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it is traditionally the most difficult game of the season - we're used to being lambs to the slaughter there, even if we have talent

It's a good measuring stick to see if these guys are intimidated or ready for a big game (Pittsburgh has much more experience, which IMO is the difference in the game)

Eliminating negative plays will go a long way IMO

I think this game comes down to two things win the turnover battle and can the Browns contain Jaylen Warran. Hold him under 100 rushing and limit his receiving yards and the Browns have a chance. If he runs for 120+ and adds another 40+ receiving and the Steelers win this game going away. Turn the ball over at 3 rivers and well we have seen that game to many times in years past. I expect a low scoring game. Lower than the 1st matches up because both defensive coaches know the others game now. Jaylen Warren presents the biggest issue for the Browns D. Limit him, and don't give them easy points off turnovers and keep them under 17 and the Browns can win this game.

To me, the way Watson plays is key. If he keeps making mistake free football and plays at the speed of this last game then the Browns will destroy the Steelers. If Watson comes out with hesitation and letting the pressure of the game bog him down we could lose.

It seems obvious to me the reason he played the way he did the last game was in large part due to the running game. When you can run the ball well the QB doesn't receive the pressure he gets from the opposing D as he would if you can't run the ball. It makes it much easier for him to get into rhythm and get into his comfort zone. If they are stopping the run and getting pressure with a four man front easily they can drop more players into coverage as well. This greatly increase the pressure and difficulty factor for your QB.

That's what we were seeing until last week. A lot of pressures and QB hits and often with no place to throw the ball. The ability to run the ball against the Steelers will help determine the outcome of this game. That combined with the ability to get pressure on Rodgers.

I don't think anything that happened in the Titans game matters except that we didn't blow it. They're a bad defense against which we should have done exactly what we did. Their only saving grace on D is that while they tend to give up tons of yardage, they somehow pull it together to not always give up 7.

Now, if we can come out against a relatively mid Steelers team and beat them a 2nd time....then we can start talking about potential.
Right now, it feels like we just keep stealing wins. I think we need to see the OLine do a decent job more often. We need to see these receivers and TEs getting open, and we need to see Watson actually finding them -- WITHOUT them dropping it, and we need that run game to keep looking functional.

Still the big difference was that he got the ball out super fast. He knew where he was going within 2 seconds and got the ball gone. That is a mental development. It doesn't matter what the defense is doing if he keeps getting rid of the ball that fast. Even bad olines can block for 2 seconds. Watson making decisions to throw that fast means he trusts the recievers to fight for the ball if he throws into traffic. The way he recovered after the interception also tells me Monken won't bust his balls for a mistake or two which is a huge improvement over Kevin's style of coaching.

As soon as we pummel someone, they'll just say it was a fluke.

Agreed. My attitude; let them disrespect us. Who cares? I don't mind being the underdog. Todd Monken has instilled good worth ethic and the right attitude in this team. Keep playing hard and let the chips fall where they may.

Browns May Have Found Football’s Next Dynamic Duo in These Two Rookies

Cleveland has two young studs on their roster, and they are on pace to take over the league

Louis Timura
|Oct 28, 2026

Coming into the 2026 NFL Season, the Cleveland Browns were in desperate need of wide receiver help.

Luckily for the organization, they were able to draft KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston in this past year's NFL Draft.

Seven weeks into their young careers, Concepcion and Boston are already proving that they are poised to be the NFL's next dynamic duo.




Putting Up Big Numbers

In the first seven weeks, each receiver has put up some big-time performances for the Browns.

For Boston, he leads all rookie receivers in touchdowns with three. Meanwhile, Concepcion is coming off a dominant game where he had eight receptions for 129 yards.

The two receivers rank second and third in total receiving yards, only behind the first receiver drafted, which was Carnell Tate.

Looking at the pace, both guys are projected to get close to that 1,000-yard mark. If they keep up the production they have had, there is no doubt they could both reach quadruple digits in their first season.


The Future

As long as the injury bug doesn't come around too often or severely, Cleveland has their wide receiver room set for the foreseable future with the two rookies and second year man Isaiah Bond.

It's all just a matter of who the quarterback is.

If the Browns can find a top-tier guy, they will have the chance to put together a team that can win lots of games, go on playoff runs, and maybe just try and compete for that coveted championship.

Regardless, having multiple great receiving options means whoever does inevitably take over the offense will have help. It does not fully matter if the Browns have a top quarterback or not.


Young Team, Big Goals

Outside of Boston and Concepcion, the Browns have had back to back phenominal draft classes.

Some other big names the Browns have drafted in the past two season are:

Carson Schwesinger (2025)
Mason Graham (2025)
Quinshon Judkins (2025)
Harold Fannin Jr. (2025)
Shedeur Sanders (2025)
Spencer Fano (2026)
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (2026)
Austin Barber (2026)

If the Browns can figure out a quarterback that can take them to the playoffs in the near future, they can capitalize on all these star players being on their rookie contracts.

