Opponent Preview: Week 2-Browns at Steelers

The Cleveland Browns get back out on the practice field today to get ready for a huge Monday night matchup against their division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. A win in primetime on Monday night would certainly position the Browns as a legitimate contender for the division title.

It would also be the first 2-0 start for the team in 30 years, as the last time it happened was in 1993. Beating the Steelers is never easy and the Browns have to be very careful of going in overconfident. They have had plenty of praise heaped upon them after their dominating performance against the Bengals on Sunday. Let's take a deep dive into the Steelers and get you up to speed on what to expect this week.

Last Game

The Steelers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Pittsburgh 30-7 on Sunday. It was a disappointing performance for the Steelers after a preseason that fueled expectations. They became a favorite pick by many analysts to either win the division or make the playoffs. The 49ers jumped out to a 20-0 first half lead and Pittsburgh was unable to find much success against a very physical defense.

Injury Report

The biggest story on the Steelers side is the amount of injuries they had in week 1. Defensive tackle Cam Heyward may be out for up to eight weeks with a groin injury. Receiver Diontae Johnson is reportedly going to miss the next several weeks with a hamstring injury. While those two have already been ruled out against the Browns, we will watch for the official injury reports throughout the week of players who are banged-up and questionable.

Game Plan

On offense the Steelers would love to slow the game down and take some pressure off of quarterback Kenny Pickett by establishing the run. Without Johnson it will be harder to execute some of the quick-pass game and I would expect a heavy dose of Najee Harris early. Look for them to give Pickett some quick throws from shotgun to negate the Browns pass rush. They will also try to get Pickett out of the pocket by design to throw some 50-50 balls up for talented playmaker George Pickens.

On defense the Steelers will try to lean on their star outside pass rushers in T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith to beat Jed Wills and rookie Dawand Jones who will be starting his first NFL game. Losing Heyward is big blow to their run defense in the middle so you should be watching for our interior offensive lineman to create space for Nick Chubb to operate. In the back end, I would expect to see a lot of disguised looks into zone coverages. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will play all over the back half looking to lure Watson into making a mistake.

Stay tuned here for updates to the injury reports for both teams over the next few days as the Steelers could have more players that are unable to play.