It does not matter what the stakes are. When the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers square off, they straight up punish each other. These two teams take this rivalry personally. The bad blood between these two ancient enemies has been stewing and brewing ever since their first meeting in 1950, and will likely keep going for as long as the NFL is around. The Steelers hold an overall advantage of 79-62-1 in the series.
Sure, this isn't a high stakes, winner take all game that decides the Division. After all, the Steelers are 3rd in the AFC North. And as has been the case more often than not, the Browns currently find themselves in the basement. But there is still something at stake for both Cleveland and Pittsburgh today. There's enough on the line to still make this one interesting.
For the Steelers, a win over the Browns would give them a winning season at 9-8, and may get them into the Playoffs if things fall their way with other games around the league. They're currently 9th in the AFC. But playing postseason football next week certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility for them.
For the Browns, they have no shot at the Playoffs. But they do still have a few things to play for. Beating Pittsburgh today would mean that they'd hand Mike Tomlin his first losing season ever as head coach of the Steelers. A win would also give the Browns their first sweep over Pittsburgh in a VERY long time. Cleveland hasn't swept Pittsburgh since 1988, when Marty Schottenheimer was the head coach of the Browns. Plus beating their most hated rival would simply be a great way to end the season, and head into the offseason on a positive note with an eye toward hopefully better things in 2023.
So how do the Browns get the job done here, play spoiler, and make sure the Steelers don't make the Playoffs? Let's take a look at the Keys to Victory!
Slow down TJ Watt
Normally as my first Key to Victory, I would say running the football would be the biggest priority against most teams. That's the Browns' biggest strength, and usually their biggest factor in succeeding when they do win games. But when TJ Watt is healthy and wreaking havoc, the Steelers aren't "most teams." Just as Myles Garrett does for Cleveland when he's at his best, Watt raises the play of the defense several notches, and he becomes an absolute nightmare to opposing offensive lines. He's had 3.5 sacks in the last four games. The Browns will need to slow him down as best as they can. If they don't? These next Keys to Victory won't even matter. It's impossible to run or throw the football when a monster like Watt is in the backfield all day long terrorizing your offense.
Run the football
Despite the Browns' struggles this season, Nick Chubb has had an absolutely fantastic year! He's got 1,448 yards along with 12 touchdowns. But something even bigger could be around the corner for him if he has a monster day today: His first career rushing title. I'm sure if you mentioned that to him, he'd shrug that off and say he just wanted to win as many games as possible. He's so humble. That's just him, and his personality is fantastic. But he's been an All-Pro running back four times, and has yet to lead the league in rushing yards for a season. Most of that's been due to stupidity on the part of head coaches not using him correctly, from Hue Jackson to Freddie Kitchens, and now somewhat with Kevin Stefanski.
But if Nick Chubb runs for 162 yards or more, he'll steal the rushing title from Raiders running back Josh Jacobs. Is it likely? No. I've seen him have some monster games, so the possibility is there, but I don't know if he'll get that many yards. Especially not against a defense that's part of a team who's fighting for their Playoff lives. But he can still do some serious damage if he gets rolling. If he runs for at least 100 yards, wears down the Pittsburgh defense, and sets the tone by being physical with the Steelers, that's a great sign! And it will also make it easier for the Browns to achieve the next Key to Victory, which is...
Deshaun Watson: Deja Vu Performance
If the Browns running game is fired up and rolling, that will make it possible for Deshaun Watson to not only have a chance at repeating how he performed last week at Washington, but perhaps even surpass that with a better game today. He didn't have eye-popping numbers last week. He only threw for 169 yards. But he was extremely efficient when he did throw the ball. He made every throw count. He threw three touchdowns, and had a dazzling rating of 122.5. Plus he flashed glimpses of why the Browns traded for him with a few long passes. Most notably a pair of touchdowns to Amari Cooper. What better way to cap off this season than to torch Pittsburgh and go into 2023 with some serious momentum?
Rattle the Rookie: Get after Pickett!
Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett has to be gaining confidence. Especially after he's thrown the game-winning touchdown pass in back-to-back games. He may be a talented quarterback coming out of Pitt, but if I'm the Browns defensive coordinator? I'm dialing up all sorts of looks to wreck his confidence along with trying to confuse, rattle and scare him. If he beats us? So be it. But I hope the defense makes him earn it. Myles Garrett will need to lead the way and show up big for the Browns to succeed in this area of the game. He has 15 sacks on the season, and will probably need at least one or two more to give this pass rush a chance to really cause Pittsburgh some fits!
Other guys on the defensive line will really have to step up too, since Jadeveon Clowney has been ruled out, even though he's completely healthy. I'm very disappointed in his attitude and angry that he's throwing a fit. I understand he's frustrated he's not getting as much playing time as he wanted, but he really hasn't performed well enough this season to warrant extra playing time. He's also seemingly taken several plays off as well.
The last straw, and what has likely sealed his time here in Cleveland, was ripping the coaching staff for giving Myles Garrett more playing time than him, and for refusing to go in on plays when the coaching staff wanted to sub him in. He's extremely talented, even at 29 years old, which is middle aged for an NFL player. But no team has time for guys who act like this unless they're All-Pros and worth the baggage. Jadeveon Clowney is done in Cleveland, and that means the defensive line has to have a next man up mentality today if they want to win this game.
Browns vs. Steelers is one of the NFL's oldest and most storied rivalries. And no matter what's at stake, when you have two teams who give each other their best shot, and punish each other on every play, you're bound to have an entertaining ballgame. It all goes down this afternoon at 1 on CBS. GO BROWNS!
Sources: ESPN, nfl.com
Picture Credit: nitrobetting.eu
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