If Browns defensive end Jared Verse is going to whine about the Steelers being dirty, the Steelers are apparently going to give him something to whine about.
On the extra-point try after Pittsburgh’s first touchdown of the game, Steelers guard Mason McCormick lifted Verse off the ground and dumped him on his head, Joe “Turkey” Jones-style.
Verse took McCormick’s helmet with him as he made his journey from the air to the land.
McCormick was penalized on the play, and he’ll likely be fined. But it sends an early message to a player who dared to poke the black-and-gold bear.
The Browns have had two offensive possessions and lost a fumble on both of them.
While the Steelers didn’t score on the first, they did on the second with a 9-yard run by Rico Dowdle, giving the team an early 7-0 advantage.
On Cleveland’s first possession, Deshaun Watson had to be removed from the game for a concussion check after a helmet-to-helmet hit on a third-down passing attempt. The play was flagged for roughing the passer. Shedeur Sanders played the rest of the possession, which ended with a Harold Fannin fumble on third down.
But the Steelers didn’t score on that extra possession, as Chris Boswell missed a 57-yard field goal attempt wide left.
While Watson came back in for Cleveland’s ensuing drive, he was strip-sacked on second-and-7, with the Steelers recovering in Cleveland territory.
Dowdle did most of the damage on the drive, rushing for 15 yards to the red zone, then consecutive 9-yard runs — the second of which went for the touchdown.
When the Browns visit the Steelers today, first place in the AFC North is on the line between the pair of 5-2 teams.
There’s an interesting subplot: The Browns haven’t swept the Steelers since 1988.
That year, the Browns won in Week 5, 23-9. In Week 12, the Browns thumped the Steelers in Cleveland, 27-7.
A sweep was in the cards in 1989, too, after the Browns obliterated the Steelers during the season opener in Pittsburgh, 51-0. The Steelers recovered by the time the Week 6 rematch came around, winning the game 17-7.
The Browns are currently on a 22-game regular-season losing streak in Pittsburgh. Of course, the Browns have managed to secure a fairly big win during that stretch, with a 48-37 victory in the 2020 wild-card round.
Wide receiver George Pickens has touchdown catches in two of his last three games and he’ll have a chance to make it three of four against the Cardinals on Sunday.
Pickens was listed as questionable on the Cowboys’ final injury report due to shoulder and hamstring issues, but he avoided the inactive list ahead of kickoff in Dallas. Pickens has 37 catches for 485 yards overall this season.
Defensive tackle Kenny Clark was also listed as questionable for the Cowboys due to a back injury. He joins Pickens in the lineup for Week 8.
Cardinals at Cowboys
Cardinals: QB Carson Beck, CB Starling Thomas, RB Evan Hull, LB Eku Leota, OL Jon Gaines, OL Albert Reese, DL Walter Nolen
Cowboys: WR KaVontae Turpin, CB Shavon Revel, LB Dee Winters, LB Tyrus Wheat, OL Drew Shelton, TE Luke Schoonmaker
Raiders at Jets
Raiders: WR Dont’e Thornton, QB Aidan O’Connell, WR Malik Benson, S Tristin McCollum, S Dalton Johnson, OL Bryce Cabeldue, DT JJ Pegues
Jets: RB Breece Hall, WR Tim Patrick, OL Max Mitchell, OL Kohl Levao, LB David Bailey, LB Joseph Ossai, CB Nahshon Wright
Falcons at Buccaneers
Falcons: QB Andy Dalton, QB Jack Strand, LB Divine Deablo, RB Brian Robinson, DB Billy Bowman, CB Robert Longerbeam, DE Drake Jackson
Buccaneers: WR Emeka Egbuka, CB Ayden Garnes, G Luke Haggard, G Billy Schrauth, DL DeMonte Capehart
Ravens at Bills
Ravens: WR Elijah Sarratt, S Jaylinn Hawkins, CB Chandler Rivers, OL Emery Jones, G Vega Ioane, DL Aeneas Peebles, QB Joe Fagnano
Bills: OT Spencer Brown, OL Ar’maj Reed-Adams, DL Greg Gaines, WR Skyler Bell, LB Mike Danna, CB Dee Alford, S Jalon Kilgore
Browns at Steelers
Browns: QB Dillon Gabriel, QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, CB Noah Igbinoghene, RB Audric Estime, C Parker Brailsford
Steelers: WR Ben Skowronek, QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, CB Brandin Echols, RB Eli Heidenreich, CB Doneiko Slaughter
Colts at Jaguars
Colts: LB Bryce Boetticher, TE Pharaoh Brown, DT Kevin Givens, WR Anthony Gould, OL Charlie Heck, QB Riley Leonard, CB Justin Walley
Jaguars: S Antonio Johnson, WR CJ Williams, CB Alijah Huzzie, LB Jamal Hill, DE Wesley Williams, DT Albert Regis
Vikings at Lions
Vikings: S Jakobe Thomas, CB Charles Demmings, RB Demond Claiborne, OL Caleb Tiernan, DL Elijah Williams, QB Max Brosmer
Lions: TE Jackson Meeks, C Seth McLaughlin, DL Mekhi Wingo, DE Ahmed Hassanein, S Bishop Fitzgerald
Titans at Bengals
Titans: RB Tyjae Spears, WR Carnell Tate, P Tommy Townsend, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, DL Jackie Marshall, DB Jaylon Jones
Bengals: S Kyle Dugger, C Connor Lew, OL Myles Hinton, WR Mitchell Tinsley, DT Landon Robinson
The fine imposed on Giants running back Cam Skattebo for illegal use of the helmet was not a rarity. The flag thrown in real time for it was.
Of eight fines levied by the NFL for use-of-helmet violations in Week 7, only Skattebo’s came with a flag.
The league fined Skattebo $7,073. The seven players fined but not flagged were: Bears cornerback Clark Phillips ($11,550); Broncos safety Brandon Jones ($23,882); Broncos Alex Singleton ($47,662); Lions safety Brian Branch ($23,882); Colts cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt ($7,791); Steelers receiver Brandon Smith ($4,916); and 49ers running back Jordan James ($6,194).
The fines increase as the violations repeat. For Singleton, who was fined $23,882 for illegal use of the helmet, it was the second straight week he was fined.
The officials, for whatever reason, don’t often call penalties for illegal use of the helmet. That’s what made the penalty called on Skattebo so unusual.
The fact that the hit flattened Texans safety M.J. Stewart likely was a factor in the decision to penalize Skattebo. Still, the fact that only one of eight instances resulted in a foul being called underscores the fact that, when it comes to the rule against lowering the helmet and initiating forcible contact against an opponent, it’s something that costs players money far more routinely than it costs their teams field position.
