How the Browns’ defense plans to counter the Steelers offense in Week 8

When the Pittsburgh Steelers play a team like the Cleveland Browns, an AFC North division rival, there is a lot of familiarity surrounding the matchup.

Sure, fans know the big name players from their opponent, but a lot can change from one year to the next.

With that said, I reached out to Dawgs By Nature’s editor Chris Pokorny and asked him a series of questions about the upcoming game. He was more than generous to provide answers to these questions, and in this article I asked him what the Browns’ plan to counter the Steelers defense in Week 8 will be.

How will Myles Garrett and the stout Browns’ defense try and stop the Steelers offense?

Check out his answer below, and be sure to follow Dawgs By Nature for the latest news and notes from the other side of the fence leading up to the game at 1:00 p.m. ET.

When the Steelers have the ball, how will the Browns defense try to slow them down?

Cleveland trusts their run defense without even doing anything exotic — they are second in the NFL in rushing yards allowed at 80.4 yards per game. Cleveland has defended screen passes at well at times, but the past several games, they’ve been bitten by screen passes in the red zone. With how much Roethlisberger likes to dump the ball off to Najee Harris, it’s essential that Cleveland has someone who can tackle well keeping an eye on him. I wish that LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was available to fulfill that role, but he is still on injured reserve. I expect veteran LB Anthony Walker to have a lot of responsibility taking on Harris.

Let’s be honest, this will come down to the Steelers being able to establish some sort of run game, and working their offense off this facet. If the Steelers can get Najee Harris going early, it will set up play action later in the game. Then again, when you think of it that way, it will require Ben Roethlisberger to be able to find open receivers and hit the big play when it presents itself.

Talking about Harris and Roethlisberger are commonplace with the Steelers fan base, but who wins this matchup between the Browns’ defense and the Steelers’ offense will come down to one unit — the offensive line. Will Zach Banner make a difference? Who will play left tackle? A lot of question marks still reside, and if this unit can put together their best performance of the season it might just result in a huge road win in Cleveland.

How do you see this game shaking out? Let us know in the comment section below, and be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black and gold as they prepare for the upcoming Week 8 game.