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PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) and Cleveland Browns (2-8) are at the opposite end of the spectrum this season, but that doesn’t mean Thursday night’s game will be a shoo-in for the Steelers. Anything can happen in the NFL, especially on a short week against a division opponent on the road.
With the Steelers coming off an emotional win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, many are viewing Thursday night as a trap game for Pittsburgh. Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson disregarded the term, however. It’s not like college. Trap games really don’t exist in the NFL.
“What’s a trap game?” Jackson asked. “What’s that mean? I played in Carolina for a long time, bro, I’m not familiar with trap games.”
The Panthers went 31-68 and had zero playoff appearances during Jackson’s six-year tenure with Carolina, so he might’ve took a playful jab at Panthers. But the point still stands.
Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt isn’t worried about a lack of focus from the locker room.
“That’s the special thing about this group, you don’t really have to,” Watt said of a potential trap game. “We have a good mix of old and young guys. Guys that have done it at a high level, whether it’s here or other places, that have played in a lot of big games that want to continue to make plays. It’s not like something where we need to go around encouraging guys, this is a big game this week. We all understand it.”
Cleveland has been a tough place for the Steelers in recent years, too. Since 2017, the Steelers are 2-4-1 against the Browns on the road. Thursday Night Football games against the Browns on the shores of Lake Erie have also been a kryptonite for the Steelers, as they are 0-3 in games on TNF in Cleveland (losses in 2009, 2019 and 2022). Overall, dating back to 1980, the Steelers have played seven road Thursday night games against divisional opponents, and they’re 0-7 in those contests.
“The environmental component has our attention,” head coach Mike Tomlin said on Monday. “Thursday night in a hostile division environment is something that we need to be ready for. We’ve been really fortunate in road game environments this year in terms of the support of our fans and their ability to acquire tickets. D.C., Atlanta, Vegas, Denver, etc. I don’t know that’s going to happen in Cleveland. I know as a collective, we better be prepared for a hostile environment, the Dawg Pound, etc.”
Tomlin said it best during The Mike Tomlin Show when asked about a trap game leading up to the team’s Week 8 contest against the New York Giants*.* “It’s not college football. We’re not playing a Group of Five team. This is not homecoming. This is the National Football League. It’s the ultimate parity league.”
The Steelers are taking that same approach against Cleveland. They know...
