The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off of their biggest game of the season as the team was able to beat the Cleveland Browns at home in Week 8. This was a highly-contested matchup between the two teams due to how pivotal the game would be towards the standings in the AFC North. Both teams entered the matchup with a record of 5-2, and the winner was going to take sole possession of first place in the division for the time being. Pittsburgh was able to dominate the game and gain a ton of momentum heading into the bye week, and the team did it in front of two of franchise legends.
Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, right, and former linebacker James Harrison, left, interact prior to an NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium in Week 8.
Both Ben Roethlisberger and James Harrison were each at the game on Sunday, and that was huge as they each have had a ton of success against the Browns throughout their careers. Roethlisberger has spoken about his time at the game on Sunday, and he shared during the most recent episode of his podcast that Harrison nearly got into a fight ahead of the matchup. This stemmed from Jared Verse's comments from the week prior, and the fact that Verse was walking through Pittsburgh's sideline before the game.
Fans probably weren't too surprised to hear this about Harrison, as he always approached the game with this kind of attitude. However, Roethlisberger wasn't the only one that saw Harrison getting riled up ahead of the game. Steelers' long snapper Christian Kuntz released the most recent episode of his podcast on Thursday, and he shared that Harrison tried to get him to go and fight some of the Browns before the game began.
"I dap up Deebo, I pay my respects to Deebo, and after I dap up Deebo, I get gripped up," Kuntz said. "Like Deebo grips me up. Like grabs me underneath my pads, and he's like the strongest man ever. And dude, it's 11:30, like I'm just going out to warm up. I got Deebo's hands on me and he's screaming at me. He's going, 'Why is he walking through the sideline? Go fight him, fight him.' I was in complete shock. I'm scared sh*tless. He wanted me to go fight one of the Browns players."
Harrison clearly didn't like the way Verse spoke about the organization and the team prior to the game, and that got him fired up to be in the stadium. When he saw that Browns players might have been walking through Pittsburgh's sideline, he tried to enlist Pittsburgh's long snapper to go and fight them.
Eric Canha / Imagn Images
The Pittsburgh Steelers' long snapper Christian Kuntz (46) looks on before a regular season game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
The Browns did all of their talking off of the field and created a bunch of headlines going into this game, but the Steelers handled all of their business between the white lines. That is the professional approach, and it is probably a good thing that Kuntz did not listen to Harrison and go pick a fight with the Browns before one of the biggest games of the season.
The Steelers Emasculated Cleveland In Week 8
The Steelers completely dismantled the Browns in Week 8 as the Cleveland offense could not do anything. The group never found the end zone in the game, and the Steelers won the game with ease. Fans would rather see that than some pre-game fight that could have resulted in a 15-yard penalty before kickoff even occurred. Pittsburgh is now a game up over the Browns, and if the Steelers can beat the Cincinnati Bengals coming out of the bye week the team will be in a great spot. That would be the sweep over Cincinnati, and it would be a 2-1 record within the division with two games left against the Baltimore Ravens.
What do you think about this story from Christian Kuntz? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
#SteelerNation