Even without QB Deshaun Watson, the Pittsburgh Steelers will still have their hands full against the Cleveland Browns offense.
They found a way to continue to have success on the field even without their All-Pro running back, Nick Chubb, who suffered a serious injury in the first meeting between the two teams.
And the Steelers defense hasn’t been great, ranking 25th in yards allowed and 26th in yards allowed per carry.
However, they rank just outside the top 10 in points allowed and first in takeaways, which has been key to their 6-3 record.
Instead, Cleveland’s 6-3 record is built on a more stifling, more consistent and dominant defense from game to game.
None have given up fewer yards and they rank second in points allowed per drive, although they are outside the top five in turnovers.
Different ways to ultimately achieve similar results for their teams.
“Whoever has the best defense,” Steelers DL Cameron Heyward said on Good Morning Football on Thursday, will be poised to win Sunday’s matchup between the two AFC North teams.
“They are the absolute number one in defense. Our defense is ready for the challenge. Our offense is ready for the challenge. Should be a good fight this week.
Both the Steelers and Browns have won four of their last five games and are now in second place in the division behind the Baltimore Ravens at 8-3.
Whoever wins Sunday’s matchup will have the best chance to actually challenge the Ravens for the division title.
The Browns have already played Baltimore twice and split the season series thanks to an unlikely comeback win last Sunday.
The Steelers beat the Ravens in comeback style in Week 4, also benefiting significantly from unforced errors, particularly dropped passes.
They don’t play again until the season finale.
It depends on which defense performs better against the opposing offense.
The Steelers will have a lot of trouble moving the ball against the Browns, although a struggling secondary shouldn’t hurt their ambitions in that regard.
On the other hand, Cleveland wasn’t the most efficient offense, for example ranking 29th in yards per drive and 20th in average drive time.
That’s partly because they’ve disrupted the football more than anyone in the league, with 19 giveaways.
If Pittsburgh can continue to get the ball and Cleveland continues to give it away, that’s the clearest path to a Steelers victory.
Only the Los Angeles Chargers turned the ball over less often than Pittsburgh, but no one took it away more often.
So if the game suits Pittsburgh’s style of defense, which focuses on critical moments rather than the play, they should emerge victorious.
