October 9, 2025 • 28 mins
Ed Troup and Jacob Recht breakdown the Steelers need to get out to an early lead against a stout Browns defense, and to make life as difficult as possible for the rookie QB Dillon Gabriel.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
This is the Steelers Standard with Ed Troup and Jacob
Breckt on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers Audio Network,
getting you ready for Steelers Browns this Sunday at Akushore Stadium,
in which the one in four Cleveland Browns visit your
Pittsburgh Steelers, who are three and one on the season.
It's time for our three Rivers Confluence segment where we
(00:30):
go over injury updates for both teams and also go
over our keys on offense and keys on defense to
the Pittsburgh Steelers to try to be victorious this upcoming
Sunday and again try to get to that record of
four and one, and we talked about it at the
open Jacobs.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
It's a big number for them.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
To get to this week because if they get to
four and one, their chances of making the playoffs historically
go to ninety three percent on making the playoffs. If
they lose and go to three and two, it drops
almost a half to fifty five percent. So from that standpoint,
and again try to increase your lead in the AFC North.
We know the AFC North is currently beat up with
(01:07):
the Cincinnati Bengals at two and three.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Joe burrows out.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Joe Flacco now in for Cincinnati as they visit Green Bay,
and a tough one on Sunday for them and the
Cleveland Browns excuse the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers
do battle. So if the Steelers get that one, finally
the Baltimore Ravens, who now make another Lamar Jackson. Last
time I checked, Jacob does not look like I don't
think he's gonna go Sunday. I'd be surprised because they
have a bye week next week. So when you want
(01:31):
to hold him out until after the bye week.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Is next week the bye week for them. I thought
I could be wrong.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Let's look that up just to confirm. But yeah, I
mean you know again, with Lamar out, that changes everything
in Baltimore.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Yeah, you're right. They have the bye week next week,
so I don't see why they would. Why would you
rush h him back? It's gonna be a tough defense,
that rams defense, very young, very talented. I don't think
that he's going to play like you said. It'd be
pretty surprising if he does, simply because they have that
bye week looming in the background of this week six matchups,
(02:08):
So why rush him back just to give him another
two weeks off, you might as well give him the
entire time off. Yeah, just the state of the AFS
North is certainly not one that anyone predicted coming into
the season.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Lamar did not practice yesterday according to the Ravens website
on Wednesday, and he's officially listed as questionable this upcoming week.
But yeah, I think with that bye week upcoming, so again,
just go back to the narrative for the Steelers and
how important this game is on Sunday, they can increase
their separation in the AFC North between the Bengals Ravens
and if, of course you beat the Browns, you increase it. There,
(02:41):
So good opportunity for them this Sunday, and they're gonna
do it. With some players returning, It's time for our
Steeler injury news, and cornerback Joey Porter Junior leads the
way with that hamstring has not played the last few games.
He did practice full yesterday, was a full participant on
Wednesday for the Steelers, So all indications are green for
Joey Porter Junior to return to action this upcoming Sunday.
(03:02):
And he told reporters that on Monday that he was
going to be back, and now that was confirmed yesterday
as a full participant. Jalen Warren was also a full
participant yesterday in practice with that knee injury, so he's practicing,
he's probable he should be able to go on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Alex Highsmith at the beginning of the week was in
that same Joey Porter Junior and Warren category of probable
most likely would play, but he was limited in least
his first day on the practice field yesterday, So limited
doesn't necessarily mean you're out, but it also doesn't necessarily
mean you're in either. So we're gonna have to watch
that with Alex Highsmith today on Thursday to see if
(03:39):
he's a full participant. If he's limited again, Jacob, you
can start to scratch your head a little bit, as
he may be questionable for Sunday, but if he goes
full today just like Joey Porter Junior and Warren did,
then things would look pretty good for him on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Calvin Austin did not practice yesterday, Jalen Ramsey did not
practice yesterday. On Wednesday, they both remained day to day
and questionable for this upcoming Sunday. Ben Scroniic was limited
yesterday due to an illness not injury related, and Darius slay,
TJ Watt, and Cam Hayward. We're all rested for a
vet day off. Your thoughts on the injury report from yesterday.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Uh, yeah, I mean the Steelers have really been bogged
down by injuries pretty much all season long. But what's
what's really fortunate for them and is none of those
injuries have been too long term or too serious. Yeah,
they've missed guys for a couple of weeks and Deshaun
Elliott for example, Joey Porter, junior Alex Highsmith, but really
(04:34):
they're not missing more than a month of the season,
which is really fortunate for them. So you have to
kind of ky your blessings there. And you know, we
had Missy Matthews on the Morning show today and she
was saying she has no sympathy for the other teams.
It's just it's just the state of the NFL. You
have to make adjustments with injuries. I mean, they happen
every year to every team, and the best teams are
(04:57):
the ones that adapt the best. So according to Missy,
like you really shouldn't feel too sorry for the Bengals
who lost Jo Burrow, the Ravens who are in the
process of of of still losing Lamar Jackson for an
unpredictable amount of time. Right now, I mean you've you've
(05:19):
had your own blows, right Like I mentioned the guys
that have missed a couple of weeks, Calvin Austin expected
to miss a couple of weeks, but none of them
are are too serious. So you just have to say,
we're one of the fortunate teams right now, and you
really just have to hold on to hope that you
won't lose someone even more significant than those guys, I
mean out the only guy that's more significant that on
(05:40):
defense and Alex high Smith you could say, or Joey
or I'm sorry, are our TJ. Watt and Cam Hayward.
And when it comes to the offense, the only guy
more signific only two guys more significant than Calvin Austin
are DK Metcalf and Aaron Rodgers. So right now you're
your big four on offensive defense are are playing pretty clean.
