelers can hopefully take from the last game is their plan to neutralize an elite pass rusher. After struggling against Myles Garrett, they shut down Trey Hendrickson. If they can neutralize Garrett to remotely the same degree, the offense stands a much better chance.
Even though the Browns are actually the “softest” game left on the Steelers’ schedule, it’s also one of the biggest. Barring the game against the Ravens, this is the one they arguably most want and need to win. Collecting a crucial divisional win puts them on the precipice of claiming a division title and a home playoff game.
The Browns only have distant memories of what a home playoff game is. The last time they had one was in 1994, and the next week, they lost to…the Steelers. In Pittsburgh. Sucks to suck.
