Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Cleveland Browns All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett planned on adding Aaron Rodgers to his graveyard, but he ended up recording only two tackles. The Steelers offensive line did a phenomenal job of shutting down Garrett in the team’s 23-9 win over the Browns on Sunday.
“We were able to stay on schedule and minimize those one-dimensional moments to minimize Myles Garrett’s impact on the game. So, some of those agendas, man, that we had, we were able to get accomplished, and I thought that’s why we engineered victory,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game.
Steelers right tackle Troy Fautanu said Tomlin made it clear at the beginning of the week that limiting Garrett was crucial.
“That’s one of the first thing that Coach Tomlin put up on the board during the team meeting on Monday, he’s a game wrecker,” Fautanu said. “You got to have four hands on him at all times. Making sure he doesn’t wreck the game. I feel like [Broderick] did a good job when he had his one-on-ones.”
The Browns run a lot of stunts on the defensive line, but it did not create an issue for the Steelers offensive line. They were well-prepared.
“I mean, obviously, Myles knows we’re trying to put four hands on him. The coaches got to figure a way to scheme him up to get free. Just watching film, especially with this bye week, working on a lot of stuff. We were prepared for it. We did a good job,” Fautanu said.
Like Fautanu, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was impressed by left tackle Broderick Jones performance against one of the league’s best pass rushers.
“I think he took — hopefully he wasn’t reading it, but I feel like probably there’s some negative — based on the questions I was getting I think Week 3, some negative thoughts out there about how he was playing. I got a lot of confidence in him. I really enjoy his energy,” Rodgers said. “Sometimes trying to kick him in the ass a little bit in practice to get going, but I like his positivity. You know, he’s always the first one to come celebrate with me on the field. I appreciate that, and I appreciate him rising to the challenge this week. Obviously you’re playing a generational type player like that, there’s not going to be a ton of one-on-ones. We’re going to throw different things at him. I thought we did a good job with the tight ends, variation body types, and running backs out there trying to chip him just to kind of slow him down, but when he had singles, I felt like — I got to look at the film, but it seemed like he played pretty well.”
Jones was unfazed by the daunting task of blocking Garrett.
“I just have to come in with the right mindset,” Jones said on Wednesday. “I feel like that’s 90% of the battle, not getting in your own head...
