Browns vs. Steelers Week 2: Who holds the edge in each positional group?
By Josh Brown
Defensive Units
The two defenses play very different alignments with the Browns more of a 4-3/5-2 defense and the Steelers still using the 3-4 alignment that has been great for years. This can cause some discrepancies along the front, but we will use the depth charts and base the positional strength off that.
Defensive Line
Browns: Myles Garrett/Dalvin Tomlinson/Shelby Harris/Za'Darius Smith/Ogbo Okoronkwo/Maurice Hurst II/Siaki Ika/Jordan Elliott
Steelers: Larry Ogunjobi/Montravius Adams/Armon Watts/DeMarvin Leal/Keeanu Benton/Cameron Heyward(out)
The Brown's defensive line was masterful against the Bengals. They would end the game with 10 quarterback knockdowns and two sacks. Za' Darius Smith, Ogbo Okoronkwo, and Myles Garrett all made huge impacts in Sunday's game. The Browns have easily the most talented line in a long time and they showed it with the sixth-fastest time to pressure since the start of the 2019 season.
the Browns defense had an average time to pressure of 1.95 seconds against the Bengals in Week 1.
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 11, 2023
this is tied for the 6th-fastest average time to pressure by a defense in a single game since the start of the 2019 season, via @TruMediaSports.
The Steelers will be without game-wrecker Cameron Heyward Monday night as he is dealing with a groin injury that requires surgery. Without Heyward, the Steeler's defensive line isn't the same. Former Brown Larry Ogunjobi joined the Steelers last year and had one and a half sacks for the season. The rest of the line is not much better.
If Heyward's healthy he can make enough of an impact to make things closer. Without him the Browns have a clear advantage with a ton of talent.