The Pittsburgh Steelers rallied to erase a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit in Cleveland, but their defense could not get one final stop in a 27-24 loss that dropped them to 2-2. The most pressing concern is no longer just the result. It is whether Pittsburgh has enough answers in its secondary after moving on from a starting-caliber cornerback hours before kickoff and then losing another corner during the game.
Locked On Steelers host Christopher Carter centered his postgame reaction on the connection between coverage and pass rush. Carter argued that Pittsburgh’s inability to hold up outside allowed Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson to get the ball out comfortably, limiting the impact of Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt and the rest of the front.
Watson completed 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown while taking only two sacks. He led Cleveland into range for Andre Szmyt’s 56-yard winning field goal with 10 seconds left. Watson completed four passes for 45 yards on the Browns’ final possession to answer Aaron Rodgers’ game-tying drive.
The personnel issue became sharper after the Steelers traded cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick. Porter had been inactive for Pittsburgh’s first three games, but Carter said the Browns’ ability to challenge replacement cornerbacks illustrated what the Steelers lost in a press-coverage option.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Jamel Dean left the game with an ankle injury, and the team’s postgame account said he departed Huntington Bank Field in a boot. That forced more responsibility onto cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. and Daylen Everette, as well as safety Robert Spears-Jennings.
Carter’s broader point was that the Steelers cannot rely on a pass rush to rescue coverage breakdowns. Quick throws and successful man-coverage matchups can keep an opposing quarterback clean, especially when the secondary cannot consistently disrupt routes at the line of scrimmage. Cleveland produced 260 net passing yards and 372 total net yards, its season high.
The Steelers next host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Oct. 11. Pittsburgh has extra time to determine Dean’s availability and decide how it will distribute snaps in a secondary that has changed quickly, but the loss to the Browns made the immediate task plain: The secondary must give the pass rush more time to make an impact.
