{"id":71474,"date":"2025-12-27T06:27:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T06:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/71474\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T06:27:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T06:27:21","slug":"what-the-steelers-are-saying-about-the-browns-ahead-of-week-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/71474\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Steelers are Saying about the Browns ahead of Week 17"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within the Browns’ defense is LB Carson Schwesinger<\/a>, who Tomlin called a “slam dunk Defensive Rookie of the Year.” Schwesinger has 147 total tackles and two interceptions, as well as 2.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. LB Devin Bush<\/a> has been a key piece of Cleveland’s linebacker corps alongside Schwesinger. Bush has recorded 102 total tackles and two interceptions, including a pick-six in Week 11 against the Ravens.<\/p>\n

Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith mentioned the respect that Pittsburgh has for Garrett but also noted Cleveland’s other defensive pieces like Bush and Schwesinger that they have to account for.<\/p>\n

“Our job is to block (Garrett) and there are 10 other guys out there that do a heck of a job too,” Smith said. “They rush really well. They cover. They’re aggressive. We enjoy the challenge just like it was the first game, and we have to play our best football.”<\/p>\n

While Pittsburgh’s offense will have its hands full with Cleveland’s defense, the Steelers’ defense is preparing for their own challenge. After facing QB Dillon Gabriel<\/a> in Week 6, they are now preparing for QB Shedeur Sanders<\/a>. Sanders has thrown for 1,103 yards and six touchdowns while also being a threat on the ground with 123 rushing yards and a touchdown in six games.<\/p>\n

Sanders has leaned on TE Harold Fannin Jr.<\/a>, connecting 26 times for 304 yards and three touchdowns. Gabriel also used Fannin heavily in the Week 6 matchup, as Fannin caught seven passes for 81 yards. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and Pittsburgh’s defense are putting a spotlight on Fannin as a result of his production.<\/p>\n

“The challenge is he has basically become their go-to option. He can do a lot of things,” Austin said. “He’s really good after the catch. He’s a strong runner. He can get into pockets in the zones. He’s a hard matchup for linebackers and safeties. So, he does a lot of really good things. I think he and the quarterbacks \u2013 the young quarterbacks in [Dillon] Gabriel and now Shedeur [Sanders] \u2013 but those youngsters a lot of times, you work together a lot, so you develop a rapport, and I think you can see that.”<\/p>\n

With Garrett aiming to continue his historic season and Fannin providing a multi-threat weapon option for Sanders, both teams are preparing for a physical AFC North matchup in Week 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Within the Browns’ defense is LB Carson Schwesinger, who Tomlin called a “slam dunk Defensive Rookie of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[37524,564,73,75,74,36824,37523],"class_list":{"0":"post-71474","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-adpartnerwhat_theyre_saying_article","9":"tag-featured","10":"tag-pittsburgh","11":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","12":"tag-pittsburgh-news","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers-at-cleveland-browns-2025-reg-17","14":"tag-what-theyre-saying"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}