(06:00):
You have to make sure that they stay upright because
if you lose one of those four, it could be
very very bad for you.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Yeah, I agree, and you know again early in the
week it's Thursday, but you are I think today, in
my opinion, Thursday is the most critical day for an
injury report because you're halfway through the practice week. If
you weren't able to go yesterday on Wednesday and you
can't go again today, that's two days in a row
that's most likely not going to go well for you
to possibly play on Sunday. But if you went yesterday
(06:28):
and you go again today on Thursday into Tomorrow Friday,
then the row certainly will be pointing up.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
We'll keep an eye on that.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
As far as the Browns go for injuries, not too
many players to report, but a couple of big names
that are questionable for this upcoming Sunday. Denzel Ward, their
other corner opposite side of Newsom, who was just traded
to the Jaguars, was a limited participant yesterday with a
hip injury, so he's questionable for Sunday, and as is
Miles Garrett. He shows up on the injury report questionable
(06:56):
with an ankle. He was limited yesterday as well. But again,
veterans like Ward and Garrett who are dealing with injuries
probably more or less being held back just to preserve
them to be.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Able to play on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I would expect both Ward and Garrett unless this these
injuries get worse as the week goes on, I would
expect them to play. Their wide receiver Corley was limited
yesterday with a growing injury as well. Passik there, one
of their centers is questionable. And that's about it for Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Not much else.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
I mean, Ward and Garrett are the big names on
the injury port, but they're relatively healthy too, much like
the Steelers trying to get back to being healthy. But hey,
look if Ward or Garrett, if those injuries get worse
as the as the week goes on, those would be
two huge players that could potentially be limited or not
play on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Right, Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
I mean, those are their two best players on defense,
without a doubt, no doubt, And if they're not at
one hundred percent, even if they're out there but not
one hundred percent, that's a huge asset for the Steelers
to be able to say, we know how tough they
can be at one hundred percent, but we know they're
playing in anlimited capacity. We have to use that, we
have to take advantage of that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Let's get to our five keys to the game on
offense and five keys to the game on defense. First
up for the Steelers on offense, loosen up the Browns
up front, the front seven by taking some shots down
the field early. It's no doubt that that front seven
is very good, Jacob. We talked about the defensive line
yesterday and their strengths there with Miles Garrett and their
(08:23):
first round draft picked as well out of Michigan. So
you know, they're big upfront, the linebackers, and again they
control a lot of the running games throughout the season.
They've been very good against the rush, somewhere where the
Steelers have struggled as running the football. So how do
you loosen that front seven up, Take some shots downfield early,
make them get back into coverage, and maybe pull some
(08:44):
of their linebackers back in the coverage. So I think
it's important for the Steelers to come out on offense
on Sunday and maybe take some shots downfield.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, I'd like to see that.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
I mean hard to say that it's gonna happen simply
because we haven't really seen it. I know we've had
some big splash plays by DK but those were more
catch and runs. Yeah, it's hard to say that you
want to see something that out of an offense that
you really haven't seen much out of them. I mean,
the one deep shot I can really recall wasn't even completed.
(09:16):
If you remember, it was in Week two against Seattle.
Aaron Rodgers rolled to his right and threw a deep
ball down to Pat Fryarmuth, who this was kind of
a knock on. Pat had a break, was about fifty
yards down the field, but couldn't come up with the catch.
But luckily there was a pass interference call on the
(09:36):
Seattle defense, so this Yeilers still got a first down.
But that's really the only deep shot that I can
remember that that was significant for the Steelers that ended
up in positive yards and that wasn't even because of
the catch that was actually made by the intended receiver.
So yeah, of course I'd love to see more down
the field passing, But just knowing the state of this offense,
the way it's called, the way it's run, and Aaron
(09:58):
Rodgers his inability to to take those deep shots as
frequently as he used to, and he had a much
stronger arm, it's hard to say that it's actually gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Next up for the keys of the game on offense
is to win the time of possession and control the
football game. When you take a look at what the
Steelers have done so far this year, they have on
an average per game twenty six minutes and forty six seconds,
while their opponents have controlled the ball for thirty three
minutes and thirteen seconds. Cleveland a little bit of the
opposite thirty one oh seven on offense, their average per
(10:29):
game in twenty eight to fifty two, so they have
one time of possession most of their games despite the
one and four record, and the Steelers at three and
one have lost time of possession.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
But I think it's key.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
I think it's a key category each and every week, right,
I always talk about time of possession. They've gotten away
with it through three out of the first four games
with winning games and not winning time of position in
those games. But you know, keep control of the game,
keep control of the football, and keep that offense off
the field as long as you can. And I think
that'll be another key for this offense on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, it's weird.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
This game is going to be just fluky all around
simply because, like you mentioned, that time of position, that
time of possession is going to be weird. I just
think these offenses, both for Cleveland and Pittsburgh are just
not good and it could just be a very low
scoring game.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
You could see something like ten to six as your
final score.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
We know how good the Browns defense is, we know
how ineffective for the most part, the Steelers offense has
been just inconsistent.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Really, I think it's the most appropriate word to use there.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
And then when you look at the opposite side of things,
the Browns offenses, as I mentioned before, one of the
worst offenses in football, and I don't expect it to
be revitalized by the rookie Dylan Gabriel, especially playing his
first true road game as a starter in division rival
Pittsburgh following the bye week which Mike Tomlin does such
(11:54):
a good job preparing for. And Steelers offense really has
such a fortuitous opponent going up against that Browns defense.
I just, man, I really don't know where where the
points come from. It could you could see a lot
of punts this game. It's just it's gonna be an
ugly game.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, I agree, And anytime Browns and Steelers play. It's
it's it's never pretty, right, and it's gonna be one.
It's gonna be one of those one score games or
you know, ten point type type games. Probably low scoring.
We talked about it, Yester. I think the over unders
said it like thirty six or something like that.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yeah, yeah, the lowest in the NFL this week.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
But I might even still take the ender for even
though it's what thirty six and I still might take
the ender.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Just can't think that either of these teams are gonna
put up a lot of points. But you know when
you think that, Jacob, what usually happens the opposite, right,
Then it'll be a show.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Yeah, I mean, looked at you look at Week one
against the Jets.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
You thought that that was gonna be a low scoring affair,
and then it ended up being I think the highest
scoring game except for that Baltimore and Buffalo Sunday night game.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Our next key to the game on offense is don't
turn the ball over and give the Browns life. Right,
The Steelers aren't a good spot with that. They're plus
seven on the seat in the turnover battle. Their offense
not turning the ball over, their defense producing turnovers.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
The Browns have been the opposite.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
They're actually negative for so far this season, which means
they have coughed up the ball more than they've gotten
it back. So maybe that's an advantage for the Steelers
to take on Sunday. And again, you want to control
the game. I talked about controlling the game with time
and possession. Well, if you turn the ball over and
give the Browns life, especially in an underdog type role,
when you have a favorite versus an underdog, how do
you keep.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Them in the game?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Right, that's coughing up the football will be one of
those things. So don't turn the ball over and don't
give the Browns life throughout this game.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, I think the.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Steelers do a good job of winning that turnover battle
one because their defense is prone to forcing takeaways. And
then their offense, you know, it's hard to turn the
ball over, and when you're not really taking big shots, right,
when you're not really taking risky plays, whether that's shots
down the field, and then you also have to incorporate
(13:56):
Aaron Rodgers has the quickest time of release among all
qualified quarterbacks this year, so it's not like he's hanging
on to the football for opposing defenses to give him
the opportunity to force a fumble, a shrip sack on him.
