The Steelers’ recent history coming out of the bye bodes well for the team in Week 8

The Pittsburgh Steelers are returning to work this week after their Week 7 bye week gave them a chance to rest and recover. What awaits the team in Week 8 is a road trip to play the Cleveland Browns. This will be the Steelers’ second divisional game of the season, the first being a home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and many might be wondering what history has in store for the Steelers coming off the bye.

Some will point to Mike Tomlin’s overall record coming off the bye, but if you focus solely on their recent success, or failures, coming after the week off, it bodes well for the Steelers.

According to NFL Research, the Steelers have won their last four games coming off the bye, and on top of that are 3-0 since 2002 vs. the Browns after the bye week. This per Missi Matthews of Steelers.com:

The Browns are coming off a mini bye of their own after defeating the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football in Week 7, and they need as much rest as they can get when you look at the injuries they have sustained.

In Week 7 they were without Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and several other key members of the team. They were able to muster a win with Case Keenum at the helm, and many are wondering if it will be Keenum who will have to get the job done vs. the Steelers along the shores of Lake Eerie.

The Steelers will likely have a light practice Monday before officially returning to work on Wednesday in preparation for Cleveland. The Steelers have plenty of motivation heading into this game after the Browns have defeated the Steelers the last two times they faced one another, the latter victory being in the AFC Wild Card round of the playoffs in 2020.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Browns this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.