It's also a good time to note that they just traded for Jared Verse, who was drafted in 2024 and won DROY after his rookie campaign.

While Deshaun Watson has been winning games, how sustainable is the injury-prone 31-year-old? Now more than ever, Cleveland truly is a quarterback away.


Still More To Come

After the 2025 NFL Draft, I thought the Browns had to have just gotten lucky by getting so many great players. Then, they clearly did it again.

Something has changed in the front office, and Andrew Berry is seeing prospects clearer than ever.

Now is a great time to be reminded that Cleveland has 11 picks in the upcoming 2027 NFL Draft. Not only do they have two first-round picks, but over the past two seasons have been known to trade up and down and move all around the board while collecting more and more assets.

What if the Browns have another winning draft?

The future is clearly bright for a team with such a dark past. Cleveland, it's time to get excited.


https://www.si.com/nfl/browns/onsi/...ic-duo-in-these-two-rookies-01m5zcgzhafe

That only works when watson is protected for those two plus seconds and his WR's are open. Trying to pretend those weren't the problems that existed before before is to deny what we all saw.

Watson's average time before releasing thew ball in the Titans game was 2.74 seconds according to Gemini AI. They state that according to NFL Next Gen Stats tracking in week 1 it was 2.82 seconds against the Jags and 2.55 seconds against the Panthers. In week 6 against the Ravens it was 2.89 seconds. just over one tenth of a second longer. He has had games he has held the ball longer than these games but it fluctuates and this isn't some new thing as it seems you are presenting it.

Disagree. It is a new thing. You just had to watch it with your eyes and not rely on the most misleading stat in the history of football.

So how long he held the ball wasn't almost exactly the same inn some other games and in one game even less than the game against the Titans? That doesn't prove this statement false?


This isn't some big secret. It isn't misleading any any way. It's a very basic concept.

Other teams were getting pressure and stopping the run with a four man fronts. They were applying pressure to watson much quicker on a regular basis.

This allowed them to drop more players into pass coverage. With more men in coverage the WR's were covered and it did not allow for his quick hit targets to be open nearly as much as they were in the Titans game. They didn't have to respect the run game before. With the run game clicking on all cylinders they couldn't sell out by attacking the QB or dropping more men into coverage like in games before.

Those are the factors that lead to holding the ball and or lower competition percentages. That tends to make QB's look worse than they actually are.

This is a team sport and without the ability to protect the QB and run the ball it makes for a huge difference in what a QB can and can not do. That's actually football 101 and those denying that are those who are either being deceptive, fooling themselves or being in denial.

watson played much better because the opportunities were there for him to do so unlike other games.

You can either use the passing game to open up the running game or use the running game to open up the passing game. In this case the Browns used the running game to open up the passing game.

None of this is difficult. watson did a great job of using the the opportunities given to him. Those same opportunities did not exist when the Browns lacked the ability to run the ball.

The ability to have a great running game was the new thing. everything else fed off of that. Or are you trying to say that the first game they had a dominant running game happened at the same time watson played much better is some freaky coincidence?

Cool story. I was talking about your TTT (time to throw) stats you supplied to refute him getting the ball out faster. Those stats are trash, they take nothing into account besides a snap-by-snap measurement of how long the ball was in the QB's hands before a throw. I'm 100% sure his statement about being "super fast" was Watson's decisiveness, not a hyper-analytical stopwatch comment. You just saw something to argue about and took the opportunity.

Now you pivot and talk about all the other factors that led to Watson being more effective, and in doing so basically contradict your own original statements. That's fine, and all of your points therein are valid, but you're just trying to create another argument out of thin air.

TTT stats are trash. That's all.

You seem quite sure that ""super fast" isn't about time. Normal people think that when a person is claiming someone did something faster when they actually didn't is directly related to time. Hmmmmm....

I've used the exact same explanation as to why watson played better in several posts. It isn't my fault you weren't paying attention. It wasn't a pivot.

Claiming this was because watson had some epiphany that suddenly turned him from a frog into a prince in a week is nonsense.

But I get it. We now live in the world of "He didn't mean what he said".

I'm quite sure that "super fast" is related to his processing speed and decision making. Not some psycho-analytical statement related to his time to throw compared to every other snap in every other game using a stupid metric.

That's all. Now get your last word and go hump someone else's leg, l'il doggie.

You brought your leg into this topic to be humped. Nobody invited you.

When your first read is open there is nothing to process. When they have to account for the running game your first read will be open more often.

Having to go through your progressions because your first and sometimes second reads are covered takes more time to process. Opposing D's can dedicate more players in coverage when you can stop the run with four up front. That has been the case all along until the Titans game when the Browns ran all over them.

The circumstances are what changed in this game.

This has nothing to do with processing information faster. He also said this.....


Are you trying to claim that isn't about time either? It seems my pointing out the falsehood in that statement really bothers you. That's a you problem.

I'm glad you decided to move on. You were making a feeble attempt at a silly argument. The weight you were adding to my jockstrap was making it very difficult to walk.

Good dawgie.

Here kitty kitty.......