Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Calls Out Alarming State Of The Cleveland Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers recently defeated the Cleveland Browns in a Week 6 matchup to move to 4-1 on the year. Within the game, there were a lot of different takeaways that could be offered up about the state of both the Browns and Steelers, but one notable factor in particular stood out to many viewers watching this game. 

What caught the eyes of viewers around the world who tuned into this game wasn't simply that the Steelers took care of business fairly easily, winning 23-9 and never making this game competitive, it was also the dismal state of the Browns as a team.

The horrendous play by the Browns was enough to catch the attention of former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and on a recent episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, he pointed this fact out two days after the game against the Browns officially concluded. On that particular episode of Footbahlin, he made this comment regarding the state of the Browns' organization, a remark which will likely make most Steelers fans very delighted to hear.

"In watching that game, they are worse than I thought," Roethlisberger opened with. "Like they, they are abysmal. Offense, defense, and I'm not just saying it because it's Cleveland, and I know we like to joke about Cleveland on the show, they were terrible. They were terrible on offense, where is this vaunted defense? Like, where is Myles Garrett, player of the year?"

Roethlisberger's comments couldn't have been stated much better than they were. The Browns were unable to get anything consistently going against the Steelers, with the only way the Browns having true success moving the ball forward was in connection with the Steelers' unusual amount of penalties during the game. Steelers fans everywhere are likely hoping that this was a one time occurrence, and not a sign of things to come, especially as the opponents the Steelers face will not be as easy to defeat as the Browns were.

Like Roethlisberger talked about during this particular episode of Footbahlin, not every opponent the Steelers will face throughout the course of the year will be at the level he described the Browns at, and their next test comes on a short week to face the Cincinnati Bengals on the road during Thursday Night Football. There are still many areas that the Steelers need to clean up, especially on a short week against a divisional opponent, and the schedule won't provide them many opportunities to take their time to clean up the weaknesses.

Steelers Schedule Only Gets Harder From Here

Despite the slight reprieve the Browns gave the Steelers in their Week 6 matchup, which allowed the Steelers to put together their best performance on all sides of the ball that pivotal Sunday afternoon, the rest of the season isn't going to be on the same level as the Browns were as mentioned. After Thursday Night Football, the following matchups will include top level teams like the Green Bay Packers in Week 8, the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9, and the first matchup with the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14. All of these contests will be much more difficult than what we saw out of the Browns, and Roethlisberger's comments will most likely not apply to these particular games. 

For as good as the Steelers looked against the Browns to warrant Roethlisberger's comments, the remaining teams on the schedule, with the potential exception of the second matchup against the Browns in Week 17 on December 28th, will be on a much higher competitive level, and will be true tests for the Steelers if they want to make some noise in the AFC.

What did you think about Roethlisberger's comment about the Browns as a team? Let us know in the comments or on X at @SteelersSwamp7.

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