There is no rest for the weary in the NFL.
Certainly not when the league schedules you to play on a Thursday night on the road following a Sunday game.
Less than 24 hours after defeating the Ravens, 18-16, in a hard-fought victory at Acrisure Stadium, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin held his weekly press conference one day early as the team began preparations to travel to Cleveland for a Thursday night matchup.
For a team that went 11 weeks without playing an AFC North game – matching the Bears this season as the longest a team has gone in an NFL season without playing a divisional opponent in NFL history – the Steelers will face two divisional opponents in a four-game span.
Mondays for Tomlin and his coaching staff are typically used to review the previous week's game. In this instance, the staff had to immediately turn its attention to the Browns.
"To be completely transparent, I have not watched a snap of it on a short week," Tomlin said of the Steelers' win over the Ravens that pushed their record to 8-2. "My attention needs to turn to Cleveland. And so my assessment of the game really is just kind of from memory, conversations and reading the game book and seeing some things on highlights and so forth."
The Browns (2-8) are in the same situation, but have the comfort of playing the game at home.
For the Steelers, the job is a little more difficult. Since they'll travel to Cleveland on Wednesday per league rules, they have to jam all of their game preparation into Tuesday's practice session.
And even at that, Tomlin can't have a normal practice because he doesn't want to beat his players up after competing in such a physical game Sunday against the Ravens.
"I think one of the things and key variables that you weigh is, how do you best position the group to perform and compete?" Tomlin said. "And by that, I mean, how do you get them in the stadium in the very best physical condition you can get them in on a short week? And so sometimes physical preparation gets compromised on a short week. I'm not complaining about it. I imagine that Cleveland is tasked with the same challenges. Those critical decisions that need to be made about how you work on a short week is a major component of performance."
Though the Steelers have dominated the series since the Browns rejoined the NFL in 1999, going 39-10-1 in that span, the past five seasons have not been as kind, as Pittsburgh is 1-3-1 in that span in road games against the Browns.
That has Tomlin and his staff on alert, especially when dealing with the short work week that involves two divisional opponents.
"When you have back-to-back division games, it is significant, but also to have back-to-back division games, and the second one be on a short week on the road, that has our attention and urgency from a lot of perspectives," Tomlin said. "We have got to make really good decisions this week about strategy, what to run, what not to run, what can we perform on a limited amount of physical repetitions? What do we need to take a calculated risk in terms of running on a limited amount of physical repetitions? I just think that that's always the case. On Thursday, we don't default to base menus and things of that nature, particularly when you plan someone that is familiar with you, as Cleveland is with us.
"How innovative can we be, how expansive can our menus be, and press the envelope in that direction? And so we got some hardcore decisions there. You also got some hardcore decisions about how you work. What's the nature of your work? Are they walk-throughs? Are there run-throughs on a limited amount of preparation time, on a short week? What does that look like? And you know, you manage the balancing act of getting them in the stadium, physically prepared, while at the same time preserving them, acknowledging that they were in a significant physical football game yesterday."
Acknowledging Boswell: Steelers placekicker Chris Boswell set a record on Sunday with the third game of his career – and second this season – in which he has made six field goals in a single game. He also has a fourth such game under his belt, having also kicked six field goals in a playoff win at Kansas City in 2016.
Boswell is now 29 of 30 on kicks this season and is on pace to break the league record of 44 field goals in a season. His only miss came from 62 yards.
"He's been everything that we need him to be," said Tomlin. "He is performing at an extremely high level. We're extremely comfortable calling upon him in just about any circumstances."
Boswell's 6-for-6 day came on a Sunday – including three from 50 yards or beyond – in which every other AFC North kicker missed at least one field goal attempt.
And his extraordinary season has come despite the Steelers losing punter and holder Cameron Johnston in Week 1. The Steelers were forced to utilize wide receiver Scotty Miller as a holder when Johnston was injured during their victory over the Falcons in Week 1, the other instance in which Boswell has made six field goals this season, and have used punter Corliss Waitman since as his holder.
"It's just been special and to and to do what he's done, obviously with a change holder in the middle of the thing is doubly impressive," Tomlin said. "I'd be remiss if I didn't start first with his contributions and Corliss, not only as a punter, but as a holder, just being solid In the specialist form of play that that collective in particular, has been rock solid for us. Can't say enough about what Corliss has been doing for us in terms of flipping the field as well. The field position component is always going to be significant when you're in games like that. And it was not only in terms of what Corliss did or what Boz was able to do from great distances in terms of secure points for us."
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast Pittonline@iheartmedia.com
Injury update: Tomlin said it's likely that linebacker Alex Highsmith, who missed Sunday's win over the Ravens with an ankle sprain, will also miss Thursday night's game against the Browns.
But the Steelers also came out of that game without any major issues.
Defensive tackle Keeanu Benton left in the second half with a knee issue, but Tomlin said the injury was not serious.
"All the guys that sustained something in game, doesn't appear to be an issue moving forward. And so that's exciting," Tomlin said.
Tight end MyCole Pruitt also sat out Sunday's game with a knee injury, but could be ready to go against the Browns.
The Steelers also opened the window last week for cornerback Cory Trice to return to action after going on the Reserve/Injured List with a hamstring injury. Trice could be ready for activation.
"We opened the window for Cory last week, and he got a good week's work and may be available to us," Tomlin said. "And so we'll see where that leads us as well."
