Steelers vs. Browns: 5 questions with the enemy ahead of Week 17

The Steelers head into Week 17 on the verge of winning their first division title since 2020. Their opponent, the Cleveland Browns, who are currently projected to finish with another top-five pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. I spoke with Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature ahead of this divisional contest.

1. Cleveland rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders now has five starts under his belt. What should the Steelers’ defense expect from him? Has he earned a shot at starting in 2026, or is Cleveland looking at drafting another passer in the 2026 NFL draft?

Chris Pokorny: Overall, it’s been a decent rookie showing for Shedeur Sanders. His biggest issue is that he takes a tick longer to deliver the ball than most quarterbacks. Another issue is that at times, he still retreats a little on third-and-long when a pass rush gets free, not accepting the fact that the play is either dead or he needs to throw to a checkdown. Besides that, I’ve been encouraged by what we’ve seen in his starts — I see the confidence and tools of a guy who could be a starting quarterback in this league, especially when you consider he’s working with almost an entire backup offensive line, and receivers that might not even be on many other NFL rosters. He has a good degree of escapability, throws a nice deep ball, and has that natural knack for trying to encourage receivers to stay with him on scramble plays. He’s also shown better poise when standing in the face of a rush and calmly delivering a throw despite the fact that he’s about to get blasted. It’s just tough to discern about the 2026 NFL draft, though. While I like what I see from Sanders, if there’s a quarterback who the front office is blown away with in the draft, I don’t think they will pass on him just because Sanders has ‘shown some potential.’ In an ideal world, Sanders would get better and be the quarterback next year, which would allow the Browns to target the offensive line and wide receiver positions in the top of the draft to fill more voids higher.

2. Kevin Stefanski has two winning seasons and two Coach of the Year awards in six seasons, but the Browns could realistically finish with just three wins for the second year in a row. Cleveland is clearly in rebuild mode. Does that include making a change at head coach this offseason?

CP: Cleveland is stuck in so many weird positions. When our owner first came on, he was criticized for the quick trigger and firing head coaches too quickly. However, Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry (our GM) are the group he’s tried to make stick for continuity. However, I think behind the scenes, they are getting a pass for the struggles because our owner realizes he screwed up by giving the go-ahead to do everything possible to acquire Deshaun Watson several years ago. That move set a chain...