The Steelers will have their hands full against the Browns this week, a team they tied, 21-21, Week 1 of the season.
The Browns lead not just the AFC, but the NFL with a plus 10 takeaway ratio. Their opportunistic defense has created 20 turnovers, including 11 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries.
And six of those turnovers came at the expense of the Steelers in their Week 1 meeting, when Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted three times, and the Steelers had three fumbles, including two by Roethlisberger.
"Any time you turn the ball over you get disappointed," said Roethlisberger. "It was one of those games. Whether it was elements, them making plays, us not making plays. A lot of factors involved. At the end of the day they made the plays and made us turn the ball over.
"They made the plays, we didn't the first time around. Credit them, they're a good defense. We said going into that game they might be the best we play all year, and we'll still say that."
Roethlisberger said the overall play of the Browns' defense has contributed to their success in creating turnovers, and it all starts up front.
"It's a couple of things," said Roethlisberger. "It starts with the pass rush. Obviously, Myles (Garrett) is one of the best in the business. He is long, he gets after the quarterback, gets good jumps on the snap. In the secondary they catch the ball. We always joke defenders play defense because they can't catch, but they can catch the ball. They don't just bat it down, they make plays."
Making the plays this week will have to start right off the bat for the offense. Coming off the bye week the offense can't afford to be sluggish and starting strong is something they have done heading into the bye, and need to continue.
"Trying to start fast," said Roethlisberger. "The last couple of weeks we have been doing that. We've been playing well offensively. We can't take a half to get going. We have to get going early."
More from Ben:
On what was the catalyst the last couple games to get you and Antonio Brown going:
Just sticking to it. Not worrying about what the outside world has to say or people because we know what we have.
On how good is a bye week to get rest and how much is it a disruption to get rhythm:
I think it can be disruptive if you let it be. You always want one about midway through the season. This is about as early as you want one. For us, it's a time to get ourselves ready to go and really make a big push for the second half.
On how long does it take you to get a tendency of a defense:
It takes some time. Obviously, their coordinator is one that has been around for a long time. You can get defensive tendencies in terms of calls and stuff like that. In terms of players, it definitely takes at least one maybe two times around. We will watch as much film as we can to prepare the best we can.
On what he thinks of going for two when you cut a 14-point lead to eight:
When I saw it on TV, I thought it was kind of a head scratcher. I didn't know what was going on, but I saw afterwards they said his percentage was good. I don't understand the whole math thing behind it, but ultimately the coach has to decide. Coach [Mike] Tomlin and I had that discussion before every game before the game starts. Are we going for two on the first score or not? Ultimately it comes down to the coaches' feel I think. How is my offensive playing, how is my defense playing, what is the momentum of the game like – I think all of those things need to be taken into consideration.
On if he spent the bye week evaluating the offense for the first six weeks, and what are you working on for the last 10:
Just getting better, not turning the ball over. I think that has been a negative for me for the first part of the season. I hate when we turn the football over. I hate when we lose football games, but if you look at positives I think we are getting better every week. I think the line hasn't given up sacks in the last two games – that is always a positive for me. I think James Conner is getting better, and that is always a positive for our team and our run game. He's getting better in the pass game. Plus A.B. [Antonio Brown] is making plays so that makes everybody happy.
