After the Browns blew a 13-point lead in the final two minutes of their Week Two loss to the Jets, head coach Kevin Stefanski said the team’s defense was not on the same page and the unit held a players-only meeting this week in order to work on the miscommunication that contributed to that defeat.
The Browns had also given up 17 points to the Panthers in the fourth quarter of a Week One win, but there would be no late heroics on Thursday night. The Steelers led 14-13 at halftime, but the Browns defense shut things down in the second half.
Four Steelers drives ended in punts and the Browns got a fumble recovery in the end zone to seal their 29-17 home win. Safety John Johnson said the communication on defense was “a lot better” than it was in the Jets game and head coach Kevin Stefanski also saluted the effort.
“I thought we were assignment sound, flying around to the football and tackling together,” Stefanski said, via the team’s website. “It’s never perfect as we know. There are things that I know we will clean up. After wins and losses, we have to clean a lot of things up, but I’m really proud of how those guys responded.”
A date with the Falcons looms in Week Four and another sharp outing from the defense would be a plus to their push for a 3-1 start to the season.