Tag: Steelers vs. Browns 2020

Steelers QB Mason Rudolph got rocked last season in Cleveland. Can he guide Pittsburgh to a win this time around?

Steelers Wire looks at the chances of Ben Roethlisberger’s backup leading the team to a win in Cleveland.

No matter what side of the Mason Rudolph fence you’re on, there’s nothing Steelers Nation would rather see than revenge for Helmetgate with a win in Cleveland.

Sure, the chances of the Pittsburgh Steelers beating the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium with reserves starting are slim-to-none. But that doesn’t change head coach Mike Tomlin’s goal of pulling off a win.

Does Rudolph, who is 5-3 as a starter, have what it takes to pull off a win in Cleveland? If history is any indication, no. In the 21-7 loss last November, Rudolph took four sacks, fumbled, and tossed four picks to one touchdown.

Sunday will be Rudolph’s first start since his Week 12 third-quarter benching in Cincinnati last season. Tomlin benched him after the first drive, in favor of Devlin “Duck” Hodges, citing that the Steelers needed a spark and “Mason wasn’t doing enough.”

We’ll get a chance to see how far Rudolph has come since then. Certainly, his completion versus the Browns in Week 6 and 2-for-3 in Dallas was not enough to feel confident about Rudolph’s chances on Sunday.

It seems odd that Tomlin would tip his hand to Cleveland and announce the decision to start Rudolph over Ben Roethlisberger so early in the week. Perhaps it’s an attempt to instill confidence in the third-year QB? Either way, Rudolph is getting first-team reps in practice this week, as he has every Wednesday this season. He’ll need all work he can get.

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Pittsburgh, we have a problem

To remain undefeated, the Steelers need to improve in critical areas today.

The cupcake part of the schedule is passed. The teams that put the Steelers nearly neck-and-neck with the Baltimore Ravens, in terms of ease of schedule, have been knocked off. They’ve defeated some of the worst teams in the league by narrow margins. Now comes the hard part: Besting the 4-1 Browns, who appear to have it together for once.

Offensively, the Steelers are firing on (mostly) all cylinders. I’m confident they prevail over a 20th-ranked defense that’s allowed 1,917 total yards and 17 scores. With key injuries in the Browns secondary, as long as the line continues to give Ben time and protection, they’ll be successful through the air.

Third downs

Their Achilles heel has been on third downs — the Steelers have only converted 29 of 60 attempts (48%), which currently puts them at 27th in the league. That percentage was helped last week when Ben was 13-13 for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Without a doubt, the offense will need to extend drives to wear out the Brownies defense and put points on the board.

On the other side of the ball, the Steelers have been stout defending third downs. At third in the league, Pittsburgh’s opponents have converted 28 of 50 attempts. Last week was an exception and, hopefully, just a hiccup, when the Eagles converted 10 of 14 third downs.

“We just didn’t do a good job of controlling the circumstances, and really some of the circumstances were advantageous to us, meaning third-and-long (situations),” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said in his Week 5 postgame press conference.

Pittsburgh’s third-down defense needs to get back to their pre-Eagles ways. The Steelers simply cannot allow Baker Mayfield (ribs) — or Case Keenum, for that matter — to get comfortable and find his rhythm. The defense needs to have in the back of their minds what happened when Denver’s Drew Lock went down and Jeff Driskel came in.

Just control the clock and keep Cleveland from getting into scoring situations.

Communication breakdown

While third downs have been the Achilles heels for the offense, communication has been for the defense — or, lack thereof.

Linebacker Devin Bush has been tasked with communication duties, but it’s the unit as a whole causing the breakdowns — breakdowns that have led to big scores for the opposition.

Blown assignments. Hesitations and late switching on routes. Who is covering who? That confusion and miscommunication can’t happen and shouldn’t happen with a unit that has now played 17 games together.

No one wants to see the Steelers trounce on the Browns this week more than the Steelers themselves. If they’re going to do that, the defense’s coverage game must be on-point. The Browns have bonafide playmakers at wide receiver and tight end. If they thought Travis Fulgham was a nightmare to cover, just wait. The Browns have elite versions of Fulgham who can cause the secondary fits.

As he has a penchant for, Tomlin said to ‘keep watching.’ “I just attribute it to a four-game sample size. Keep watching. We will continue to write our story, particularly as it pertains to comparing it to a 16-game body of work from a year ago. If you took a sample size of our body of work from last year at this time through four games, it was miserable, I think. We are very much in development, and I like the overall trajectory of our group in the corners. We’re just going to keep working.”

That work has to show itself today. This isn’t the Giants, the Broncos, the Texans, or even the Eagles. It’s the Browns, and they’re hangry.

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Steelers boast top pass-blocking guard in the NFL

According to PFF, the highest-graded guard belongs to the Black and Gold.

Nobody thought rookie guard Kevin Dotson would even see the field this season. All-Pro David DeCastro was the clear-cut starter and veteran Stefen Wisniewski was signed via free agency.

