PITTSBURGH — The Steelers stood 10 toes down in Sunday’s 23-9 win over the Browns, and sacked Cleveland’s rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel six times.
Pittsburgh’s defense roared back to life and dismanted the Browns, and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin didn’t dance around the reason for this resurgence after the game.
“I just think we’re getting the full complement of our weapons back,” Tomlin declared. “In Ireland, man, we got 25 back. This week we got 56 back, 24 back... if you’re asking me why is it starting to look the way that we desire, we got a full complement of talent.”
The message couldn’t be clearer: this isn’t some mysterious strategic breakthrough or schematic revolution.
It’s about having the right players on the field. And while many coaches might use injuries as an excuse, Tomlin refused that route.
“Everybody goes through injuries. I’m not seeking comfort in the lack of availability,” Tomlin said. “When we put this band together, we feel like we can do things like you saw today.”
What we saw was a masterclass in defensive disruption. The Steelers neutralized Cleveland’s ground game, forcing the Browns into unfavorable passing situations where Pittsburgh’s pass rush feasted.
Their secondary, now intact, executed pre-snap disguises that left Gabriel without answers.
“I thought they did a nice job with the pre-snap disguise. They didn’t allow him to digest information prior to getting the ball in his hands, and that’s the first component of slowing down the processing,” Tomlin said.
Perhaps nobody embodies this defensive renaissance better than Jalen Ramsey, who has brought versatility and star power since returning from injury.
Tomlin couldn’t hide his enthusiasm when discussing the cornerback’s impact.
“I cannot say enough about Jalen Ramsey,” Tomlin said. “This guy plays outside corner. He plays nickel. He plays free safety. He is exactly what we hoped he would be. And certainly he was significant today.”
This multi-positional flexibility is exactly what makes this defense so dangerous. With Ramsey able to line up anywhere in the secondary, who finished with six tackles and 2.0 sacks, opposing quarterbacks can’t easily identify coverages pre-snap.
Add in the return of other key defensive players, and suddenly the Steelers have transformed from a unit trying to survive into one actively hunting for turnovers and sacks.
The timing couldn’t be better, with divisional games stacking up on the schedule.
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