Steelers vs. Browns: 5 questions with the enemy ahead of Week 17

The Steelers head into Week 17 on the verge of winning their first division title since 2020. Their opponent, the Cleveland Browns, who are currently projected to finish with another top-five pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. I spoke with Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature ahead of this divisional contest.

1. Cleveland rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders now has five starts under his belt. What should the Steelers’ defense expect from him? Has he earned a shot at starting in 2026, or is Cleveland looking at drafting another passer in the 2026 NFL draft? 

Chris Pokorny: Overall, it’s been a decent rookie showing for Shedeur Sanders. His biggest issue is that he takes a tick longer to deliver the ball than most quarterbacks. Another issue is that at times, he still retreats a little on third-and-long when a pass rush gets free, not accepting the fact that the play is either dead or he needs to throw to a checkdown. Besides that, I’ve been encouraged by what we’ve seen in his starts — I see the confidence and tools of a guy who could be a starting quarterback in this league, especially when you consider he’s working with almost an entire backup offensive line, and receivers that might not even be on many other NFL rosters. He has a good degree of escapability, throws a nice deep ball, and has that natural knack for trying to encourage receivers to stay with him on scramble plays. He’s also shown better poise when standing in the face of a rush and calmly delivering a throw despite the fact that he’s about to get blasted. It’s just tough to discern about the 2026 NFL draft, though. While I like what I see from Sanders, if there’s a quarterback who the front office is blown away with in the draft, I don’t think they will pass on him just because Sanders has ‘shown some potential.’ In an ideal world, Sanders would get better and be the quarterback next year, which would allow the Browns to target the offensive line and wide receiver positions in the top of the draft to fill more voids higher.

2. Kevin Stefanski has two winning seasons and two Coach of the Year awards in six seasons, but the Browns could realistically finish with just three wins for the second year in a row. Cleveland is clearly in rebuild mode. Does that include making a change at head coach this offseason? 

CP: Cleveland is stuck in so many weird positions. When our owner first came on, he was criticized for the quick trigger and firing head coaches too quickly. However, Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry (our GM) are the group he’s tried to make stick for continuity. However, I think behind the scenes, they are getting a pass for the struggles because our owner realizes he screwed up by giving the go-ahead to do everything possible to acquire Deshaun Watson several years ago. That move set a chain of not only ruining the quarterback position, but taking several years of first-round draft picks away, which the team is now paying the price for. Granted, I think we’ve seen enough scenarios — like Ben Johnson in Chicago — to indicate that a head coaching change doesn’t mean it has to be several years of a rebuilding setback, but my hunch is that we stick with Stefanski.

3. Myles Garrett is just one sack away from breaking T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record. I know Steelers fans don’t want to see him get there, but how sweet for Browns fans would it be to see him get it against his closest peer/rival’s team? 

CP: It’s always sweet to get a sack against the Steelers, although I’m fully aware that they mitigated the Browns’ pass rush in the first meeting with quick throws by Aaron Rodgers. However, if Myles Garrett breaks the record, to me, I won’t care that it was against the Steelers — instead, I’ll be happy that it happened in front of our home crowd, giving them something to cheer for or remember from another miserable season.

4. Who are some under-the-radar players on either side of the ball we should watch out for? Bonus points if they differ from your Week 6 answers. 

CP: I had to look back at my Week 6 answers, lol. On offense, I previously said Harold Fannin Jr, and he’s continued to establish himself as the lead receiver on the team. This time, I’ll go with Isaiah Bond. He has 16 catches for 309 yards (19.3 yards per reception). Jerry Jeudy is the next highest with 12.3 yards per reception. Bond’s shown an ability to stretch the field on deep balls with Sanders, so that’s something to look out for. On defense, injuries have started to rattle the group a bit, taking some wind out of their sails. I’ll have to pick middle linebacker Carson Schwesinger, even though he’s not very under-the-radar. The rookie leads the team with 137 tackles and has logged 10-plus in six straight games.

5. The Steelers are currently 3.5-point favorites on FanDuel. Cleveland is also currently projected to pick third overall in the upcoming draft. Would Cleveland fans rather play a possible playoff spoiler for Pittsburgh or lose and attempt to get the highest possible pick in the draft? 

CP: With the Giants and Raiders squaring off against each other this week, that means that Cleveland can jump ahead to the No. 2 pick with a loss. Several weeks ago, I said that I didn’t care about wins anymore. Last week’s game against the Bills was the ideal type of situation — a close, competitive game, seeing some promise from a guy like Shedeur Sanders, but also still seeing that draft position continue to improve. Also, the only way Pittsburgh misses the playoffs is with two losses and the Ravens winning both of their final games. I guess it’s possible, but I don’t see that scenario as likely — I view it more so as not only would we hurt our draft position, but the victory probably wouldn’t even impact the Steelers making the postseason. I know that may sound like a loser’s mentality, but we’ve seen this rodeo before, lol — give us the most ammunition for 2026.