The second half had just started on Oct. 1 when Jaylen Warren took a pitch to the left and Jared Verse dropped him for a loss. Two plays later, Quincy Williams blanketed Warren in coverage on third-and-10, and Pittsburgh was three-and-out.
Verse and Williams, either end of one series. On Thursday in Berea, Verse described that same series as Sunday's whole plan.
"I think they have been causing a lot of displacement up front. They've been able to get movement up front, get a little separation and open those A-gaps, B-gaps and sometimes it will open the C-(gaps). And he's able to bounce into those gaps and get going. Our goal is to get that knock back on them. Lower those gaps and make them small so he has to bounce outside to us or go inside to Q(uincy) Williams."
There's no sack in that job description. It's a run-game assignment for a defensive end, and it's the one that matters most in Pittsburgh.
Warren is the Steelers' weather vane
Warren has 126 touches, 82 more than anyone else on the roster. He's seventh in the league with 561 rushing yards and fourth with 855 yards from scrimmage, and his 5.5 yards a carry ranks third among running backs. The Steelers are 3-0 when he hits 100 on the ground and 2-2 when he doesn't.
Cleveland already has the blueprint. Warren ran 10 times for 61 yards in the first half of Week 4, then seven times for 32 after halftime. Mike McCarthy has made the line of scrimmage his message this week, and defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg isn't arguing. Warren and Rico Dowdle are "two great backs," he said Thursday, and they're "a compliment to their offensive line, who's playing really really well."
That second-down tackle in the Week 4 series, by the way, belonged to Maliek Collins and Carson Schwesinger. Warren got a yard.
Why the plan ends with Quincy Williams
Verse's confidence in the man behind him has a recent receipt. Against his old team, the Jets, Williams had 11 tackles and three forced fumbles. So the math is simple: shrink the gaps, make Warren choose, and let him pick between the edge and a linebacker who rips the ball out.
One Steelers game in, Verse sounds like a lifer
Verse has been a Brown since June and has played in exactly one game against Pittsburgh. He talks like he's been in this rivalry for a decade. He already answered Cam Heyward with "I'm just going in there ready to dominate," and Dawgs By Nature flagged another line Thursday that Browns fans will happily frame: "Make Pittsburgh ours."
That's a big phrase for a franchise that hasn't won a regular-season game there since 2003. He sat out Wednesday with a swollen knee and was back Thursday, so the plan has its end man. As for where Warren winds up, Verse has a preference.
"And if he goes into Q, I'll take Q every time."
Image: AI-generated image.
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