Around the AFC North: Steelers Take Division Lead…

Pittsburgh Steelers: Bye Week Is Next for Pittsburgh After Taking Division Lead

A four-game winning streak has vaulted the Steelers (6-2) into the AFC North lead, after Sunday’s 27-6 win over the Cleveland Browns (5-3).

Browns defensive end Jared Verse talked plenty of trash leading up to the game, saying that he planned to “make Pittsburgh ours.”  The Steelers made sure to mention Verse’s comments afterward.

“He should have kept his mouth shut,” Pittsburgh safety Jaquan Brisker said via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com. “All that talking and to come out with zero tackles, that’s bad. You didn’t stand behind your words, and you didn’t stand on business. So, he got to look himself in the mirror and get better.”

Not only did Verse have just one tackle, but he got body-slammed by Steelers left guard Mason McCormick.

The Steelers also rushed for 200 yards, with 143 coming from running back Jaylen Warren. He now has as many games with 100 rushing yards this season (four) as he did in his first four NFL seasons combined.

Nevertheless, Verse said he didn’t regret putting Pittsburgh on blast.

“I stand by everything I say,” Verse said. “As a man, you have to naturally do that.”

Cleveland was trying to sweep the season series after defeating Pittsburgh, 27-24, in Week 4. However, the Steelers are now the hottest team in the division, and they have a bye in Week 9 before their divisional showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10.

Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward said Verse’s pre-game trash talk was irrelevant.

“Not motivated by that,” Heyward said. “We were motivated because we wanted to get this damn win before we got to the bye. So there’s bigger fish to fry.”

Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow Likes How His Team Keeps Finding a Way

It wasn’t pretty, but the Bengals moved to 5-2, and franchise quarterback Joe Burrow liked his team’s resiliency.

Cincinnati overcame a 13-0 deficit for the second straight week and rallied to defeat the Tennessee Titans in overtime, 43-36.

Burrow threw three interceptions, but he also threw for five touchdowns and ran for a nine-yard touchdown in overtime that made the difference. He became the second quarterback in NFL history with at least 450 passing yards, five passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, the other being Norm Van Brocklin in 1951.

“We found a way to win today. We’re 5-2,” Burrow said, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “We lose that game for the last three years.

“It’s hard to win. You want to be great snap in snap out, but it’s not the reality of it. All we can do is keep working hard and get better. That’s what the NFL and getting better is. We’ll continue to do that.”

The Bengals also trailed 13-0 against the Ravens in Week 7, but they rallied for 35 unanswered points in the second half. Head Coach Zac Taylor likes the resiliency he’s seeing from Cincinnati.

“You guys have watched us play the last two years, and some of those games have gone the other direction,” Taylor said via The Associated Press. “So for our guys to step up and seal the game, I’m not going to dismiss that.”

Cleveland Browns: Reducing Deshaun Watson’s Sacks Is a Major Priority

Deshaun Watson has been sacked 33 times this season, while no other quarterback has been sacked more than 23 times. Watson was sacked eight times by the Steelers on Sunday and said he wasn’t getting rid of the ball quickly enough on many plays.

“Just got to get rid of the ball, try to find completions as much as I possibly can, try to find my checkdowns,” Watson said via The Akron Beacon Journal and Yahoo Sports. “Don’t try to be a hero, try to make the play, extend the play as much as possible, just kind of understanding the game and the situation.”

However, Browns left guard Zion Johnson said the pass protection for Watson hasn’t been up to par. Watson was also sacked eight times against the New York Jets last month.

“I mean, we have to be better,” Johnson said. “I mean, we can’t let the quarterback get touched that much. We got to own our own mistakes and we got to fight like hell to fix it and come out next week even better than we were this week so that doesn’t happen again.”

The Browns visit the New Orleans Saints (2-5) in Week 9.

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