It is officially Browns Week for the Pittsburgh Steelers. This week seems to be especially important for the standings in the AFC North because the Browns are 4-1 and the Steelers are 4-0. There have never been three teams in the same division with four wins in the first five weeks since the NFC East in 2008. The AFC North is not what we thought it was going to be. The Browns are normally the Browns, The Bengals are the Bungholes, and the Ravens have seemed to be really the only competition the Steelers have had. Well, the Browns seem to be a much different team through five weeks. The Steelers seem to be taking a different approach by focusing on the game of football instead of giving the Browns bulletin board material. Heyward praised the Browns tackles today by saying they're mean, nasty guys.
"Their tackles have been playing big for them," Heyward said. "They're mean, nasty guys that finish plays. That's what you want out of your tackles."
Heyward acknowledged that Baker Mayfield is good at finding the open gap and said they need to make sure they get hands-on him.
"His escapability is something we have to be on point with," Heyward said. "For us, especially, if you're going to run upfield you have to have hands-on him, that way you can come back on plays. I think sometimes guys when they shoot so far upfield, they don't give themselves enough of a chance to come back, so it creates a vertical hole. We have to do a great job of being able to come back and destroy those rush lanes and make sure he doesn't find the open gap."
One thing Heyward has heard about is Baker's ribs are bruised, but he did say he was not a doctor. It is his job at the end of the day to inflict good punishment though. He continued to say we play a physical game and we are going to make Baker think about that injury during the game.
"I'm not a doctor," Heyward offered. "I'm not going to sit up here and tell you I know how bruised up he is. At the end of the day, I'm just trying to inflict good punishment. As a D-line and as a defense you want to make sure he's thinking about the rush. We play a physical game. He's gonna come out there and try to be a warrior for his team but it's up to us to make him think about that injury during the game."
Cam Heyward is a monster on the field. He means everything that he is saying too because this Steelers Defensive line is one of the best in the NFL. TJ Watt, Bud Dupree, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, and Cam Heyward are studs. This game with the Browns certainly feels different than other games because more is on the line. First place in the AFC North and a playoff spot down the road makes this game even more important. This should be a five-star matchup between the Steelers and Browns. Looking forward to it.
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