The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns do not like each other. The original Cleveland franchise, owned by Art Modell at the time, moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season. In 1998, the NFL granted Cleveland an expansion franchise, and after some lobbying from the powers that be in "The Mistake by the Lake," the Browns were allowed to claim the previous franchise history and records.
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Steelers' TJ Watt sacks Browns' Deshaun Watson in Pittsburgh, PA.
The Browns have not won a division title since they returned to the NFL in 1999 and have only made the AFC playoffs as a Wild Card three times. They lost to the Steelers in 2002 in one of the greatest games in Pittsburgh playoff history. They beat Pittsburgh in the most embarrassing playoff loss in franchise history in 2020 before bowing out to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round. After awarding the largest guaranteed contract to Deshaun Watson in 2022, the Browns made the playoffs and were blown out by the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card game in 2023. This outcome surprised many fans and has influenced odds on betting sites for future Browns games.
Watson has only started 12 games for the Browns over two seasons and watched from the sidelines as Joe Flacco and an excellent defense managed to secure an AFC playoff berth. On episode 25 of Watson's QB Unplugged podcast on the Lockerverse YouTube channel, the Browns quarterback delved into Xs and Os with Kevin Stefanski and his co-host Quincy Avery to break down the Steelers' defense.
"The biggest thing is getting the defense in what we want to get the defense in, and that's a base defense," Watson explained. "Especially a team like Pittsburgh, when they're in base defense, they don't play too many coverages. It's very limited in what they are doing."
Under Dick LeBeau, the Steelers ran one of the most complicated defensive schemes in NFL history. LeBeau left the Steelers after the 2014 season, and over the last decade, the defensive schemes have been somewhat simplified. That is not a knock on Keith Butler or Teryl Austin; the success of TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith has allowed the Pittsburgh defense to adjust LeBeau's legendary blitz schemes because the four-man rush has been so effective over the last few seasons.
"Once we had this situation, we got them exactly how we want it, and then you just run the play and just react," Watson added.
The play in question was an intermediate pass that saw Watson find Amari Cooper for a first down in the Week 2 meeting during the 2023 season. Hearing Watson's opinion of the Steelers being limited defensively is interesting. Pittsburgh won the game because of two Watson turnovers that resulted in two touchdowns by the defense. Highsmith returned an interception 30 yards on the first play from scrimmage, and Watt sealed the victory after Highsmith stripped Watson. He returned the resulting fumble 16 yards for the deciding score.
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Steelers' Alex Highsmith drags down Browns' Deshaun Watson in Week 2 in Pittsburgh, PA.
Watson has not had very much success against the Steelers in his two meetings. In fact, Pittsburgh might prefer to see Watson at this point when the two teams collide. The Browns have not lost to the Steelers over the last two seasons when Watson is sidelined. Mike Tomlin is 2-0 against Stefanski when the Browns' high-priced free agent quarterback is under center.
Steelers Are The Only AFC North Team With Salary Cap Flexibility
The Browns moved on from Baker Mayfield to sign Watson to a staggering $230 million guaranteed contract in 2022. Mayfield eventually landed on his feet with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Tom Brady's replacement and helped the franchise return to the playoffs by winning the NFC South. Watson is still owed over $180 million according to Spotrac, and is scheduled to count over $63 million towards the Browns' 2024 salary cap.
The Browns and Watson are tied together through 2026. Cleveland's massive commitment to Watson had ripple effects throughout the AFC North. Lamar Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens, and Joe Burrow signed a five-year, $275 million contract before the 2023 season with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers are the only team in the division unfettered by a significant commitment to its starting quarterback. However, that may change depending on how Russell Wilson or Justin Fields performs in 2024.
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Mockup of Patrick Queen in a Steelers jersey.
Pittsburgh was able to poach Patrick Queen away from the Ravens, who could not afford to retain him. The Bengals decided to franchise Tee Higgins and keep him for the 2024 season, but with Ja'Marr Chase's contract looming, it is unlikely they can keep their prolific duo together. Omar Khan has a small window to build a superior roster that can put the Steelers back on top of the AFC North, while their quarterback contracts handicap the rest of the division. That is exactly where he wants them.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Does Khan have the advantage over the rest of the division experiencing salary cap issues? Please comment below or on my X: @thebubbasq.
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