So it makes it makes sense why the Steelers don't
turn the ball over a lot and why they have
(14:17):
such a good turnover ratio. I just don't know when
it comes to this Browns defense, considering how stout it is,
will the Browns be able to come up with those
splash plays and with the Steelers their defense playing against
a very conservative run offense, given that Dylan Gabriel is
(14:38):
only making his second start ever, I don't know if
they'll be given the same opportunities that they've seen the
first couple of weeks to force all those turnovers that
they did, especially against Tampa Bay or Tampa Bay, New
England and Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Get a lead early and don't look back as our
next key to the game on offense, and we talked
about time of possession, We talked about not turning over
the ball.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Get up early in this game and then just don't
look back.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Right, even if it's only three nothing or six nothing,
you get a couple of field goals or you know,
maybe it's a ten to three game early on, but
take get the momentum early in this game. Take the
lead and just simply don't look back, don't give it
back to them throughout. I think is another key to
this game on offense this Sunday, and I'll give you
my last, my fifth key to the game on offense, Jacob,
(15:22):
Then we can get your thoughts. Win the line of scrimmage,
control the momentum up front. Your offensive line showed some
signs of life. They played better in that Vikings game.
We know where they started giving up the seven sacks
in the first two games. We know the run struggles,
but did get a little bit better against the Vikings
in that Week four game with Kenny Gamwell getting ninety
nine yards rushing. Control the game up front, the defensively
(15:46):
for Cleveland, they're very good upfront. We know about Miles
Garrett and company. So get off to a good start,
control the game, and win the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Yeah, definitely to your first point about getting out to
that early lead, that early lead ed could even be
just seven to nothing or three nothing or six nothing.
Playing from behind is never easy in the NFL, and
when you're playing from behind against this Browns defense, they right,
they really easily could just tighten up and not give
(16:16):
you any opportunity to get out and give you the
chance to tie it up. So any lead, no matter
what how big or how small it is, coming out
against this Browns team is going to be significant, like
we've talked about so much already today, as we expect
this to be a low scoring affair. So anytime that
any opportunity you have to get out to that lead,
(16:37):
you have to take advantage of it. And then of
course the line of scrimmage battle upfront is going to
be tough. The Browns pass rush is elite and it's
led by none other than Miles Garrett. And you know,
it's funny we remember the days of Dan Moore. For
some reason, that guy just kind of shruck gold whenever
he was facing Miles Garrett. I don't know what happened
(16:58):
in the in the first couple of matches when they
went up head to head, but Dan Moore just had
Miles Garrett's number. That changed over time and Miles Garrett
eventually got the better of him, and Dan Moore as
a result, was released, or rather just not re signed
by Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
But you still have two young tackles.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
You have Broderick Jones and Troy Fetana, who really are
You're still looking to see more out of And I
have a feeling that this could be a long day
for whoever gets that matchup against Miles Garrett. I mean,
this guy is one of the best defenders in the
in the league, one of the best pass rushers in
the NFL. And you're going up against two very young,
(17:39):
two very raw tackles for the Steelers. So I actually
have a feeling that that battle in the line of
scrimmage might be lost come the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
And they also add in the rookie for Michigan. I
referenced to Mason Graham three hundred and fifteen pounds, Mason
Graham and Meylee Collins at three to ten, Miles Garrett
two to an, Isaiah McGuire at two sixty eight, all big,
all athletic, and our offensive line will have to be sound.
Those are the five keys on offense. Let's get to
our five keys on defense. First up, get in the
(18:10):
rookie quarterback Gabriel's head early and often keep him guessing
all game long. And the Steelers have done that historically
against rookie quarterbacks. Mike Tomlin twenty six and six all
time versus rookie quarterbacks, and now they'll have an opportunity
on Sunday to go up against Dylan Gabriel, and yeah,
keep them guessing all game long.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Don't let him beat you.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
He's short right for five eleven I think five nine
five nine five eleven. I'll get his official stat here
in a second. He's a small guy, So a small
guy he likes to roll out though, doesn't sit in
the pocket and pick you apart. So when he rolls out,
make sure you keep him guessing with your coverage schemes downfield.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Yeah, I mean, that's most important for any matchup when
when any team is coming up against a rookie quarterback,
is to just get in their face, make them feel
those hits. That's pretty much the rest for success if
you're going up against those those young guys, is to
make them have that welcome to the NFL moment. And
(19:08):
there's no better defense to do that against than the
Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
T J. Watt, Cam Hayward.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
You're getting Alex Highsmith back Nick Herbig, who's gonna be
a splash play guy come Sunday. You have now Derek
Harmon available to you if you're the Steelers, I mean
the Steelers pass rush. I put it up against pretty
much anyone's in the NFL, do you. But here's the thing,
end is that we've seen the pass rush kind of
(19:36):
come and go. We know it's getting better as the
season progress, But you can't have one of those performances
you had in Week one and week two where TG
Watt was a ghost and Cam Hayward all he did
was bat balls down of the line of scrimmage. You
have to make sure those guys are not not just
hitting the quarterback but actually sacking him, taking him down.
Because yeah, quarterback hits are nice and you're beating him up,
(19:58):
but if that guy, if that kid, is able to
get the ball out, then you're not really doing much.
You really had to put yourselves in the advantageous position
of really taking him down and making accounts. So you
need to make sure that that TJ. Watt and KM
Hayward actually show up on the stat sheet comes Sunday.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Dylan Gabriel is five eleven, five eleven short guy. Yep,
it's five eleven, two hundred and five.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
That's out.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I think he's only a little bit taller than Kyler Murray,
who we all know is one of the shortest quarterbacks
in the league.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Yep, Gabriel comes out of Oregon. He is the Brown's
third round draft pick in ninety fourth overall, and he'll
be starting under center for the Cleveland Browns this Sunday
against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Okay, next up on our five
keys on defenses, the other rookie. Don't let Quinn Shawn
Jenkins beat you. Don't let the rookie loose last week
over our hundred yards, stack the box and make the
(20:50):
Browns beat you with the pass. So my strategy there
is stack the box with seven in the box, don't
let Jenkins beat you, shut him down early and force
Gabriel to roll out and beat you down. Fi make
him try to beat your secondary. That's my next key
to the game. So two rookies, Gabriel quarterback and a
rookie Jenkins at running back. Contain both those guys, but
especially for Junkins, don't let him lose. Don't let him
(21:11):
get confident. He's a rookie. So you know out of
Ohio State. He was their second round draft pick, by
the way, thirty sixth overall five to eleven two twenty
one quin Shawn Jenkins contain him in the box on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's a pretty easy recipe
for success if you're the Steelers. The only trouble is
that is the fact that the Steelers have really struggled
against the runs so far this season.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I know they've gotten better.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
That's as I've mentioned before, that's kind of the overarching
narrative to this team is they've gotten better, but they
have to really take that that major league leap if
they want to be a respected defense, because we know
their yards against through the air and on the ground
are really bottom tier in the NFL right now. They're
climbing out of a hole for sure, but they still need,
(21:54):
as I said, they really need to shut these guys down.
