Browns rookie lineman gives Steelers’ T.J. Watt bulletin board material ahead of Monday night matchup

While they are home underdogs, the Steelers do have one sizable advantage in their Week 2 matchup against the Browns on Monday night. With Browns starting right tackle Jack Conklin hurt, Cleveland will be starting rookie fourth-round pick Dawand Jones. The Steelers will likely line T.J. Watt up against Jones in an attempt to take advantage of the likely mismatch. 

Jones, however, feels that he has found a possible advantage in his potential matchup against Watt. 

“He kind of leaves his chest open a little bit during the pass game,” Jones said, via Sports Illustrated. “Using that. There are other things to it. Making sure I get back. He’s a great player.”

Jones is clearly embracing the challenge of facing Watt, who is one sack away from breaking former teammate James Harrison’s franchise record. Watt, the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, was one of Pittsburgh’s lone bright spots during last week’s loss to the 49ers after recording three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. 

“He has a motor of like of nonstop moves,” Jones said of Watt. “My major thing is – I need to limit him to some of them, use my length and my strength to my best ability.”

While the Browns looked impressive last week, the Steelers laid an egg at home while dropping a 30-7 decision to the 49ers. Making matters worse was the Steelers losing receiver Diontae Johnson and defensive tackle Cam Heyward to injuries. Heyward was placed on injured reserve and will reportedly miss up to eight weeks.

The Steelers will have history on their side when they play host to the Cleveland Browns on Monday night. The Steelers enter their Week 2 matchup having won 20 consecutive home games on Monday night. Pittsburgh’s last home loss on Monday night occurred on Oct. 14, 1991, when they lost to the defending Super Bowl champion Giants, 23-20. 

The Steelers are hoping to extend their streak against a Browns team that is coming off an impressive 24-3 win over the Bengals last Sunday. 

Pittsburgh has had a slew of memorable Monday night wins at home over that span. Among them was a 23-0 win over the defending three-time AFC champion Buffalo Bills in 1993, a 24-3 shellacking of Buffalo three years later in what was Jerome Bettis’ coming-out party in Pittsburgh, a dramatic comeback win over rival Baltimore in 2008, and Ben Roethlisberger’s final home game in a win over the Browns in 2021. 

The Steelers are hoping to keep their streak going Monday night while getting their first win of the 2023 season in the process. To do that, Pittsburgh knows it has to do a better job against Browns running back Nick Chubb than it did last week against Christian McCaffrey, whose 152 rushing yards included a 65-yard, back-breaking touchdown run early in the second half. 

“What he is capable of doing, the way he controls the game, and so forth, it’s a little bit different, but similar to Christian McCaffrey in that he keeps them on schedule,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of Chubb, via the Tribune-Review. “He controls the climate. If we’re doing anything in this football game, man, we’ve got to work to minimize that guy’s impact.”