The Cleveland Browns’ defense is in for another tough matchup tomorrow against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and head coach Kevin Stefanski has been hard at work in his short week of preparation to mitigate every aspect of their offense as possible in his effort to get the team back over .500.
He spoke to reporters on Tuesday about the challenge of calling a defense against quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who Stefanski had previously faced in his time with the Vikings. In his comments to the media, he made it clear that he respects Trusbisky’s ability to move the pocket, and knows that the Steelers’ receivers and running backs will gash his defense if given any opportunities to make big plays.
“He is a really good quarterback,” Stefanski explained. “I saw him a lot when I was in Minnesota and he was in Chicago. He is very, very athletic. He can really move around. He can make plays with his feet. He can take off and run. He can throw while scrambling. I think they do a nice job of utilizing his athleticism. They have skill players really all over the field outside and inside that can hurt you.”
Cleveland cannot afford to lose back-to-back games at this point in their 2022 campaign, and there is sure to be an added sense of urgency to win in this divisional matchup, especially after their embarrassment in Week 2. Stefanski will need to focus on getting his defense prepared to limit the Steelers to minimal yardage, especially in crunch time near the end of the game, and figure out how to utilize every tool he has on offense to put up the necessary points to emerge victorious.
If they can escape this Thursday night tilt with a win, the Browns could find themselves back in a position to seriously pursue a playoff berth, and with a full head of steam, might be able to dominate the middle part of their challenging 2022 schedule.
