PITTSBURGH – The Steelers never had a losing season under former coach Mike Tomlin. In recent seasons, they often lacked clear strengths, too.
As they hit their bye week in their first season without him in nearly two decades, that’s no longer the case.
Successor Mike McCarthy’s team showed it can both run the football with increasing ease and make opposing offenses one-dimensional by taking the run away in a 27-6 NFL Week 8 win against the Cleveland Browns, giving them sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
Running back Jaylen Warren has been great all season but delivered his masterpiece against the Browns. He carried the ball 17 times
for a touchdown and 143 yards, by far his biggest total in a season and he’s already become one of the NFL leaders in scrimmage yards.
It was his fourth 100-yard game in the first half of the 2026 campaign. One year ago, he had just two in the full 18-game schedule that included a playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
Counterpart Rico Dowdle’s totals were hurt by a big loss late in the game, but he still finished the afternoon with 15 carries for 56 yards, pushing the team total to the 200 mark.
That kind of consistent production, regardless of who’s carrying the ball, points to meaningful development of an offensive line the front office has invested heavily in.
Rookie Max Iheanachor was a controversial first-round choice in the NFL draft back in April as the Steelers’ third first-round tackle in the past four cycles. His addition to the lineup in Week 3, alongside veteran Brock Hoffman at right guard, has proven to be a turning point, even despite a frustrating loss to the same Browns in Week 4.
“I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage,” he said. “When we played up in Cleveland, we had a bunch of sacks. We didn’t run it super efficiently. But I feel like from the first go, we had a good mindset. We protected well. We opened up some holes. Jaylen and Rico ran well.
“Definitely love those boys up front. They dominated.”
As easy as it was for the Steelers to run, Cleveland couldn’t get practically anything going. The Browns finished with 15 carries for 34 yards as a team and passed almost exclusively in the second half, when they trailed throughout.
Pittsburgh has allowed just 55 rushing yards per game during its current four-game winning streak.
For Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, that meant rushers in his face on nearly every play as Steelers linebackers and defensive linemen didn’t have to fear stopping running backs. They ended up getting home for eight sacks of Watson and several more hits that forced him to throw the ball when he didn't want to.
Watson finished the day with a respectable 324 yards on 27 of 39 passing. The Steelers seemed pleased to give him that in manageable chunks, though, to avoid backbreaking plays downfield. Then blunt drives with sacks that put Cleveland well behind the proverbial sticks.
Linebacker Patrick Queen had another strong game, forcing a fumble and recording 1.5 sacks from his middle linebacker spot as he led the team in tackles. Rookie defensive backs Robert Spears-Jennings and Daylen Everette combined to force and recover another fumble in the first half.
“We have so many great guys that can make plays, as you saw today,” linebacker T.J. Watt said. He had a pair of sacks in the game. “I mean, the distribution of splashes is going about the whole defense. I think we just need to continue to play good. Obviously, we’re playing good. We’re having a lot of fun. We can’t take the foot off the gas one second here. Get our bodies back for the bye week and come back blazing.”
The victory culminates a grueling month physically. The Steelers played their last three games on the road before Sunday. Two involved longer flights to Tampa, Fla. and Paris, France. Coming back and playing after crossing the Atlantic was a rare challenge for NFL teams, which often enjoy a bye the week after returning from international games.
On paper, it was a natural stretch of the schedule to take at least a loss or two.
Instead, the Steelers have pulled ahead in one of football's most competitive divisions.
They now lead the Browns by one game and the Cincinnati Bengals by a half-game. The Baltimore Ravens have fallen two games behind at 4-4 amid injuries. All remain at .500 or better.
It’s not just that they’ve pulled ahead that’s encouraging, though. They won the division a year ago after leading it throughout, after all, thanks to a dramatic Week 18 victory against Baltimore on this same field.
Few gave that team a serious chance in the postseason because it didn’t do anything particularly well. And in fact, those Steelers bowed out of the postseason early with a 30-6 blowout loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round.
This group feels like it’s in the early stages of establishing an identity.
There’s still a long way to go. A Week 10 showdown with a hot Bengals team awaits on Nov. 15. Then the Steelers will travel to Philadelphia – where they haven’t won since 1965 – in Week 11.
For now, they like the foundation they're laying.
“I think we’re just growing each week,” defensive captain Cam Heyward said. “Every week it’s something different, but we’re building on what we’ve done the previous week. Whether it’s pressure, sacks, running the ball on offense. It’s not just one person, it’s a group of individuals doing the job.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steelers enter bye atop AFC North with all the makings of a contender
