TNF advance: Browns eye vulnerabilities in 8-2 Steelers

Obviously, if Kevin Stefanski and the Browns see any vulnerabilities in Russell Wilson and the Steelers, they aren’t showing their cards. At his press conference this week, the Cleveland head coach said all the right things about Wilson.

“He’s a great player,” said Stefanski, who’s Browns (2-8) host the Steelers (8-2) on Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video). “The style which he plays hasn’t changed very much. He can win off schedule, he can win on schedule, great deep-ball thrower, he’s taking care of the ball.”

While Wilson is taking care of the ball, he’s not exactly putting it in the end zone of late. There aren’t many categories in which Mike Tomlin’s Steelers rank near the bottom of league. However, red-zone offense under Wilson is one. Since he became the starter in Week 7, the Steelers are 28th in the league with a dismal 38.9 touchdown percentage on drives inside the opponent 20-yard line. With Justin Fields in the lineup through Week 6, they scored red-zone touchdowns at a 50-percent clip.

Pittsburgh enters the AFC’s oldest rivalry without a touchdown over its last five trips inside the red zone, dating to Nov. 10 at Washington, when Jaylen Warren lost a fumble at the Commanders’ 1. Wilson also threw a red-zone interception in last week’s 18-16 win over Baltimore.

Another vulnerability for the Steelers: Thursday games. Under Tomlin (2007-24), the Steelers haven’t enjoyed traveling on short weeks. They’re 2-8 on the road in Thursday games under Tomlin, having lost eight of their last nine. What’s more, if Steelers followers get a little ominous déjà vu entering this week, that’s because Pittsburgh has lost Thursday night games in Cleveland during the 2022, 2019 and 2009 seasons.

Cleveland, meanwhile, owns the NFL’s best winning percentage in Thursday games (.727, 8-3) since 2012.

Painful memories for Chubb: Tomlin said this week that while he’s glad to see Browns running back Nick Chubb back on the field, the coach is certainly focused on how Chubb can hurt the Steelers. In his last game against Pittsburgh, this one at Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 18, 2023, he sustained a horrific knee injury that led to a grueling rehab. Prior to the injury, Chubb had amassed 6,511 rushing yards since the Browns drafted him in 2018, second in the league to Derrick Henry during that span. Chubb returned to the Cleveland lineup Oct. 20.

DangerRuss winning streaks: Wilson needs a win on Thursday to extend his personal winning streak to five starts. In seven of his 12 NFL seasons before he joined the Steelers, Wilson has led teams on winning streaks of at least five games. He did it with the Seahawks from 2012-15 and 2019-20, and in 2023 with the Broncos. Overall, in 13 seasons since Seattle selected him 75th overall in the third round of the 2012 draft, Wilson is 119-72-1(.622) in the regular season. In three career starts against Cleveland, Wilson is 3-0 with six touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 114.7 passer rating. Meanwhile, Browns quarterback Jameis Winston has never started against the Steelers.

Myles of separation: Browns defensive end Myles Garrett reached seven sacks last week to become the only player in the league with at least seven in each of the past eight seasons.

For more information on the Browns and Steelers, visit the Cleveland and Pittsburgh team pages at ProFootballPost.com.