Steelers Laughing As Browns’ Training Camp Is Making Cleveland Look Horrible

The Pittsburgh Steelers went through arguably the most significant change throughout the NFL during the 2026 offseason. While several organizations hired new coaches, Mike Tomlin was in charge in the Steel City for almost two decades. Now, Mike McCarthy is looking to bring playoff success back for the Black and Gold. The AFC North looks vastly different as a whole as well. The Baltimore Ravens moved on from John Harbaugh and brought in Jesse Minter, while the Cleveland Browns hired Todd Monken to replace Kevin Stefanski. The division is certainly in for some new rivalries and fresh perspectives all over the place.

The Steelers aren't very experienced with head-coaching changes. McCarthy is just the fourth to hold the position dating back to 1969. Cleveland, on the other hand, cannot say the same. Since, the AFC North was formed in 2002, the Browns have found themselves in the basement of the standings time and time again. The franchise can't seem to get much right.

Recently, someone who should have been a cornerstone for years in Myles Garrett was traded to he Los Angeles Rams. That almost immediately signaled that the front office has some kind of rebuild in mind. Despite this, there is a lot of intrigue because of the make-up of the quarterback room. Most notably, Deshaun Watson is healthy after tearing his Achilles (twice) in 2024, and Shedeur Sanders has continued to generate plenty of hype.

Regardless, it going to be very tough for the Browns and Monken to compete with the Steelers, Ravens, and Cincinnati Bengals in a 17-game season. If Cleveland wants any chance at all, it needs to get strong play from whomever is running the offense from under center. That appears to be trending in a bad direction following a simple, yet telling post from The Athletic's Zac Jackson.

During practice in Thursday, the beat writer directly acknowledged that the quarterbacks were having a tough time completing passes to receivers. That's definitely not something that will encourage a coaching staff or fan base. Jackson added that Watson looked somewhat better as practice continued, but hinted that it was impossible to get much worse than what had already transpired.

That's not a very good sign, either. Watson started camp off so poorly that there was no way he could replicate what had already been done. He could be rusty coming off of a long break from legitimate action, but it's still not great news for the Browns. It is going to be another long year if things continue to trend in the way that they are.

There is plenty of time left prior to meaningful football being played, but professional quarterbacks should at least be able to find open receivers and complete passes; especially when full pads aren't even on. The Browns are going to have a very difficult time moving the ball down the field against the Steelers' and Ravens' defenses if the signal-callers in Cleveland can't improve, and quickly.

The Bengals even invested on that side of the ball and should boast a relatively strong unit as well. Monken was a bit of a surprising hire as everyone believed that Jim Schwartz should have gotten the nod following Stefanski's firing. That didn't end up happening, which means there is going to be a bunch of pressure on the new regime. It won't help if the offense is bad because that side of the ball is Monken's speciality.

Steelers Can't Afford A Bad Loss To Cleveland In 2026

Pittsburgh has not performed well against the Browns of late. The Steelers have not swept their division rival in the regular season since the 2021 campaign. For the most part, that is embarrassing because the rosters have not been equal in any way, shape or form. Now, with Monken in charge and ugly reports coming from camp, McCarthy and co. should be counting down the days until the Weeks 4 and 8 matchups.

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