The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to even their season series with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Pittsburgh hasn’t been swept by the Browns since 1988, and the winner will hold sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Here are this week’s keys to victory.
Dominate the short passing game
The Steelers faced similar coverage against the Saints that Cleveland will deploy. Entering Week 7, the Saints were No. 2 in single-high defensive looks, trailing only the Browns. Aaron Rodgers was, statistically, the worst quarterback
in football against single-high looks this season. However, Rodgers and the Steelers found success against the Saints, finishing 21-of-24 for 178 yards while facing single-high looks. While throwing short passes (0-9 yards downfield) Rodgers went 11-of-14 for 107 yards and finished ninth among all quarterbacks overall when facing single-high looks. The Browns are going to look to pressure Rodgers like they did in the first matchup. If Pittsburgh is able to have a high success rate in the quick and short passing game, Cleveland will have to unpin its ears, which will open up everything else.
On the other side, the Steelers’ defense has to be able to stop that very same attack by the Browns. Deshaun Watson had 27 short passing attempts in Week 7 and led all quarterbacks with 255 yards on those attempts. For reference, Tyler Shough had the most short pass attempts last week against Pittsburgh with 33, and the Saints were able to consistently convert on third down. The Steelers can’t allow Watson to dink-and-dunk on their defense all afternoon.
Continue to stop the run
The Steelers haven’t allowed a running back to top 50 yards since facing the Browns in Week 4. From Weeks 4-7, Cleveland ranks ninth in the NFL in yards per carry, and their six rushing scores are tied for second in the league. The Steelers have been the league’s best rush defense over the last three weeks. If they hone in on Quinshon Judkins and make Deshaun Watson beat them, their odds of winning will increase exponentially.
Deploy heavy Cover Three looks
The Steelers’ defense has the second-best total EPAagainst the pass in the league while in Cover Three. To compare, the Browns’ offense is 25th in EPA per play while facing Cover Three. Show looks the Browns struggle against, take away the run, and make Watson beat you with his arm. If the Steelers can do that, they should go into their bye week 6-2.
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