The Cleveland Browns have won two straight games, and their next order of business is a Thursday Night Football game against the AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers. All four teams in the division are 2-1, so the winner of Thursday’s game will take an early lead in the division.
There’s already an intense rivalry between the Browns and the Steelers, and first place being on the line — even if it’s only Week 4 — will add some intensity to the matchup.
You know what else is going to increase the intensity of the game? Pittsburgh being on film routinely doing something illegal.
The Steelers offense finally woke up in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, after looking horrid in the first two weeks, and a review of Pittsburgh’s film shows that they had to go outside the rules to get things rolling.
When the Steelers were double-teaming Cincinnati’s defensive tackles, right guard Mason McCormick repeatedly grabbed defenders’ nearest leg and lifted it off the ground.
Steelers’ illegal technique takes center stage ahead of Browns’ game
The illegal maneuver left defenders on one leg, taking away their power and balance, and making them much easier to block. Not only was it wild to see McCormick routinely go to a single-leg grappling move like it’s the technique being coached in Pittsburgh, it was even wilder to see that the Steelers weren’t flagged.
To be clear, it is an illegal move, falling under the category of holding. The referees not penalizing Pittsburgh doesn’t mean that it’s allowed; it’s just another example of referees messing up or flat-out missing calls. Hopefully for the Browns’ sake, the refs won’t allow the Steelers offensive line to turn the football field into a wrestling mat on Thursday.
Pittsburgh will definitely be hoping it can continue to get away with this dirty tactic, because without it, the Steelers probably won’t have an answer for Browns defensive tackle Mason Graham. The second-year defender has been Cleveland’s best player through three weeks of the season, and he has been absolutely dominating offenses.
In the season-opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Graham had five tackles, two tackles for a loss, and one sack. In Week 2, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the defensive tackle had three tackles, but he added one sack. Graham really took things to another level in Week 3, posting seven total tackles, three for a loss, and two sacks.
Graham will be ready to continue that dominance, and the Browns will need him to do so. Cleveland is leaning on its strong defense, and that all starts up front with Graham’s game-wrecking play. The defender is surely aware of how Pittsburgh will try to attack him, and it’s safe to assume he will have his own plan of attack.
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