And I think I agree with you when if you
if you shut down Junkins, that really makes this offense
one dimensional. That's putting the ball in the rookie quarterbacks hands,
and you know, when it's all up to him and
he's not able to rely on the run game, he's
gonna make some mistakes. And when you first force those turnovers,
(22:14):
that's going to put your offense in a position to
maybe take the lead there. And yeah, I just think
it's a good strategy to make sure you take away
the run game so that you're forcing Gabriel to win
the game on his own, and as a rookie, that's
going to be very hard to do.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
We talked about the two rookies at the quarterback position
in Gabriel and Junkins at the running back position. So
next up on our key on defense, let's give you
a veteran, the wide receiver Jerry Judy.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
We talked about him earlier.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
So far this season fifteen catches, one hundred and ninety
seven yards, no touchdowns yet on thirty five targets. But
we know he's athletic, we know he's big. You got
to keep an eye on Judy and double team them
if you have to. And here's the good news for
Steeler Nation. Deshaun Elliott's back. We saw that he took
over that Vikings game. In the secondary, you're getting Joey
Porter junior back. You got slagh Thornhill's played well at
(23:03):
the safety position. Brandon Eccles has played well coming in
as another corner in a slot corner at that who
knows about Jalen Ramsey at this point still up in
the air. He was limited or did not practice yesterday
at all, So you'd like to see him be at
least limited or full participant this today Thursday as we
record this. But the Stewer secondary is healthy other than Ramsey,
(23:25):
and they're gonna have to be going up against Judy
because he's really their big playmaker and their big thread.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
At that wide receiver spot. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Absolutely, I just think that with the secondary being pretty
much at near one hundred percent, I don't know if
Jaalen Ramsey's one hundred percent ready to go, But like
we talked about earlier this week, yeah, you're losing Ramsey,
but you're getting back Joey Porter Jr. You now have
back to sharn Ellier for the second game in a row.
That should be enough. As we talked about earlier, with
(23:53):
their pass pass options, it's not a very deep offense,
right It's I mean, we the numbers against be for himself,
but Jerry Judy has been pretty much ineffective for the
Browns this year. The guy through five games has less
than two hundred yards. That is not what you want
to see out of your number one receiver, and then
of course you have David n Joku as the tight end,
(24:17):
but again he hasn't been able to get much going either.
And then once you look past them, it's really nobody.
There really isn't anyone that's a threat on offense for them.
So I do think the secondary has the edge here.
It's just you can't let these guys get behind you,
and you have to make your tackles right. That's one
thing that the Steelers have really struggled with, not just
(24:37):
this year, but in years past. You have to be
better at a just sound tackling. And I think, and
I've said this before, getting Sean Elliott back could really
be an asset for you because we know he's the
best tackler in the secondary and he could maybe rub
off on the younger guys or just the guys overall.
And the secondary is as that mentality of just making
(24:58):
sure you guys, you wrap up your guys when making
your tackles, and they should have the mentality of we're
better our secondary against their receiving corp and their tight
end corps is better. So there should be no reason
why that's the reason we lose this game.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
That's another recipe for disaster and a loss is when
you're not rapping on those first hits and those second
hits and letting the team continue to get more yards
after catch. You mentioned the Djoku at the tight end position.
That's my next key on defense is protect the middle
of the football field. With David Nijoku at the tight
end position, twenty catches, one hundred and ninety five yards
a touchdown on thirty targets so far this season. We
(25:37):
know he's big, we know he's athletic, and the last
segment you compared him to an athletic Darnell Washington. I
thought that was a great comparison and good call by you, Jacob.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
I agree with.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
You, and he's going to try to take over the
middle of that football field and that's where you need
your linebackers, your Peyton Wilson's, your Patrick Queen's right to
protect that middle of the football field and not letting
Nadjoku get going in this football game and make an
in packed at that tight end spot.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
I mean, the tight ends are the browns number one
passing threat right now this season, and Djoku has twenty
catches and the backup fan and Junior has twenty one catches.
They both have over one hundred and seventy five yards
on the season. They both have found the end zone
at least once this year. That's the crux of it.
So I think it's a great point by you ed
to emphasize the middle of the field. And we've seen
(26:25):
David Njoku be a nagging threat or a nagging bug
in the Steelers side in their past matchups.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
So you really have to make sure you take care
of those two guys.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
And that's going to come down to Peyton Wilson, Cole
Holcom and Patrick Queen. That's gonna be their primary responsibility.
You have to make sure that they're on that.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Our final defensive key to the game on Sunday, let
TJ be TJ Right, TJA, TJ Watt versus Miles Garritty
is back to back games with sacks and so far
this season, TJ. Watt nineteen total tackles three sacks leads
the Steelers in that category. Five tackle for losses, two
pass deflections, an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
(27:08):
Miles Garrett we talked about his stat line earlier too,
twenty one tackles, four sacks, eight tackle for losses. Anytime
you get Garrett versus Watt, it's a personal competition, right.
They may not come out publicly and say it, but
it is. Trust me, these two guys are going at it,
not up against each other because they're both defenders, but
they're watching what the other one's doing. And I think
this Sunday, let tjbtj. You don't have to rotate him around,
(27:31):
just let him be that edge rusher that you need
and want him to be.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
And again, he's built momentum the.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Last two games versus the Patriots and Vikings, and we'll
see if you can get another one here this Sunday
against the Browns and continue to build that momentum on
his twenty twenty five season.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
You know how people always say, oh, this is such
a great quarterback matchup, something like Lamar Jackson versus Joe
Burrow or Pat Mahomes versus Josh Allen. Well, the irony
is they're not playing against each other, right, But this
is what this game is gonna get billed as it's
TJ Wall excuse me, versus Miles Garrett.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Even though They're not gonna be going up against.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Each other head to head, but that's what it boils
down to, is is who will have the better game.
And I actually think that that would be a big
That will be a big indicator of the result of
this game. Is whichever guy between TJ and Garrett has
a bigger day, that'll be the indicator of which team
will most likely win this game.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
So those are our five keys on offense and five
keys on defense for the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday against
the Browns. When we come back, we will look around
the NFL for Week six and get you all set
and ready to go. It is the Steelers standard with
Ed Troop and Jacob wrect here on Steelers Nation Radio,
part of the Steelers Audio Network.
