After winning three of their first four games of the season, the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers will finally play their first division rivalry game this Sunday when they host the scuffling Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium.
The Browns are tied with the Baltimore Ravens for last place in the AFC North with just one win apiece, but they shouldn’t be taken lightly. They still have one of the best defenses in the NFL, ranking second in fewest yards allowed per game. Cleveland also has an up-and-coming quarterback in rookie Dillon Gabriel, who threw a pair of touchdown passes in his first NFL start last week.
The Browns-Steelers rivalry has been fairly even lately, with Pittsburgh going 5-5 in its last ten games against Cleveland. The two teams have split their season series in each of the last three seasons, so the Steelers can’t take the Browns for granted.
This will be the first AFC North rivalry game for several new Pittsburgh players, including Aaron Rodgers and D.K. Metcalf.
“I’ve heard that this is where real football is played,” Metcalf told reporters on Wednesday. “Just looking forward to getting lined up against every other team that we play, including Sunday.”
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The AFC North is known for its tough, old-school, smashmouth style of football defined by good defense and close, low-scoring games, usually in cold or bad weather. That’s considerably different from the NFC West, where Metcalf spent the first six years of his career with the Seattle Seahawks.
Metcalf is off to a strong start this season, hauling in three touchdowns and clicking immediately with Rodgers. He’ll try to keep that going on Sunday, although it won’t be easy against a Cleveland secondary that’s given up the fourth-fewest passing yards per game in the NFL.
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Featured image via Barry Reeger/Imagn Images