Steelers-Browns Preview: Will Pittsburgh Bounce Back?

Alright, Yinz, time to snap out of it! Here we go once again. I understand that Sunday’s Steelers-49ers contest did not go as well as we all would have hoped, and was honestly worse than anyone could have imagined, but we have a long season ahead. This time, the black and gold will have a second chance to get a win in front of the home crowd under the lights. They will aim to do this against a Browns team that is 1-16 in Pittsburgh since Mike Tomlin became the coach. It’s AFC North football baby!

However, we need to digest that the Browns are no longer the old Browns. The new era Browns are good at football, and Sunday they were able to dominate the Bengals in shocking fashion. While Deshaun Watson wasn’t the same Deshaun Watson that we saw in Houston, he performed much better than the player we saw last year, and definitely looked like the best quarterback in the AFC North week 1. He creates a lot of opportunities with his legs which is going to put a lot of pressure on the Steelers’ defense to keep him contained in the pocket.

The player to watch in this week’s game is Cleveland running back Nick Chubb. Dude is an absolute dog and ran all over the cats from Cincinnati last weekend. With defensive powerhouse and leader Cam Heyward being sidelined for the next few weeks with a groin injury, I would expect to see Keeanu Benton, Isiah Loudermilk and DeMarvin Leal cycling in and out quite a bit. This defensive line is young and Nick Chubb is going to be a tough task for the trenches. 

A big loss heading into week 2 for the Browns is all-pro right tackle Jack Conklin, who has been placed on the IR following his torn ACL diagnosis. Coming into Pittsburgh and playing against Alex Highsmith and DPOY TJ Watt, who tallied 3 sacks in week 1, is not going to be made easy. Their rookie tackle, Dawand Jones, will have his work cut out for him in his first career start. 

As for the Steelers quarterback… well… Kenny Pickett was just downright bad in week one. There is no way to sugar coat it. Some of yinz are blaming Matt Canada, maybe rightfully so. Kenny was still missing the easy throws and his decision making was just nothing close to what it was in the preseason. I expect there to be a major bounce back and we can just put week 1 behind us. There are clearly a lot of things that need to be cleaned up before they have to go against Myles Garrett and a Browns defense that was ranked 5th against the pass in 2022. The news that Dionte Johnson will be out for the next few weeks is going to let guys like Allen Robinson and Calvin Austin see more time on the field, so keep an eye out for them. 

As for my prediction - I believe in this team. We all saw the potential in the preseason. I expect that team to make a comeback in week 2 against a divisional opponent. The 49ers were not the team that yinz should be basing their view of the Steelers on as they were the best defense in football last year. Mike Tomlin knows a thing or two about bouncing back, posting a 10-2 record with the Steelers following a loss of 20 or more points. Coach T and this squad know the Browns all too well (25-6-1 vs the Browns since taking over as head coach). I predict the Steelers will bounce back and beat the Browns in front of the yinzers with a score of 24-17. 



Tweet me or @yinzercrazyshow and let us know your predictions!