This is the Steelers Standard with Ed Troup and Jacob
Breckt on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers Audio Network,
getting you ready for Steelers Browns this Sunday at Akushore Stadium,
in which the one in four Cleveland Browns visit your
Pittsburgh Steelers, who are three and one on the season.
It's time for our three Rivers Confluence segment where we
(00:30):
go over injury updates for both teams and also go
over our keys on offense and keys on defense to
the Pittsburgh Steelers to try to be victorious this upcoming
Sunday and again try to get to that record of
four and one, and we talked about it at the
open Jacobs.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
It's a big number for them.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
To get to this week because if they get to
four and one, their chances of making the playoffs historically
go to ninety three percent on making the playoffs. If
they lose and go to three and two, it drops
almost a half to fifty five percent. So from that standpoint,
and again try to increase your lead in the AFC North.
We know the AFC North is currently beat up with
(01:07):
the Cincinnati Bengals at two and three.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Joe burrows out.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Joe Flacco now in for Cincinnati as they visit Green Bay,
and a tough one on Sunday for them and the
Cleveland Browns excuse the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers
do battle. So if the Steelers get that one, finally
the Baltimore Ravens, who now make another Lamar Jackson. Last
time I checked, Jacob does not look like I don't
think he's gonna go Sunday. I'd be surprised because they
have a bye week next week. So when you want
(01:31):
to hold him out until after the bye week.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Is next week the bye week for them. I thought
I could be wrong.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Let's look that up just to confirm. But yeah, I
mean you know again, with Lamar out, that changes everything
in Baltimore.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Yeah, you're right. They have the bye week next week,
so I don't see why they would. Why would you
rush h him back? It's gonna be a tough defense,
that rams defense, very young, very talented. I don't think
that he's going to play like you said. It'd be
pretty surprising if he does, simply because they have that
bye week looming in the background of this week six matchups,
(02:08):
So why rush him back just to give him another
two weeks off, you might as well give him the
entire time off. Yeah, just the state of the AFS
North is certainly not one that anyone predicted coming into
the season.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Lamar did not practice yesterday according to the Ravens website
on Wednesday, and he's officially listed as questionable this upcoming week.
But yeah, I think with that bye week upcoming, so again,
just go back to the narrative for the Steelers and
how important this game is on Sunday, they can increase
their separation in the AFC North between the Bengals Ravens
and if, of course you beat the Browns, you increase it. There,
(02:41):
So good opportunity for them this Sunday, and they're gonna
do it. With some players returning, It's time for our
Steeler injury news, and cornerback Joey Porter Junior leads the
way with that hamstring has not played the last few games.
He did practice full yesterday, was a full participant on
Wednesday for the Steelers, So all indications are green for
Joey Porter Junior to return to action this upcoming Sunday.
(03:02):
And he told reporters that on Monday that he was
going to be back, and now that was confirmed yesterday
as a full participant. Jalen Warren was also a full
participant yesterday in practice with that knee injury, so he's practicing,
he's probable he should be able to go on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Alex Highsmith at the beginning of the week was in
that same Joey Porter Junior and Warren category of probable
most likely would play, but he was limited in least
his first day on the practice field yesterday, So limited
doesn't necessarily mean you're out, but it also doesn't necessarily
mean you're in either. So we're gonna have to watch
that with Alex Highsmith today on Thursday to see if
(03:39):
he's a full participant. If he's limited again, Jacob, you
can start to scratch your head a little bit, as
he may be questionable for Sunday, but if he goes
full today just like Joey Porter Junior and Warren did,
then things would look pretty good for him on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Calvin Austin did not practice yesterday, Jalen Ramsey did not
practice yesterday. On Wednesday, they both remained day to day
and questionable for this upcoming Sunday. Ben Scroniic was limited
yesterday due to an illness not injury related, and Darius slay,
TJ Watt, and Cam Hayward. We're all rested for a
vet day off. Your thoughts on the injury report from yesterday.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Uh, yeah, I mean the Steelers have really been bogged
down by injuries pretty much all season long. But what's
what's really fortunate for them and is none of those
injuries have been too long term or too serious. Yeah,
they've missed guys for a couple of weeks and Deshaun
Elliott for example, Joey Porter, junior Alex Highsmith, but really
(04:34):
they're not missing more than a month of the season,
which is really fortunate for them. So you have to
kind of ky your blessings there. And you know, we
had Missy Matthews on the Morning show today and she
was saying she has no sympathy for the other teams.
It's just it's just the state of the NFL. You
have to make adjustments with injuries. I mean, they happen
every year to every team, and the best teams are
(04:57):
the ones that adapt the best. So according to Missy,
like you really shouldn't feel too sorry for the Bengals
who lost Jo Burrow, the Ravens who are in the
process of of of still losing Lamar Jackson for an
unpredictable amount of time. Right now, I mean you've you've
(05:19):
had your own blows, right Like I mentioned the guys
that have missed a couple of weeks, Calvin Austin expected
to miss a couple of weeks, but none of them
are are too serious. So you just have to say,
we're one of the fortunate teams right now, and you
really just have to hold on to hope that you
won't lose someone even more significant than those guys, I
mean out the only guy that's more significant that on
(05:40):
defense and Alex high Smith you could say, or Joey
or I'm sorry, are our TJ. Watt and Cam Hayward.
And when it comes to the offense, the only guy
more signific only two guys more significant than Calvin Austin
are DK Metcalf and Aaron Rodgers. So right now you're
your big four on offensive defense are are playing pretty clean.
