The Pittsburgh Steelers defense got right Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, putting up by far their most complete game coming out of the bye week.
Pittsburgh had given up 24.5 points per game through their first four games, but the aging defense looked fresh Sunday versus a wanting Browns offense, feasting on rookie Dillon Gabriel for six sacks in the Steelers' win over Cleveland.
Known to give rookies troubles, the Steelers defense had the Browns third-round pick’s head spinning much of the contest, bringing pressure from every angle while finally stuffing the run game after getting sprinted over early this season.
The Steelers generated six sacks, 14 QB hits and 24 pressures in Week 6, all season highs or tied for season highs in a game for Pittsburgh. The 14 QB hits were tied for the most by any team this season.
The highlight of the sack party was 30-year-old corner Jalen Ramsey sprinting off the edge to sack Gabriel, not once, but twice. He got the Browns QB late in the first quarter, then the veteran ran down the rookie signal-caller late in the fourth quarter. It was Ramsey’s first multi-sack game in 10 seasons. He’d had three total sacks in 139 career games.
"I'm going to probably tell my kids about this," Ramsey said, via ESPN. "I played in a game with T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett, and I had two sacks. That's crazy."
For the score-keepers, Watt had half of a sack, and Garrett was kept off the board, as the Browns didn’t register a takedown of Rodgers.
Nick Herbig matched Ramsey with 2.0 sacks of Gabriel, tying his career high. Fun fact: The Hawaiian native had 4.0 sacks for Saint Louis High School in the 2018 Hawaii state title game against Gabriel and Mililani HS, per NFL Research.
Ramsey was on a pitch count on Sunday while dealing with a hamstring issue that forced him to miss practice early last week. The Pro Bowler’s versatility was evident as he helped stymie the Browns.
"We certainly wanted to make sure that he could impact the game," Tomlin said. "I cannot say enough about Jalen Ramsey. This guy plays outside corner, he plays nickel, he plays free safety. He is exactly what we hoped he would be and certainly he was significant today."
The smothering win over a rebuilding rival pushed the Steelers to 4-1, the only club in the AFC North with a winning record. A date with the Joe Flacco-led Bengals is on deck in Week 7. A victory would give Pittsburgh a massive lead in the division before Halloween.