It's a short week for the Steelers and the Browns, meeting on Thursday Night Football in an early season AFC North battle.
The two teams are plenty familiar with each other, making preparation a little easier without much time on their hands.
Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski knows it's going to be a challenge, and doesn't put much into the fact that the Steelers offense has gotten off to a slow start, because he knows how explosive they can be.
"It is an impressive group," said Stefanski. "Think about the guys that they have on the outside who can beat you with speed and size. They have guys who can win on the inside with speed and savviness. They really have multiple ways to beat you with their weapons and how they can align them.
"We have to be ready. We have to be ready for what I think is a really potent attack."
While preparing for the game, the Browns weighed in on the Steelers, including talking about Minkah Fitzpatrick, Mitch Trubisky and more.
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Coach Kevin Stefanski on Mitch Trubisky:
"He is a really good quarterback. 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."
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett on the Steelers-Browns rivalry:
"I know it goes back a lot of years. Always a tough opponent year in and year out. Good team and good coaches. The tradition is rich. A divisional game on Thursday Night Football, if that does not wake you up, then something is wrong with you."
Stefanski on Minkah Fitzpatrick:
"He is a really, really good football player. Has corner skills playing corner earlier in his career where he can match receivers. He has unbelievable ball skills and unbelievable instincts. He is playing safety at as high of a level as anybody in the game in my opinion. Just a really, really good football player."
Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on the Steelers offense:
"It is an offense that has been pretty efficient. An offense that is well-coached. A bunch of guys, a bunch of skill players who are good. They have a decent line. They are a solid team, and they are experienced and able to use those to their benefit."
Stefanski on Cameron Heyward's career:
"He is a great schematic fit for what they do. He is so strong. He is a mismatch really anywhere you play him along the line he is just so strong and such a big, powerful player. He plays with great effort. I think that is the thing that also shows up on tape is he really plays throughout the whistle down in and down out."
Brissett on Fitzpatrick and the defense:
Definitely Minkah, No. 97 (Cameron) Heyward and those guys, and No. 56 (Alex Highsmith) is a really good player. They have a really good defense. Obviously, you have to know where No. 39 is when you break the huddle and be aware of him. He is as good as advertised of what you see on film. It will be a challenge, that is for sure. It is going to take a 60-minute football game of focus and attention to detail in the things that we are going through in our gameplan to make the right decisions."
Running back Nick Chubb on the Steelers defense:
"The same thing as every year. They are a great unit up front. They have great players. A very physical, a very fast team. They are a great team, especially on defense. It will be a challenge for us like every time we play them, but we look forward to it."
Stefanski on T.J. Watt being out:
"He is a great player. Have a ton of respect for him. He finds ways to impact the game. Obviously, I am hoping he gets better. He is a great player."
Tight end David Njoku on the defense without Watt:
"With or without him they're a great defense. We have our hands full. It will be a fun game Thursday night. Obviously, a big rivalry team so you've got to just follow what we've got to do, follow our instincts and we'll be okay."
Guard Joel Bitonio on what he has seen on film so far from the Steelers:
"I've watched a little bit of tape on them. I've watched their game, seen some highlights. I've watched a couple of drives from this season. From what I can tell from the couple of drives their defense is still playing at a really high level. T.J. Watt is obviously a big piece, but they still have some really, really good players on their defense. It will be a big challenge for us."
Brissett on how different the defense is without Watt:
"They still look good to me. I think New England still did things to help mitigate as much as possible. They still have good players. Obviously, I know they wish they had T.J. out there, but I am sure those guys on the other side of the ball are happy that they get to go out there and play some football, play in the National Football League, make plays and make names for themselves. Watching that film, you can see that."
Brissett on if having Watt out makes the Steelers defense more manageable:
"It is the NFL. Nothing is manageable. All of this stuff is hard. Like I said, I am sure he wants to be out there, and they want him out there, but listen, this league is hard. They have good players, good coaches and good scheme, and I am sure they are going to have things that we haven't prepared for."
Receiver Amari Cooper on Steelers secondary:
"Minkah back there is a heck of a player. Really the full package in terms of instincts, his IQ, ball skills. And he will also come up and make plays in the run game as far as tackling. He's their leader back there and everything starts with him. We have to be very aware of where he is at all times. The other guys are complementary and make plays as well. It's going to be a great challenge for the receivers' room."
Bitonio on if this is a big week with it being the Steelers:
"It's a huge game for us. It's really just the next game, but it's a huge game. Steelers are always a big game. We want to get that bad taste out of our mouth. Making it more than one game is a little premature. We want to win because it's our next opponent. It's big in those aspects."