(06:00):
You have to make sure that they stay upright because
if you lose one of those four, it could be
very very bad for you.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Yeah, I agree, and you know again early in the
week it's Thursday, but you are I think today, in
my opinion, Thursday is the most critical day for an
injury report because you're halfway through the practice week. If
you weren't able to go yesterday on Wednesday and you
can't go again today, that's two days in a row
that's most likely not going to go well for you
to possibly play on Sunday. But if you went yesterday
(06:28):
and you go again today on Thursday into Tomorrow Friday,
then the row certainly will be pointing up.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
We'll keep an eye on that.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
As far as the Browns go for injuries, not too
many players to report, but a couple of big names
that are questionable for this upcoming Sunday. Denzel Ward, their
other corner opposite side of Newsom, who was just traded
to the Jaguars, was a limited participant yesterday with a
hip injury, so he's questionable for Sunday, and as is
Miles Garrett. He shows up on the injury report questionable
(06:56):
with an ankle. He was limited yesterday as well. But again,
veterans like Ward and Garrett who are dealing with injuries
probably more or less being held back just to preserve
them to be.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Able to play on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I would expect both Ward and Garrett unless this these
injuries get worse as the week goes on, I would
expect them to play. Their wide receiver Corley was limited
yesterday with a growing injury as well. Passik there, one
of their centers is questionable. And that's about it for Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Not much else.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
I mean, Ward and Garrett are the big names on
the injury port, but they're relatively healthy too, much like
the Steelers trying to get back to being healthy. But hey,
look if Ward or Garrett, if those injuries get worse
as the as the week goes on, those would be
two huge players that could potentially be limited or not
play on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Right, Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
I mean, those are their two best players on defense,
without a doubt, no doubt, And if they're not at
one hundred percent, even if they're out there but not
one hundred percent, that's a huge asset for the Steelers
to be able to say, we know how tough they
can be at one hundred percent, but we know they're
playing in anlimited capacity. We have to use that, we
have to take advantage of that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Let's get to our five keys to the game on
offense and five keys to the game on defense. First
up for the Steelers on offense, loosen up the Browns
up front, the front seven by taking some shots down
the field early. It's no doubt that that front seven
is very good, Jacob. We talked about the defensive line
yesterday and their strengths there with Miles Garrett and their
(08:23):
first round draft picked as well out of Michigan. So
you know, they're big upfront, the linebackers, and again they
control a lot of the running games throughout the season.
They've been very good against the rush, somewhere where the
Steelers have struggled as running the football. So how do
you loosen that front seven up, Take some shots downfield early,
make them get back into coverage, and maybe pull some
(08:44):
of their linebackers back in the coverage. So I think
it's important for the Steelers to come out on offense
on Sunday and maybe take some shots downfield.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, I'd like to see that.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
I mean hard to say that it's gonna happen simply
because we haven't really seen it. I know we've had
some big splash plays by DK but those were more
catch and runs. Yeah, it's hard to say that you
want to see something that out of an offense that
you really haven't seen much out of them. I mean,
the one deep shot I can really recall wasn't even completed.
(09:16):
If you remember, it was in Week two against Seattle.
Aaron Rodgers rolled to his right and threw a deep
ball down to Pat Fryarmuth, who this was kind of
a knock on. Pat had a break, was about fifty
yards down the field, but couldn't come up with the catch.
But luckily there was a pass interference call on the
(09:36):
Seattle defense, so this Yeilers still got a first down.
But that's really the only deep shot that I can
remember that that was significant for the Steelers that ended
up in positive yards and that wasn't even because of
the catch that was actually made by the intended receiver.
So yeah, of course I'd love to see more down
the field passing, But just knowing the state of this offense,
the way it's called, the way it's run, and Aaron
(09:58):
Rodgers his inability to to take those deep shots as
frequently as he used to, and he had a much
stronger arm, it's hard to say that it's actually gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Next up for the keys of the game on offense
is to win the time of possession and control the
football game. When you take a look at what the
Steelers have done so far this year, they have on
an average per game twenty six minutes and forty six seconds,
while their opponents have controlled the ball for thirty three
minutes and thirteen seconds. Cleveland a little bit of the
opposite thirty one oh seven on offense, their average per
(10:29):
game in twenty eight to fifty two, so they have
one time of possession most of their games despite the
one and four record, and the Steelers at three and
one have lost time of possession.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
But I think it's key.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
I think it's a key category each and every week, right,
I always talk about time of possession. They've gotten away
with it through three out of the first four games
with winning games and not winning time of position in
those games. But you know, keep control of the game,
keep control of the football, and keep that offense off
the field as long as you can. And I think
that'll be another key for this offense on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, it's weird.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
This game is going to be just fluky all around
simply because, like you mentioned, that time of position, that
time of possession is going to be weird. I just
think these offenses, both for Cleveland and Pittsburgh are just
not good and it could just be a very low
scoring game.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
You could see something like ten to six as your
final score.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
We know how good the Browns defense is, we know
how ineffective for the most part, the Steelers offense has
been just inconsistent.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Really, I think it's the most appropriate word to use there.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
And then when you look at the opposite side of things,
the Browns offenses, as I mentioned before, one of the
worst offenses in football, and I don't expect it to
be revitalized by the rookie Dylan Gabriel, especially playing his
first true road game as a starter in division rival
Pittsburgh following the bye week which Mike Tomlin does such
(11:54):
a good job preparing for. And Steelers offense really has
such a fortuitous opponent going up against that Browns defense.
I just, man, I really don't know where where the
points come from. It could you could see a lot
of punts this game. It's just it's gonna be an
ugly game.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, I agree, And anytime Browns and Steelers play. It's
it's it's never pretty, right, and it's gonna be one.
It's gonna be one of those one score games or
you know, ten point type type games. Probably low scoring.
We talked about it, Yester. I think the over unders
said it like thirty six or something like that.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yeah, yeah, the lowest in the NFL this week.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
But I might even still take the ender for even
though it's what thirty six and I still might take
the ender.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Just can't think that either of these teams are gonna
put up a lot of points. But you know when
you think that, Jacob, what usually happens the opposite, right,
Then it'll be a show.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Yeah, I mean, looked at you look at Week one
against the Jets.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
You thought that that was gonna be a low scoring affair,
and then it ended up being I think the highest
scoring game except for that Baltimore and Buffalo Sunday night game.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Our next key to the game on offense is don't
turn the ball over and give the Browns life. Right,
The Steelers aren't a good spot with that. They're plus
seven on the seat in the turnover battle. Their offense
not turning the ball over, their defense producing turnovers.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
The Browns have been the opposite.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
They're actually negative for so far this season, which means
they have coughed up the ball more than they've gotten
it back. So maybe that's an advantage for the Steelers
to take on Sunday. And again, you want to control
the game. I talked about controlling the game with time
and possession. Well, if you turn the ball over and
give the Browns life, especially in an underdog type role,
when you have a favorite versus an underdog, how do
you keep.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Them in the game?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Right, that's coughing up the football will be one of
those things. So don't turn the ball over and don't
give the Browns life throughout this game.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, I think the.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Steelers do a good job of winning that turnover battle
one because their defense is prone to forcing takeaways. And
then their offense, you know, it's hard to turn the
ball over, and when you're not really taking big shots, right,
when you're not really taking risky plays, whether that's shots
down the field, and then you also have to incorporate
(13:56):
Aaron Rodgers has the quickest time of release among all
qualified quarterbacks this year, so it's not like he's hanging
on to the football for opposing defenses to give him
the opportunity to force a fumble, a shrip sack on him.
