Defense dominates Browns in closely contested 26-22 win 

by Bo Marchionte
Published September 19, 2023 1:30AM

Pittsburgh, PA – The Steelers defense saved Pittsburgh from an 0-2 start by dominating the Cleveland Browns and scoring two defensive touchdowns in the team’s 26-22 victory.

“The guys came to play today,” eight-time Pro Bowler Patrick Peterson said.  “The guys wanted to get that bad taste out of their mouth. We feel like we didn’t come out with the right attitude last week. The message was, “Don’t start in neutral.” On the first play of the game, we scored. So, we didn’t start in neutral this week.”

Peterson said head coach Mike Tomlin emphasized that these games against Cleveland are often closely contested matchups that could be won on the last drive of the game. Trailing by four points late in the fourth quarter, the Browns were hoping for a game winning drive to topple the AFC North division rivals.

“It was awesome man,” Peterson said of getting his first win with the Steelers franchise. “It was a hard fought one, but we got it. I guess it was in Steelers fashion. Coach (Tomlin) always told me that these games always come down to the wire and don’t know which way it’s going to go. Just be prepared for a close one. My first victory was a close one but hopefully many more close victories and no close losses.”

The victory was close, and it didn’t come with a tarnished finish. After the Steelers last offensive series saw Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett take a sack, the fans at Acrisure Stadium began chanting, “Fire Canada.” The team’s offensive coordinator Matt Canada has been under massive scrutiny since last year and after two weeks into this 2023 season the offense looks incapable of functioning champion level football.

The defense played to a Super Bowl caliber level, but the offense faces challenges that seem unlikely to be corrected when the team travels to Las Vegas to take on the 1-1 Raiders on the road. The team finished with 55 rushing yards and those came on three plays late in the game. At half-time the team had eight carries for one yard.

One yard!

“I don’t think we are executing,” center Mason Cole said after the game. “I think game plan wise it was great. The runs we were calling were great. Getting the exact looks we want but were not executing. There is not much more to say than that. There is a lot of work to do on that front. We got to run the ball and possess the ball. Hats off to our defense.”

Cole defended Canada and basically said the chants from the crowd craving the dismissal of the teams OC is white noise when they’re on the sidelines.

“Nah we don’t pay attention to that,” Cole said.

Pittsburgh is fighting to keep their head above water and the longer the offense takes on water the harder it’s going to be for this team to play on the level of the elite teams throughout the league.

With a record of 19-16-1 dating back to 2022 the Steelers are three games over average. While it’s not losing football, it’s far from “The Standard” that is supposed to resonate with a franchise that gauges its success in Super Bowls. The team’s last playoff win dates all the way back to the 2016 season against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead.

Tonight, the defense came through for Pittsburgh. The tandem of outside linebackers T.J Watt and Alex Highsmith began and ended the game with Steelers touchdowns. Those types of performances cannot be taken for granted. It puts that much pressure on the Steelers offense, especially Canada to deliver.

“The defense started to ball,” Isaiahh Loudermilk said after the game. “Watching some of those guys like TJ (Watt) and Alex (Highsmith) fly off the edges is fun. So, I think we all had a good time.”

With six different defenders sacking Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and creating three forced fumbles and recovering all three, helped preserve a victory on a night when the offense was searching for a rhythm.

Watt scooped and scored off the Watson fumble created by the sack by Highsmith, which put Pittsburgh ahead with just under seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The defense needs a partner if they want to make it to the big dance and at this point the offense has two left feet. 

Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com