But 2020 will 2020, and injuries to both DeCastro and Wisniewski have given Dotson the unique opportunity he’s dreamed 17 years of — to block for Big Ben.

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DeCastro has had an injury-marred year. Since he missed most training camp with a knee injury, Dotson saw more reps than a rookie typically does. The injury kept DeCastro out of Week 1, and Wisniewski played in his place — that is until a pectoral injury took him out of the game in the 4th quarter.

The All-Pro was back for Week 3, but the knee kept him out again in Week 4. He returned Week 5, only to exit in the first half with an abdominal injury. With DeCastro ruled out for tomorrow’s Browns battle, Dotson will, once again, be called into action.

Good thing the Steelers have the best pass-blocking guard in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. Dotson will primarily be facing former first-rounder Sheldon Richardson. While the tackle’s pash rush grade is 54.5, he’s tied for 7th among defensive linemen in sacks with 2. Richardson also has 11 hurries.

In Weeks 1, 2 and 5, Dotson was at or near 100 percent block efficiency. In 72 pass-blocking snaps (125 total), he has not allowed a sack. If his upward trajectory continues, he’ll handle his duties just fine.

AP Photo/Rick Osentoski

Curiously, Dotson has been a significantly better pass-blocker (88.8) than run-blocker (54.9). The “People Mover” was lauded for his collegiate run-blocking skills — it was his best trait among many draft profiles, including The Draft Network. So, his performance in pass protection has been an unexpected surprise.

Screenshot courtesy of PFF Ultimate

While it’s too early to say whether Dotson was a steal in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, it’s certainly playing out that way.

Offensive lineman Matt Feiler, who has been playing at left guard, will be hitting free agency in March. I have a good feeling Dotson will be ready to fill the void.

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Steelers vs. Browns: 3 key starters ruled out for Sunday’s matchup

An ailing Browns team will be without (at least) two defensive playmakers on Sunday.

On Friday, safeties Karl Joseph (hamstring) and Ronnie Harrison (concussion), two of Cleveland’s key defensive players, were ruled out for Sunday’s Steelers square-off at Heinz Field.

Joseph was placed on injured reserve back in August with a lingering foot injury he sustained in Oakland last season but has played since Week 1.  He contributed an interception for a 49-yard touchdown versus Washington in Week 3. Joseph recently suffered a hamstring injury that also kept him out of last week’s Browns-Colts matchup.

Harrison sustained the concussion when he started in place of Joseph versus the Colts. Prior to exiting the game, he scored on a pick-six to give the Browns a halftime lead.

Third-year guard Wyatt Teller has also been ruled out for Sunday.

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Quarterback Baker Mayfield and starting receivers Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry are all, apparently, questionable. They could just be punkin’ the Black and Gold. Me thinks punks be punkin’.

We’ll see on Sunday… Here we go!

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Steelers practice squad 2020: Pittsburgh protects 4 practice squad players for Week 6

A new concept for the 2020 season is the “protected” practice squad. Here are the four players the Steelers chose to protect.

The Steelers must like what they have going as far as practice squad protections. There are no changes from Week 5 to 6 for protected players. Pittsburgh has tabbed wide receiver Deon Cain, linebacker Jayrone Elliott, defensive end Henry Mondeaux and running back Wendell Smallwood. These four are not eligible to sign with another team until after Sunday’s game.

Practice squad “protection” is a new concept for the 2020 season. It’s a concession for the potential personnel shortages that could occur if the virus strikes the locker room.

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Teams can designate protected players each Tuesday beginning at 4 p.m., except for clubs that played on the previous Monday night; their designations go into effect prior to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The Steelers continue their 2020 season Sunday, Oct. 18 versus the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field.

Mike Tomlin calls Myles Garrett a ‘freakish talent’

The Steelers are going to have their hands full with Garrett on Sunday.

The Cleveland Browns have always left a bad taste in Steelers fans’ mouths, especially when thinking of the act Myles Garrett pulled in Week 12 last season.

But there’s no denying it — the Browns star EDGE is, as head coach Mike Tomlin called him, a “freakish talent.”

Since entering the league in 2017, Garrett has taken the league and the edge position by storm. He has amassed 36.5 sacks (34 total pressures), nine forced fumbles, 75 quarterback hits and 119 tackles (35 for loss).

Garrett currently leads all EDGE rushers in sacks (6) and forced fumbles (3).

Karl Joseph, the safety Tomlin coveted in the 2016 NFL Draft, was placed on injured reserve in August with a lingering foot injury he sustained in Oakland last season. Joseph recently suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of last week’s Browns-Colts matchup. He’s currently questionable for Sunday’s game, but it’s still too early to tell whether he’ll be on the field.

Joseph, a former first-rounder (Oakland Raiders), signed with the Browns in free agency this offseason. He has an interception and 23 tackles.

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