Tomlin Tuesday - 10/13/20

By: Michael Stiffler, @Stiffeezy_ on Twitter

SteelerNation.com

The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to escape Week 5 with a victory against their instate rivals, but the challenge will only get bigger with the 4-1 Cleveland Browns coming to town. The Browns come in riding a 4-game win streak after an ugly opening game loss, and this game will be a good measuring stick for where they stand in the AFC North hierarchy.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin opened his Tuesday press conference addressing injuries that were sustained during the game on Sunday. He stated their availability will be based off their "body of work" this week. While he did not go into specifics about David DeCastro (abdomen) and Diontae Johnson (back), he did say Maurkice Pouncey (foot) should not be an issue that would hold him out of this week. The big point of emphasis coach Tomlin pointed out from last week was their inability to get off the field on third down, especially when things were in their favor. He attributed this to players missing opportunities rather than having to make changes schematically. Later on he did explain sometimes you have to acknowledge that their players made "combat" catches and have to give them credit on the plays they made. When diving into the offensive side of things, Tomlin gave credit to Ben Roethlisberger and company having the ability to control the time of possession as well as spreading the ball around to various players.

When discussing the upcoming matchup Tomlin explained, "We like to be in the kitchen and AFC North football is in the kitchen." He first spotlighted the defensive side of things stating they need to be aware of Myles Garrett at all times since he has the ability to be the Defensive Player of the Year. He further went on to say the defensive line has great depth at the other three positions and that makes them very dangerous. He highlighted their acquisition of safety Karl Joseph who he "loves" as a player. He said it will be crucial for them to take care of the ball and limit turnovers as the Browns come into this game leading the league in turnovers. While the stars of the Browns offense are Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, Tomlin made it known that the Browns are very deep across all the skill positions. He made it a point that the "rookie" at left tackle does not play like a rookie and has been very good early on. When asked what makes the Browns run game so good, he simply said, "Teams don't have Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt."

You can watch the full press conference below.