PITTSBURGH (93.7 the Fan) There has been much discussion this week surrounding the status of Browns banged-up quarterback Baker Mayfield and the wisdom of putting his left shoulder at risk rather than giving him at least one more week off.
As it turns out, Mayfield isn't even listed on the injury report and he will start Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. But it won't matter who the Browns QB is if the Steelers can't stop the run.
The failure to do so nearly cost the Steelers in their last game, when they lost a 14-0 lead as the Seahawks – with a back-up quarterback and a back-up running back – gashed Pittsburgh's not-so Big and Nasty D for 126 rushing yards in the second half and overtime after running for just 18 yards in the first two quarters.
At times, it looked like Seattle simply ran wherever Cam Heyward wasn't. Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler doesn't necessarily disagree. "Of course, they're going to do that," Butler laughs. "I would, too! I don't blame 'em."
Butler expects the Browns to do the same, especially since that's what they do, anyway, and they won't get away from it, sometimes regardless of down and distance. "They're going to try to stay away from third-and-long like it's poison or somethin'," he chuckles. "They feed off their running game so we have to stop that."
It's incumbent upon those linemen not named Heyward to do their jobs. "We got some young guys who've gotta come along and step up," Butler says. "We're working with 'em and will continue to work with 'em, Cam has done a real good job for us in those terms. Our young guys have got to come along and they have to a certain degree but we need them to be a little bit better than they have been."
Heyward says it's a matter of staying true to fundamentals. "Just comes down to guys staying in their gaps, getting off blocks," he explains. "They got strong runners so we got to make tackles. If we do that and get them behind the chains, we have a better chance."
That would give the linebackers like Devin Bush a better chance to make more plays than they have been. "Just gap integrity, just everybody playing collectively," Bush agrees. "I think that's one thing we're starting to do more and more because of who we're playing this week."
Butler says the Browns make no secret of what they will do. "Their whole offense is geared around running the ball," he says. "You always look at offenses and try to take away what they do best and that's what they do best. There's no doubt about that. You gotta play 8-man fronts against these guys to make sure they don't run the ball."
But they will and Heyward says they should. "The offensive line is very sound, of course, and (Nick) Chubb is one of the best backs in the league," the captain says. "You put those 2 together, it's a match made in heaven. They finish. They're road graders and they've been together for a good part of the decade. We are going to have our work cut out for us."
"Their offensive line collectively is probably as good as we've seen in terms of run blocking," Butler agrees. "They always get a body on a body and it's hard to get off 'em. We've got to get off blocks and put bodies on 'em."
Then once they do put bodies on 'em, the Steelers need to make tackles, another fundamental that has been lacking. "What we've always tried to teach is 'get to the ball and get both hands on 'em,'" says Butler says, "if they bring their feet and get both hands on 'em it gives us a better chance to tackle. We were diving at a lot of stuff last week. That didn't help us any."
Of course, as Bush points out, often even getting both hands on Chubb is no guarantee. "He's able to absorb contact, run through contact and keep his feet moving," Bush explains. "He's a tough back to bring down."
Yet Bush remains confident. "I feel we're well-prepared," he adds, "we play them twice a year, every year, so we 're obviously comfortable with how they call their plays and their system and everything so it's just going out there and competing."
And Butler knows that's when it gets real. "We can pat ourselves on the back and say, 'we've got that covered' but, no, we don't know until we start playing," he says wryly. "It's not live until Sunday."
