The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a good spot in the AFC through the first five weeks of the season. They’re 3-1 and on top of their division. However, things haven’t all been great for them. The Steelers are 0-1 in Pittsburgh, losing to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. This week, they’ll get a chance to earn their first win at their home stadium against the Cleveland Browns, and Mike Florio would be surprised if they failed.
“They’re 0-1 so far this year in their home stadium because their other home game was in Ireland,” Florio said Thursday on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast. “The idea of the Steelers falling to 0-2 at Acrisure and losing to the Browns, it’s unthinkable to me. I got 24-14 Steelers. I just think it’s a tough spot for a kid in his second NFL start to go into Pittsburgh against Aaron Rodgers.”
The last time the Steelers started out 0-2 at Acrisure Stadium was 2022. Their first loss came against the New England Patriots in Week 2, and they followed that up by losing to the New York Jets in Week 4.
A lot has changed since then. Mitch Trubisky began that season as the Steelers’ starting quarterback. It was their first year since 2003 without Ben Roethlisberger on the team.
Now, Aaron Rodgers is starting under center for the Steelers. Also, they look like they’ve improved compared to how they looked in Week 2. Their offense and defense both looked like they needed a lot of work. Since then, things haven’t been perfect, but the Steelers have gotten better on both sides of the ball.
In Week 4, their offense had its most balanced day yet. The Steelers rushed for over 100 yards as a team, and Rodgers did a good job distributing the ball to his skill players. The Browns’ defense is good, though, so the Steelers’ offense might have less success this week.
However, the Steelers’ defense might be able to pick up the slack for their offense. Like Florio says, the Browns are starting a rookie quarterback. Dillon Grabriel only has one NFL start under his belt, and the Steelers have a talented defense. That unit hasn’t played up to its potential yet, but it’s been better recently. Perhaps it will continue improving against the Browns.
Despite this being a divisional matchup, it would be disappointing if the Steelers dropped another home game. The Browns are 1-4 and arguably the worst team in the AFC North. With this being the Steelers’ first divisional game of the year, and with them coming off their bye week, they should beat the Browns. The NFL is unpredictable, though. There’s no guarantee that the Steelers will win.
