Scouting Ahead: Cleveland Browns Week 8 opponent, Pittsburgh Steelers
By Colin Damms
Who can play for the Cleveland Browns?
Learning a lesson from the post last week about speculating availability: As of the time this sentence was written, the Browns still don’t know if they’ll have starting quarterback Baker Mayfield on Sunday against the Steelers. Nick Chubb will be available coming off of his injury, and star wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. are both available as of now despite being banged up against the Broncos.
The offensive line is another question, but it looks like at least Jack Conklin will be back at tackle. On defense, Denzel Ward again left mid-game with what looked like a hamstring injury, another damper on both the teams hopes of maintaining their talented secondary and Ward’s own hopes of a big contract.
Case Keenum performed admirably against the Broncos, as did 3rd-string back D’Ernest Johnson, but there were still some nerves throughout watching the fill-in offense. And the Steelers defense is a much tougher task to handle for an inconsistent Browns offense, let alone one plagued with injury.
This game will require a lot of game planning from Kevin Stefanski and staff specifically catered to their handicaps going in. It doesn’t help that their injury list is changing every day, but nobody knows the situation better than those behind closed doors.
The Browns blew the doors off the Steelers last January by taking advantage of turnovers and rolling out basically every option on offense. They shared the ball around effectively, and the result was offensive synchronicity. The pressure was off Mayfield, and he could trust basically every one of his targets. Whether in victory or defeat, that won’t be the case on Sunday.
There’s so much uncertainty about who can play, absentees from practice, and lingering injuries for those able to play through pain. It’s likely going to be an ugly win for whatever team pulls through, and the performances of Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt may end up being more impactful than Mayfield or Roethlisberger.