The Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers both come into their Week three matchup coming off of a loss. The winner of Thursday’s game will be atop the AFC North leaderboard. Here are three reasons that the Browns will beat the Steelers.
Is it Thursday yet? For the Cleveland Browns, their matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football can not come soon enough. The franchise is reeling from a disastrous debacle that saw the team blow a 13-point lead in the final one minute and 55 seconds.
The Browns are going to put the age-old saying ‘winning cures all’ to the test. A second straight home loss could potentially derail the season before it even really gets going. A must-win in Week 3? Absolutely. And here are three reasons why the Browns will be victorious against the Steelers on Thursday.
3 reasons the Browns will beat Pittsburgh
Reason No. 3: Trubisky ain’t it
Since the day Ben Roethlisberger was selected by Pittsburgh in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft, the Ohio native had the Browns’ number. For the better part of Roethlisberger’s career, he was the all-time winningest quarterback in FirstEnergy stadium. The Steelers’ quarterback practically had minority ownership of the Browns.
But as Roethlisberger’s career began its descent the stranglehold he had over his division foe began to loosen. Now that Big Ben is finally out the door, a new age of the rivalry can officially begin. That brings us to the first reason that the Browns will beat the Steelers on Thursday Night Football: Mitchell Trubisky ain’t it.
When the Steelers were looking at quarterbacks to take over the reins of their offense, they landed on Trubisky. The former No. 2 overall pick had a bumpy exit from the team that drafted him, but then had a decent public relations stint as a backup in Buffalo. But just a month after Trubisky signed in Pittsburgh to be their starter, the Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round.
Regardless if Trubisky is just a placeholder or not, he’s the starter this week against Cleveland. While the back-end of the Browns’ defense is suffering from communications issues, pushing the ball down the field is not a strong suit for Trubisky. In Week 2, Trubisky only attempted four passes over 15 yards. This is a perfect matchup for Cleveland’s defense to get right and build their confidence back up.
Trubisky isn’t a bad quarterback, but he’s not a good quarterback either. He’s just a quarterback. Just a nameless gray face that the Browns should be able to take advantage of. If this defense can’t hold Trubisky and this Steelers offense to under 20 points, then the Browns defense and their coordinator ain’t it.
Reason No. 2: The Browns D have their backs against the wall
It could possibly sound hyperbolic to say that the Browns have a must-win game on their hands in Week 3, but…the Browns have a must-win game on their hands in Week 3. It’s just that simple. If they don’t get a win this Thursday against the Steelers, it will start to get late awfully early.
If the Browns want to have any hope of making the postseason in 2022, then they must take advantage of this early portion of the schedule. After giving away the game last week to the New York Jets, the Browns now find themselves with their backs against the wall.
The players know the score as well. The defense in particular is well aware of the scrutiny that they are under. The unit held a players-only defensive meeting in an attempt to all get on the same page and air out their grievances.
How they respond to their last performance will be a good barometer of how this season will go. From a personnel standpoint, the Browns are way too talented on that side of the ball to repeatedly be having these lapses in communication. Now they get the opportunity to take their frustration out on the Steelers.
The Steelers’ offense has been on the struggle bus so far this season. Trubisky isn’t playing at a high level, and Najee Harris looks to be playing injured. They do have some weapons in the passing game, but Trubisky has not been attacking defenses down the field. Pittsburgh’s offensive line has improved slightly from last season, but they are still the weak point of their offense.
This game is set up on a tee for the defense. Trubisky does not take the kind of shots down the field that have been exploiting the Browns coverage busts the first two weeks of the season. Combine that will their offensive line weaknesses, and Cleveland’s defense should be able to put the clamps down and hold the Steelers under 20 points.
Reason No. 1: Nick Chubb is him
A national tragedy happened this week that largely went unreported. Nick Chubb felt he had to apologize for his greatness. No sir, your apology is not accepted, because it was never needed in the first place.
Regardless, of where you stand in the blame game from last Sunday’s debacle, it is undeniable that Chubb is playing at an elite level. Through two games Chubb has forced 19 missed tackles. 19. The next closest player has 11.
But that’s only one facet of his running. Chubb’s vision is already in mid-season form. His ability to see lanes before they develop is special and should be talked about more. Chubb is the most complete ball carrier in the NFL, and he is just coming into his prime. His combination of power, speed, agility, and vision put him on his own level.
Chubb is off to a fast start this season. He’s second in the league in rushing with 228 yards. He also leads all running backs in touchdowns with three and also has the most carries of 20 yards or more with three. He’s averaging half a yard more per carry than his ridiculous career average of 5.3 yards per attempt.
Nick Chubb is him. While he may not be the face of the franchise, Chubb is for sure the team’s heart. That heart is going to will itself past the Steelers this week with no apologies.