The Browns are out for vengeance. After the Steelers knocked off the Browns 26-22 at home on Monday Night Football behind two defensive touchdowns by Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt, Cleveland is coming in focused on picking up another divisional win. They are coming off revenge over the Ravens, who have previously beaten the Browns. It seems the team is looking for a revenge tour through the division.
Starting cornerback Greg Newsome talked about the emotions around the game, especially without Deshaun Watson playing. The team is taking it day by day, but more importantly, they want to showcase that they have the grit to come back and knock off a team that had beaten them previously, like the Steelers.
“It’s a huge game,” Newsome said on The Return with Josh Cribbs. “Obviously, two 6-3 teams, it can get us tied for first in the division, everything like that. But we kind of just gonna approach the same thing, and right now we’re on a revenge tour. That’s what we said. We lost to Baltimore? Revenge tour. And now it’s Pittsburgh’s turn.”
Even with Watson out, the Browns boast a formidable ground attack and one of the league’s best defenses. It is no surprise that the Steelers are on their list of targets for revenge, but Pittsburgh is hoping they can snatch up a victory to move to 3-0 in the division on the season. A win would give the Steelers a front-row seat to the playoff picture for the rest of the way.
The Browns announced on Monday afternoon that rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, not veteran P.J. Walker, will start this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Thompson-Robinson started one game in place of Watson earlier this season, and he struggled, completing 19 of 36 for 121 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions and a 25.3 passer rating in a 28-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. But his preseason was mighty impressive.
In four preseason games, he was 37 of 58 for 440 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions and a 110.0 passer rating. Newsome and the Browns will have confidence that the rest of the team can step up and get their revenge this week. It’s never easy to win on the road in the AFC North, and Pittsburgh hopes they can wind one up on Sunday.