So it makes it makes sense why the Steelers don't
turn the ball over a lot and why they have
(14:17):
such a good turnover ratio. I just don't know when
it comes to this Browns defense, considering how stout it is,
will the Browns be able to come up with those
splash plays and with the Steelers their defense playing against
a very conservative run offense, given that Dylan Gabriel is
(14:38):
only making his second start ever, I don't know if
they'll be given the same opportunities that they've seen the
first couple of weeks to force all those turnovers that
they did, especially against Tampa Bay or Tampa Bay, New
England and Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Get a lead early and don't look back as our
next key to the game on offense, and we talked
about time of possession, We talked about not turning over
the ball.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Get up early in this game and then just don't
look back.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Right, even if it's only three nothing or six nothing,
you get a couple of field goals or you know,
maybe it's a ten to three game early on, but
take get the momentum early in this game. Take the
lead and just simply don't look back, don't give it
back to them throughout. I think is another key to
this game on offense this Sunday, and I'll give you
my last, my fifth key to the game on offense, Jacob,
(15:22):
Then we can get your thoughts. Win the line of scrimmage,
control the momentum up front. Your offensive line showed some
signs of life. They played better in that Vikings game.
We know where they started giving up the seven sacks
in the first two games. We know the run struggles,
but did get a little bit better against the Vikings
in that Week four game with Kenny Gamwell getting ninety
nine yards rushing. Control the game up front, the defensively
(15:46):
for Cleveland, they're very good upfront. We know about Miles
Garrett and company. So get off to a good start,
control the game, and win the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Yeah, definitely to your first point about getting out to
that early lead, that early lead ed could even be
just seven to nothing or three nothing or six nothing.
Playing from behind is never easy in the NFL, and
when you're playing from behind against this Browns defense, they right,
they really easily could just tighten up and not give
(16:16):
you any opportunity to get out and give you the
chance to tie it up. So any lead, no matter
what how big or how small it is, coming out
against this Browns team is going to be significant, like
we've talked about so much already today, as we expect
this to be a low scoring affair. So anytime that
any opportunity you have to get out to that lead,
(16:37):
you have to take advantage of it. And then of
course the line of scrimmage battle upfront is going to
be tough. The Browns pass rush is elite and it's
led by none other than Miles Garrett. And you know,
it's funny we remember the days of Dan Moore. For
some reason, that guy just kind of shruck gold whenever
he was facing Miles Garrett. I don't know what happened
(16:58):
in the in the first couple of matches when they
went up head to head, but Dan Moore just had
Miles Garrett's number. That changed over time and Miles Garrett
eventually got the better of him, and Dan Moore as
a result, was released, or rather just not re signed
by Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
But you still have two young tackles.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
You have Broderick Jones and Troy Fetana, who really are
You're still looking to see more out of And I
have a feeling that this could be a long day
for whoever gets that matchup against Miles Garrett. I mean,
this guy is one of the best defenders in the
in the league, one of the best pass rushers in
the NFL. And you're going up against two very young,
(17:39):
two very raw tackles for the Steelers. So I actually
have a feeling that that battle in the line of
scrimmage might be lost come the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
And they also add in the rookie for Michigan. I
referenced to Mason Graham three hundred and fifteen pounds, Mason
Graham and Meylee Collins at three to ten, Miles Garrett
two to an, Isaiah McGuire at two sixty eight, all big,
all athletic, and our offensive line will have to be sound.
Those are the five keys on offense. Let's get to
our five keys on defense. First up, get in the
(18:10):
rookie quarterback Gabriel's head early and often keep him guessing
all game long. And the Steelers have done that historically
against rookie quarterbacks. Mike Tomlin twenty six and six all
time versus rookie quarterbacks, and now they'll have an opportunity
on Sunday to go up against Dylan Gabriel, and yeah,
keep them guessing all game long.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Don't let him beat you.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
He's short right for five eleven I think five nine
five nine five eleven. I'll get his official stat here
in a second. He's a small guy, So a small
guy he likes to roll out though, doesn't sit in
the pocket and pick you apart. So when he rolls out,
make sure you keep him guessing with your coverage schemes downfield.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Yeah, I mean, that's most important for any matchup when
when any team is coming up against a rookie quarterback,
is to just get in their face, make them feel
those hits. That's pretty much the rest for success if
you're going up against those those young guys, is to
make them have that welcome to the NFL moment. And
(19:08):
there's no better defense to do that against than the
Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
T J. Watt, Cam Hayward.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
You're getting Alex Highsmith back Nick Herbig, who's gonna be
a splash play guy come Sunday. You have now Derek
Harmon available to you if you're the Steelers, I mean
the Steelers pass rush. I put it up against pretty
much anyone's in the NFL, do you. But here's the thing,
end is that we've seen the pass rush kind of
(19:36):
come and go. We know it's getting better as the
season progress, But you can't have one of those performances
you had in Week one and week two where TG
Watt was a ghost and Cam Hayward all he did
was bat balls down of the line of scrimmage. You
have to make sure those guys are not not just
hitting the quarterback but actually sacking him, taking him down.
Because yeah, quarterback hits are nice and you're beating him up,
(19:58):
but if that guy, if that kid, is able to
get the ball out, then you're not really doing much.
You really had to put yourselves in the advantageous position
of really taking him down and making accounts. So you
need to make sure that that TJ. Watt and KM
Hayward actually show up on the stat sheet comes Sunday.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Dylan Gabriel is five eleven, five eleven short guy. Yep,
it's five eleven, two hundred and five.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
That's out.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I think he's only a little bit taller than Kyler Murray,
who we all know is one of the shortest quarterbacks
in the league.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Yep, Gabriel comes out of Oregon. He is the Brown's
third round draft pick in ninety fourth overall, and he'll
be starting under center for the Cleveland Browns this Sunday
against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Okay, next up on our five
keys on defenses, the other rookie. Don't let Quinn Shawn
Jenkins beat you. Don't let the rookie loose last week
over our hundred yards, stack the box and make the
(20:50):
Browns beat you with the pass. So my strategy there
is stack the box with seven in the box, don't
let Jenkins beat you, shut him down early and force
Gabriel to roll out and beat you down. Fi make
him try to beat your secondary. That's my next key
to the game. So two rookies, Gabriel quarterback and a
rookie Jenkins at running back. Contain both those guys, but
especially for Junkins, don't let him lose. Don't let him
(21:11):
get confident. He's a rookie. So you know out of
Ohio State. He was their second round draft pick, by
the way, thirty sixth overall five to eleven two twenty
one quin Shawn Jenkins contain him in the box on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's a pretty easy recipe
for success if you're the Steelers. The only trouble is
that is the fact that the Steelers have really struggled
against the runs so far this season.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I know they've gotten better.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
That's as I've mentioned before, that's kind of the overarching
narrative to this team is they've gotten better, but they
have to really take that that major league leap if
they want to be a respected defense, because we know
their yards against through the air and on the ground
are really bottom tier in the NFL right now. They're
climbing out of a hole for sure, but they still need,
(21:54):
as I said, they really need to shut these guys down.
