The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot more confidence following Week 3 than they did after Week 2 in the NFL season. The team is coming off a game in which they finally displayed what a Mike McCarthy-coached offense can do as they put up 30 points against the Cincinnati Bengals. Now their focus will shift to a different Ohio divisional rival as they take on the Cleveland Browns on the road Thursday night to kick off Week 4 of the season. Despite their big road woes in divisional Thursday night games, there is already some trash talking going on in the Steel City.
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New Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy on the field before a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2026.
The Black and Gold have struggled on the road against Cleveland specifically on Thursday nights. That has been largely since the retirement of former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Now Aaron Rodgers will look to squash that narrative as he leads a rejuvenated offense on the road.
On Tuesday, Roethlisberger hosted an episode of his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. During the episode he recapped the Week 3 victory over Cincinnati in which he had high praise for the improved offensive production. He also looked ahead to the matchup against the Browns and wasted little time taking a shot at the franchise.
“Absolutely, [Todd Monken is] like, ‘Listen, we’re not the Browns being the Browns, like we’re going to go out and do this,’” Roethlisberger said. “That sounds great until January comes around and the players are sending their cars to Florida already.”
The whole "Browns is the Browns" joke recently resurfaced when former head coach Mike Tomlin decided to make a jab at them. Browns Head Coach Todd Monken took note of it in a press conference and was not happy about it. He made sure everyone was aware that he heard Tomlin's dig when he spoke with reporters following their Week 2 victory on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The comments on Tuesday by the former Black and Gold quarterback just added even more fuel to the fire in this heated division rivalry.
Cleveland defensive back Denzel Ward also made sure to not be shy in taking a subtle shot at Rodgers this week ahead of the contest on Thursday. They got the best of Pittsburgh in Week 17 of the 2025 season as they were able to knock them off 13-6 at home. However, things will be a bit different this time around as wide receiver DK Metcalf, who did not play in that game due to a suspension, will participate on Thursday night. The other difference is that Monken will have Deshaun Watson as the signal-caller, whereas it was Shedeur Sanders last season with former head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Steelers Need Redemption From 2025 To Keep Momentum Going
The Steelers have a huge chance to build off of Sunday's divisional showdown victory, especially on the offensive side of the ball. With Metcalf being available this time around, it gives Rodgers more weapons to get the ball to in space to make plays and avenge the late December loss in the 2025 season. They also can keep feeding running back Jaylen Warren, who really got the running game going with 127 yards rushing against the Bengals in Week 3. If Sunday was any indication as to where the offense is going, they are poised to truly take off under McCarthy.
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Pittsburgh Steelers veteran QB Aaron Rodgers (left) hands the ball off to running back Jaylen Warren (right) during a home win over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2026.
Sunday was a massive step in the right direction for the offense. For a unit that entered the game with many questions surrounding it, they provided a lot of answers in their first AFC North matchup of the season. The one question lingering despite their 400-plus yards of total offense is whether it will continue. They have a big opportunity to buck a trend and exorcise some demons with a win on Thursday to back Roethlisberger's shot at the Browns.
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