Pittsburgh Steelers: Studs and duds from Week 6 vs. Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers put together a dominant 38-7 win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6.

In their first divisional matchup of the year, the Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the Cleveland Browns. After a week of analysts theorizing that the 4-1 Browns might exorcise their demons against Pittsburgh, the Steelers re-asserted that the old hierarchy still holds true. Pittsburgh put together a 38-7 victory over Baker Mayfield’s woeful team.

With the win, Mike Tomlin’s team advances to 5-0 and maintains the top seed in the AFC North. Pittsburgh faces the 5-0 Tennessee Titans next week in a showdown of unbeaten teams.

Before looking too far ahead into Pittsburgh’s future, let’s look at the best performances for the Steelers from this past weekend.

Stud: Chase Claypool

Have the Steelers done it again? Pittsburgh specialized in drafting star receivers outside of the first-round over the past decade. Notably, the Steelers selected Antonio Brown in the sixth-round, Emmanuel Sanders in the third, Mike Wallace in the third, and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the second. After a brilliant performance on Sunday, Claypool looks like a future star.

While Smith-Schuster has an electric, endearing personality, he hasn’t performed at a Pro Bowl level since Brown left Pittsburgh. The USC product is in the final year of his rookie deal, and the Steelers probably won’t re-sign him. With James Washington two years away from needing an extension, Pittsburgh needed a new injection of wide receiver talent.

Claypool announced his arrival with an 84-yard strike in Week 2. After a quiet Week 3 outing, the rookie made seven receptions for 110 yards and three touchdowns in Week 5. He also ran for a touchdown. While Claypool didn’t match that performance against Cleveland, the Notre Dame product had another big day.

Ben Roethlisberger connected with Claypool every time he targeted the 6-4, 238-lb. receiver on Sunday, producing four receptions for 74 yards. Claypool also punched in another touchdown on the ground. With 4.42 40-yard speed, Claypool presents a rare combination of size and speed that gives him a natural advantage against cornerbacks, linebackers, and safeties. Hopefully, he develops into an unstoppable offensive threat.

Dud: Penalties

The Steelers didn’t have significant penalty issues against the Browns, only giving up 45 yards on six fouls. Obviously, Tomlin wants his team to avoid making any costly mistakes, but that’s not realistic. Hopefully, Pittsburgh can cut down their number of fouls slightly, but I’m nitpicking here.