The Pittsburgh Steelers are always happy to beat the rival Baltimore Ravens, but they didn’t get much of a chance to celebrate Sunday’s win over Baltimore, because they had to turn around and get ready for Thursday night's game against another rival, the Cleveland Browns.
Jim Wexell writes for 247sports.com, has covered the Steelers since 1995, and he joined 90.5 WESA's Jeremy Scott to talk about Thursday's matchup.
Jeremy Scott: Jim, the National Weather Service is calling for a rain/snow mix tonight in Cleveland. Does that somewhat neutralize the playing field?
Jim Wexell: You know, I was going through my history book for things to write about, historically, with the Browns in their old matchup. I came across a note from Vic Ketchman, my old boss, at the Standard-Observer in Irwin. He went on to national fame. He's a great writer. Vic Ketchman wrote 'You can count on three things when you go to Cleveland: rain, fights, and vandalism.' So the rain is coming true and, you know, I'm not going to this game, but every time I do go to Cleveland, they give you the back row in a parking lot. And if you go a little far, you're going to plunge into Lake Erie. And it is bleak. It is so bleak on that lake. So rain and fights and vandalism are accepted parts of it.
Scott: Well, we were waiting for it and we finally saw it on Sunday: a package for Justin Fields to play quarterback. Now, when he got into the game, they weren't in a situation where they wanted to pass the ball because they had the lead. They just wanted to keep the ball on the ground and run clock. I know you're not supposed to talk about what you've seen at practice, so let's just have you put your soothsayer hat on for a second, Jim. Would you say that we will see those packages expand to situations where they may, in fact, want Justin Fields to throw the football?
Wexell: Well, it's kind of ironic in the the mirror game that this is. You know, the 2009 Thursday night debacle in Cleveland and -15 wind chill. The star running back for Cleveland was Josh Cribbs out of the wildcat. Eight carries, 80-some yards. And so maybe if Justin Fields can get eight carries, he can get 80-some yards, because he sure looked like the best running back the Steelers have. He really looked natural and he looks like a threat. And it doesn't surprise you when he gets nine yards -- well he could have got 11 — but nine yards on a third and 10. So I would expect maybe eight carries would be, you know, Josh Cribbs-like, and very possible.
Scott: One of the biggest controversies last season was Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett winning Defensive Player of the Year over Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt. Now the NFL early last season actually changed their cover photo on Twitter to Myles Garrett with some text about him being a front runner for the award. So all kinds of conspiracy theories abound about that. Was there merit, though, to Garrett's winning of that award? Or was T.J. simply robbed?
Wexell: T.J. was simply robbed. You know, everybody blames Pro Football Focus, and I do, too. They had a stat about pass rush wins instead of sacks and actual quarterback hits and even pressures. Pass rush wins carried the day. That was Myles Garrett's better stat. It's all kind of subjective. So very strange. And you know, Pro Football Focus is out of Ohio, based in Cincinnati, but still in Ohio. I don't see how Myles Garrett won that award, but he did. And I would assume T.J. is going to get some revenge on Thursday night.
Scott: The Browns have a running back whose style I think most Steelers fans even appreciate in Nick Chubb, the old school Earl Campbell, Jerome Bettis-type power back. His leg basically exploded in week two of last season at the Steelers and has only been back for four games this year. That's how severe that injury was. And he's only averaged 3.1 yards per carry so far this season. Is there any chance we ever see the old Nick Chubb again, or is Chubb simply a shadow of what he used to be?
Wexell: I'm no medical expert, but you bring up a good question. You know, Gale Sayers was never the same. That was 50 years ago. And medical technology has improved. But it is a different kind of position. He did look better last week. So I would expect decent performance from, as they say, Mr. Chubb.
Scott: The Steelers have played the Browns four times on Thursday Night Football under Mike Tomlin and to many's surprise, at least to my surprise, the Steelers have only won one of those games. Does that number increase to two after tonight?
Wexell: I would think. But 0-3 on the road. The one win was at home. So, 0-3 on the road on Thursday. It's becoming proven that these visitors on Thursday nights are having a difficult time, but it's not that far of a trip. It is a bus ride. And the Steelers, they lost three times there. They get this. They understand how important it is. There's the carrot hanging at the end of the stick for 10 days off. I think they're going to win. I get this. You know, the Browns beat the Ravens pretty soundly. So the Browns have the potential and they don't have Deshaun Watson. They have who I think is the better quarterback. So it's possible. But the Browns seem more beat up when the Steelers. Steelers seem healthy. Great attitude. The quarterback in that 2009 debacle, Ben Roethlisberger, didn't even go out to warm up. It was so cold. So, you know, Russell Wilson sleeps in his uniform and his eye black. He loves the game. And I don't think he's going to let this team have what I call a letdown. So I don't see that happening. So I think the Steelers are going to win.