And I think I agree with you when if you
if you shut down Junkins, that really makes this offense
one dimensional. That's putting the ball in the rookie quarterbacks hands,
and you know, when it's all up to him and
he's not able to rely on the run game, he's
gonna make some mistakes. And when you first force those turnovers,
(22:14):
that's going to put your offense in a position to
maybe take the lead there. And yeah, I just think
it's a good strategy to make sure you take away
the run game so that you're forcing Gabriel to win
the game on his own, and as a rookie, that's
going to be very hard to do.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
We talked about the two rookies at the quarterback position
in Gabriel and Junkins at the running back position. So
next up on our key on defense, let's give you
a veteran, the wide receiver Jerry Judy.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
We talked about him earlier.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
So far this season fifteen catches, one hundred and ninety
seven yards, no touchdowns yet on thirty five targets. But
we know he's athletic, we know he's big. You got
to keep an eye on Judy and double team them
if you have to. And here's the good news for
Steeler Nation. Deshaun Elliott's back. We saw that he took
over that Vikings game. In the secondary, you're getting Joey
Porter junior back. You got slagh Thornhill's played well at
(23:03):
the safety position. Brandon Eccles has played well coming in
as another corner in a slot corner at that who
knows about Jalen Ramsey at this point still up in
the air. He was limited or did not practice yesterday
at all, So you'd like to see him be at
least limited or full participant this today Thursday as we
record this. But the Stewer secondary is healthy other than Ramsey,
(23:25):
and they're gonna have to be going up against Judy
because he's really their big playmaker and their big thread.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
At that wide receiver spot. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Absolutely, I just think that with the secondary being pretty
much at near one hundred percent, I don't know if
Jaalen Ramsey's one hundred percent ready to go, But like
we talked about earlier this week, yeah, you're losing Ramsey,
but you're getting back Joey Porter Jr. You now have
back to sharn Ellier for the second game in a row.
That should be enough. As we talked about earlier, with
(23:53):
their pass pass options, it's not a very deep offense,
right It's I mean, we the numbers against be for himself,
but Jerry Judy has been pretty much ineffective for the
Browns this year. The guy through five games has less
than two hundred yards. That is not what you want
to see out of your number one receiver, and then
of course you have David n Joku as the tight end,
(24:17):
but again he hasn't been able to get much going either.
And then once you look past them, it's really nobody.
There really isn't anyone that's a threat on offense for them.
So I do think the secondary has the edge here.
It's just you can't let these guys get behind you,
and you have to make your tackles right. That's one
thing that the Steelers have really struggled with, not just
(24:37):
this year, but in years past. You have to be
better at a just sound tackling. And I think, and
I've said this before, getting Sean Elliott back could really
be an asset for you because we know he's the
best tackler in the secondary and he could maybe rub
off on the younger guys or just the guys overall.
And the secondary is as that mentality of just making
(24:58):
sure you guys, you wrap up your guys when making
your tackles, and they should have the mentality of we're
better our secondary against their receiving corp and their tight
end corps is better. So there should be no reason
why that's the reason we lose this game.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
That's another recipe for disaster and a loss is when
you're not rapping on those first hits and those second
hits and letting the team continue to get more yards
after catch. You mentioned the Djoku at the tight end position.
That's my next key on defense is protect the middle
of the football field. With David Nijoku at the tight
end position, twenty catches, one hundred and ninety five yards
a touchdown on thirty targets so far this season. We
(25:37):
know he's big, we know he's athletic, and the last
segment you compared him to an athletic Darnell Washington. I
thought that was a great comparison and good call by you, Jacob.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
I agree with.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
You, and he's going to try to take over the
middle of that football field and that's where you need
your linebackers, your Peyton Wilson's, your Patrick Queen's right to
protect that middle of the football field and not letting
Nadjoku get going in this football game and make an
in packed at that tight end spot.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
I mean, the tight ends are the browns number one
passing threat right now this season, and Djoku has twenty
catches and the backup fan and Junior has twenty one catches.
They both have over one hundred and seventy five yards
on the season. They both have found the end zone
at least once this year. That's the crux of it.
So I think it's a great point by you ed
to emphasize the middle of the field. And we've seen
(26:25):
David Njoku be a nagging threat or a nagging bug
in the Steelers side in their past matchups.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
So you really have to make sure you take care
of those two guys.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
And that's going to come down to Peyton Wilson, Cole
Holcom and Patrick Queen. That's gonna be their primary responsibility.
You have to make sure that they're on that.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Our final defensive key to the game on Sunday, let
TJ be TJ Right, TJA, TJ Watt versus Miles Garritty
is back to back games with sacks and so far
this season, TJ. Watt nineteen total tackles three sacks leads
the Steelers in that category. Five tackle for losses, two
pass deflections, an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
(27:08):
Miles Garrett we talked about his stat line earlier too,
twenty one tackles, four sacks, eight tackle for losses. Anytime
you get Garrett versus Watt, it's a personal competition, right.
They may not come out publicly and say it, but
it is. Trust me, these two guys are going at it,
not up against each other because they're both defenders, but
they're watching what the other one's doing. And I think
this Sunday, let tjbtj. You don't have to rotate him around,
(27:31):
just let him be that edge rusher that you need
and want him to be.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
And again, he's built momentum the.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Last two games versus the Patriots and Vikings, and we'll
see if you can get another one here this Sunday
against the Browns and continue to build that momentum on
his twenty twenty five season.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
You know how people always say, oh, this is such
a great quarterback matchup, something like Lamar Jackson versus Joe
Burrow or Pat Mahomes versus Josh Allen. Well, the irony
is they're not playing against each other, right, But this
is what this game is gonna get billed as it's
TJ Wall excuse me, versus Miles Garrett.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Even though They're not gonna be going up against.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Each other head to head, but that's what it boils
down to, is is who will have the better game.
And I actually think that that would be a big
That will be a big indicator of the result of
this game. Is whichever guy between TJ and Garrett has
a bigger day, that'll be the indicator of which team
will most likely win this game.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
So those are our five keys on offense and five
keys on defense for the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday against
the Browns. When we come back, we will look around
the NFL for Week six and get you all set
and ready to go. It is the Steelers standard with
Ed Troop and Jacob wrect here on Steelers Nation Radio,
part of the Steelers Audio Network.
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