Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Standouts from Week 1 vs. Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns played one ugly game on Sunday, but who were the standouts from Pittsburgh?

In a game that is already in contention for the ugliest game of the year, a tilt between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns ended in poetic fashion. A tie.

That was the fitting end because neither team deserved to win.

That being said, we’ll try to pick out some of the standouts from the Steelers in this matchup.

T.J. Watt

It was one year ago in this very same game where T.J. Watt made his NFL debut against the Cleveland Browns. In that game, he came out of the gate hot with two sacks and an interception. One year later, Watt put on another show.

All things considered, Watt probably did his job better than anyone on the Steelers on Sunday. With a favorable matchup coming against undrafted rookie left tackle Desmond Harrison, Watt terrorized Tyrod Taylor all day long, accounting for four sacks on the day and an additional three QB hits.

All things considered, the Steelers did a pretty good job in their pass defense, and that all started with Watt consistently getting pressure on Taylor throughout the day. They had some problems stopping Taylor with his legs more than his arms, but nonetheless, a great outing today from Watt.

Hopefully we’ll see more of the same from Watt and the rest of the Steelers pass rush, as they totaled seven sacks against the Browns. Last year, the Steelers defensive unit had the most sacks in franchise history, and it looks like more of the same from this group can be expected in 2018.